POV – we’re in an elevator:
Full pitch (will open in Kaltura):
Resources/References
An informal list of references used in the development of this venture pitch, as well as additional resources worth exploring.
- https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2024/Research-News/AI-generated-exam-answers-go-undetected-in-real-world-blind-test
- https://www.vox.com/advice/413189/ai-cheating-college-humanities-education-chatgpt
https://newsroom.wiley.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/AI-Has-Hurt-Academic-Integrity-in-College-Courses-but-Can-Also-Enhance-Learning-Say-Instructors-Students/default.aspx - https://thewalrus.ca/i-used-to-teach-students-now-i-catch-chatgpt-cheats/
- https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/higher-education-market
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9702763/
- https://theconversation.com/university-students-feel-anxious-confused-and-distrustful-about-ai-in-the-classroom-and-among-their-peers-258665
- https://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/339226/?isxn=9798369302408
- https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/full-text-pdf/339226
- https://artsmart.ai/blog/ai-plagiarism-statistics/
- https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2024/03/01/the-financial-impact-of-ai-on-institutions-through-breaches-of-academic-integrity/
- https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jun/15/thousands-of-uk-university-students-caught-cheating-using-ai-artificial-intelligence-survey
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/01/22/college-students-ai-allegations-mental-health/77723194007/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-18/do-ai-detectors-work-students-face-false-cheating-accusations
- https://citl.news.niu.edu/2024/12/12/ai-detectors-an-ethical-minefield/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/style/ai-chatgpt-turnitin-students-cheating.html
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/14/prove-false-positive-ai-detection-turnitin-gptzero/
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/13/software-student-cheated-combat-ai
- https://www.brianwstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Stone2025GenerativeAIinHigherEducation.pdf
- https://bestpitchdeck.com/
- https://pitch.com/blog/pitch-deck-structure
AI Reflection
ChatGPT’s free model was used to generate the image of the hardware peripheral camera, the emdash logo, and the “dash” room mock-up.
Claude Sonnet 4 was used extensively for planning pitch structure, refining the business language, and learning how to calculate common venture business metrics. Claude erred towards recommending excessive details in the full pitch, while many example resources and videos I had seen kept pitches reasonably high-level and concise, which is what I ultimately opted to pursue. I imagine this is a fine balance that all pitches need to carefully consider. Coming up with fake, yet reasonable, metrics and financial projections was made more complex due to Claude, who would simply agree with whatever point I made about their plausibility – I likely landed on numbers that are quite optimistic.
I like the idea as it aims to protect students who have been wrongly diagnosed as AI usage but actually not. It fills up a market blank spot which has not been fully explored or thought of – brilliant!
As potential investor, several questions:
1. what is the cost of hardware?
2. why students’ output could be wrongly diagnosed as high level of AI usage but actually not, what caused the mis-diagnose?
Presentation is awesome – clear, poised, and idea delivered.
FEEDBACK:
I was sold with these lines: “We’re building em-dash. The dashcam of academic integrity. […] The anti-plagiarism market is student hostile. We’re going to capture the students’ side through empowerment.” You’ve tapped into a lot here (politically, socially, and culturally) — beyond the function of the tool itself, which I think only adds to its groundbreaking perspective on an existing function/market.
As a teacher who as been an Extended Essay supervisor for graduating IB Diploma students in the past, this would be an invaluable tool for both teacher and student in my mind. I see opportunity for partnerships — with curriculum like IB and post-secondary institutions — that would help to establish your brand as the solution to fairly verify authenticity, while advocating for the learner.
Therefore, as an investor or EVA, I would absolutely love to get on board with this venture and look forward to offering a more in-depth review.
REVIEW:
By personally appearing, you significantly added professional credibility to your venture pitch – appearing in professional attire, speaking clearly and confidently, while supporting everything that was said with simplistic visual aids and information. Your research into how educational institutions use technology to dissect students’ work certainly helps to demonstrate the need for his venture – from the perspective of users (students) while aligning the venture with trending values in edtech – the democratization of learning and authenticity.
Emdash is an original solution to a clear pain point that is incredibly relevant, as AI integrates within all digital technologies and arguably most aspects of life. How can we ensure the integrity of our work and learning with AI – academic or otherwise? Last night on CBC’s, the National, there was a report on customers signing a petition to hold Meta accountable for shutting down accounts after being reviewed by their AI watchdog, with human customers/users having no means to appeal the matter. While not directly connected to Emdash’s vision as a venture, the report speaks to a growing need and opportunity for the design of AI’s – and our use of them – to be transparent, credible, and authentic. Emdash is one solution that helps course correct the use of AI while being a functional tool for users in secondary and post-secondary educational settings.
If I may offer one criticism: mentioning the number of 2 million students being falsely accused “feels” hard to believe. While it may be accurate information, there may be another way to convey that information visually to appeal to more potential investors. That minor note aside, your work clearly highlights and accurately demonstrates how your venture will generate revenue and offer a considerable return on investment for investors.
Absolutely, I would recommend investing in this edtech venture.
Feedback
Hey Duncan, sign me up! This venture is something I would invest in because it has a strong business case for becoming a marketable tool in academia and the business world, particularly for resumes and portfolio creation and in the public setting, this would be valuable for skills assessment and essay evaluations.
There is a market that exists outside of the classroom setting. I also value the focus on promoting authenticity and maintaining a focus on sustaining in-person learning approaches. The pitch was elaborate and contained great data points (especially about privacy and security) and values that I appreciate prior to investing in this. My extra feedback was if there was an opportunity to provide any other biofeed back options other than a camera? Just asking for as a curiosity.
Hey Duncan, I really appreciate how well-organized your presentation was. The structure was clear, and the way you showed up in person, dressed formally, really made the pitch feel more personalized and persuasive. I think the product itself is fantastic, and there’s immediate value in addressing the concerns around students being wrongly accused of using AI. It’s a relevant issue that many educators are facing right now.
That being said, while I see the short-term potential, I’d be cautious about investing in the long run. In the future, I believe that simply forbidding AI use is more of a passive response to a much larger shift in how we approach learning and assessment. Instead of restricting AI, we probably should explore ways to use it as an assistant tool. This would mean reevaluating how we assess students, focusing not just on whether they used AI, but on how critically they’ve used AI and other tools, like the internet, in their work. The originality of their work should reflect their ability to engage with these tools effectively and ethically.
Overall, I think this is an exciting product with a lot of potential, and it’s great to see someone tackling such an important issue. With some strategic thinking about the future, I’m confident it can make a real impact.
FEEDBACK: You’ve done a great job of identifying, quantifying and humanizing a real problem in education that’s showing no signs of going away. There is a real need for something like this and I think you would have an instant hit with a subset of higher education students overnight. My only question as an investor would be how quickly this could happen and how large that subset would be, given student reluctance to pay for educational tools and materials that aren’t mandated by their institution. I would also wonder about those large competitors you mention who may copy your approach towards students but if you can establish an identity as a company that really cares about the well-being of students more than those massive players who were initially out to get them, your venture may have a wide enough moat to differentiate from the crowd.
FEEDBACK:
This pitch was excellent, Duncan. I got a really clear appreciation for what your venture is trying to do and how it is different from other products on the market. I thought the idea was a really interesting one and prompted a lot of thought and reflection as an educator. One thing that would keep me from investing in the venture is that I am still a bit hesitant due to the ethics around an accused proving their own innocence. A suggestion might be to discuss how your venture plans to address those ethical concerns that institutions might have if they were to adopt your technology or to enable students to use it.
FEEDBACK
Hi Duncan,
I think you did a great job of showcasing to potential investors how emdash would generate revenue and its path towards company growth. As an investor, I would appreciate the level of clarity you have around its trajectory as a founder/leader. I also appreciate the creativity and personalized touch you added to your elevator pitch!
Your 360 recording of the student’s physical environment addresses a question that occurred to me while following your venture pitch, which is that students could still copy and type out AI-generated work that they are looking at on a different device. The 360 recording would solve that issue, though I do think it may create privacy/consent issues for universities when it comes to accepting 360 view recordings of students and their, usually, home environments.
Overall, this was a strong pitch and I think this is definitely a market ripe for innovation.