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Posted in (A3) Venture Pitch
Wikipedia is the most-read reference source in the world, but many important Black Canadians aren’t on it. Black History Pages gives students the tools to fix that. They research missing figures, verify sources, and publish real Wikipedia articles that stay online forever. Along the way, they build digital literacy, research skills, and critical thinking. Free, open-source, and built from real classroom work.
I'm Amina, and I'm in Toronto. I work in curriculum design and instructional design. Although most of my day is spent hanging out with my six year old. This is my tenth course in the MET program!
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FEEDBACK
Hi Amina,
I think you’ve hit on a valuable idea here, but as an EVA I would not go forward with investment.
My first thought about your venture was about scalability. If it is adopted by school boards and successful, then thousands of students will be writing/editing Wikipedia entries on black Canadians each year. How many years could this go on before valuable content is exhausted?
The pedagogical intent is excellent, but it feels most successful as you’ve already been doing it, as a classroom activity. I don’t think the idea is scalable enough to demand a whole platform. Adapting scalability would convince me to change my investment decision.
Hi jlehu, Thanks for the feedback. It helped me realize there was a piece missing from my pitch. I really like the idea that a non-profit’s goal should be to work itself out of a job.
We’re certainly a long way from that point. There are still significant gaps in Black Canadian history on Wikipedia, and history is always being made, so there will always be new stories to document. More importantly, your feedback made me realize I need to better explain how the learning model itself could scale beyond just creating Wikipedia entries.
Hi Amina,
Great job. Thank you. I read your project and found it well presented, thoughtful, and clearly connected to the concepts and methods covered in the course. The concept tackles a prominent educational gap by equipping teachers with a structured framework to host classroom Wikipedia edit-a-thons focused on Black Canadian history.
A major strength of your project is its comprehensive design; combining research frameworks, and step-by-step unit plans that creates a rich learning ecosystem. It successfully shifts students from passive consumers of media to active, critical contributors who learn real-world skills.
For future refinement, the project would benefit from a more explicit maintenance strategy. Clarifying how the team plans to continuously verify broken links or update archive references over time would make the resource feel even more durable and market-ready.
Looking at this through an investor vision, the venture sits at an attractive intersection of digital literacy and inclusive curriculum design. However, to earn complete investor confidence, the venture needs to clearly demonstrate its financial engine and go-to-market plan. Investors will want to see whether profitability will be driven by district subscription tiers, or grant funding, alongside a clear path for scaling the platform into broader regional or national markets.
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Feedback
Hi Farhami, I think that this is an excellent idea, especially in terms of promoting Black Canadian History. Integrating the learning of valuable skills while also learning real and valuable knowledge about important figures in Canada is something that is very valuable in the classroom. While you mention that there is a teacher process for reviewing posts for accuracy and neutral language, I think it might be valuable to have an additional check in place to make sure the information is accurate and respectful.
Hi Amina,
I really enjoyed exploring Black History Pages. What stood out to me most was the authenticity of the learning. Students are not simply learning about Black Canadian history; they are researching whose stories may be missing from the public record, evaluating and verifying sources, and potentially contributing something that has a real audience beyond the classroom. I think the combination of historical learning, digital literacy, research skills, and critical thinking gives this venture real educational value.
I also appreciated that this idea has grown out of actual classroom experience. The fact that you have already piloted Wikipedia edit-a-thons and had teachers interested in using the model themselves gives me confidence that you are responding to an identified need.
From an EVA perspective, I would support investment in Black History Pages. The relatively small funding ask, evidence of classroom interest, and clear plan to develop and pilot the toolkit make this a venture I think is worth supporting.
Your pitch did leave me thinking about two things:
If the model is successful, how do you see Black History Pages evolving longer term? Could the research-and-publishing framework itself become the scalable part of the venture while still keeping Black Canadian history at its core?
As a free and openly licensed resource, what does long-term sustainability look like after the initial funding and pilot stages? Could school boards, community organizations, or other partners eventually play a role in sustaining and expanding the project?
Overall, I think this is a thoughtful venture with a strong educational purpose and a particularly authentic approach to student learning. Great work, Amina!
Amina, my post was a REVIEW
FEEDBACK
Hi Amina, I really like the authentic learning behind this venture. Having students research underrepresented Black Canadians, evaluate sources, and contribute their work to Wikipedia gives the learning a meaningful audience beyond the classroom.
From an EVA perspective, my main question is scalability and long-term sustainability. I would be interested in seeing how the model could expand beyond individual classroom projects while maintaining the quality and accuracy of student contributions. A clearer plan for partnerships or ongoing funding would strengthen the venture.
Feedback
I really like this idea because it addresses a real gap in Canadian education and gives students an authentic way to develop research, digital literacy, and critical thinking skills while contributing to the public record. I also liked the business model and the fact that it is not a huge financial ask, which makes the venture feel realistic.
My main question is how Black History Pages becomes sustainable long term. Since this is an important educational and cultural resource with a relatively low-cost model, I wonder if government funding, grants, or partnerships with school districts might be a better fit than traditional investors. I think the idea is definitely needed, and I would be interested in seeing how you plan to sustain it beyond the initial funding.
Great presentation!
FEEDBACK
Hi Amina,
Excellent work with Black History Pages! I think you have created a valuable resource that as you clearly outlined, is filling a significant gap in Canadian history curriculum.
One of the strongest aspects of your pitch personal experience and background you have working with this concept. I love your “founder-market fit” page that outlines how you ran Wikipedia edit-a-thons is six high schools. Your experience of publishing new articles on Wikipedia with students and creating demand from local teachers for help on how to run this in their classrooms, gives real validity to this venture!
I echo the concern of previous classmates’ comments, in that scalability could be a challenge. I would love to hear more about your ideas on how the learning model could scale beyond creating Wikipedia entries.