No, I would not invest in this venture. First off, the presenter used slides to attempt to describe their technology and although the presenter was well spoken I felt like I had no connection with the presenter and could not understand really what his company was proposing.
CEO & team: The presenter didn’t outline who the key management teacm members were but simply says that the principles have years of experience in innovative technology and media.
Venture Concept: The presenter mentions that Cloud Connect is a new start up and is a collaborative software program for use is primary and secondary schools that treads new gound by bringing the power of institutional courseware to public education. It this point I am lost and don’t know what they are talking about. They then go on to show a slide on Blogs, wikis, mobile, e-portfolis and grading and they that their innovative software brings teachers, kids and parents together in a learning journey.
Marketability: The presenter mentions that in the North America the Learning Management Systems market is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars. They don’t mention what % of this market they are looking to capture, however they do mention that Cloud Connect significantly reduces the entry point for LMS technologies. This sounds like they are trying to compete on price which could be good for them as the public education system is extremely price sensitive and technology bugets are very lean. They make no mention of what the future looks like for an investor or if they have an exit strategy in the works.
Again, the presenter sounds confident but doesn’t provide enough details so that I can understand what the product is and from an investment standpoint I am out.
Should have checked spelling first. Here it is again.
No, I would not invest in this venture. First off, the presenter used slides to attempt to describe their technology and although the presenter was well spoken I felt like I had no connection with the presenter and could not understand really what his company was proposing.
CEO & team: The presenter didn’t outline who the key management team members were but simply says that the principles have years of experience in innovative technology and media.
Venture Concept: The presenter mentions that Cloud Connect is a new start up and is a collaborative software program for use is primary and secondary schools that treads new ground by bringing the power of institutional courseware to public education. It is at this point I am lost and don’t know what they are talking about. They then go on to show a slide on Blogs, wikis, mobile, e-portfolis and grading and describe that their innovative software brings teachers, kids and parents together in a learning journey.
Marketability: The presenter mentions that in the North America the Learning Management Systems market is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars. They don’t mention what % of this market they are looking to capture, however they do mention that Cloud Connect significantly reduces the entry point for LMS technologies. This sounds like they are trying to compete on price which could be good for them as the public education system is extremely price sensitive and technology budgets are very lean. They make no mention of what the future looks like for an investor or if they have an exit strategy in the works.
Again, the presenter sounds confident but doesn’t provide enough details so that I can understand what the product is and from an investment standpoint I am out.
Greg Campbell
Hi Greg
I agree with your assessment that this venture lacks key details about how they are actually going to have their software bring these the various tools together, who the development team was and their qualifications, as well as what percentage of the market they intended to capture and keep.
While the presenters voice was clear and confident as you noted, I too felt a disconnect between poorly created slides and the speaker.
While they mentioned being competitive with other LMS technologies do you believe this is enough to draw in other District level purchasers? I would want to know what costs were associated with their particular tool in terms of start up, installation, training, and development.
I guess I saw this an an elevator pitch and so I wasn’t concerned that cost wasn’t covered – the pitch should have had me interested enought to then ask for the next pitch with more detail.
Hi Gerg and Dave
Apparently the questions you raised should be asked with all the presented applications which don’t show the “hidden fees”. Besides, there could be a hardware upgrade to have the application used properly.
NO, I would not invest in this venture.
The LMS market is very crowded and highly competitive. They attempt to differentiate by “significantly reducing the retail entry point.” However, open source LMS solutions like Moodle and Sakai have already reduced the entry price to zero. They mention that make a ” decisive split in an established market” while displaying the terms, blogging, wikis, analytics, and mobile. There is no decisive split here with these functions as the major LMSes already offer these functions. I do not see originality or differentiation in this product.
I am also skeptical of the viability of the LMS market in the future. The LMS still has a stranglehold on online learning but slowly educators are realizing the value of teaching students to develop their own Personal Learning Networks outside of the confines of an LMS using free social media tools.
We learn nothing in this pitch of the leadership or development team or their goals for their product. I think the only prospect for Cloud Connect would be to gain a few customers and hope for a Blackboard buy out which could actually be lucrative for their investors. But over the long term, I do not think this will be a viable venture.
Chris I think you bring up a good point about students developing their own PLNs outside of the confines of the LMS and I think that this will force LMSs to more dynamic. I do still think there is room for growth in LMS as they serve as effective areas to organize learning content and resources for the educators. Student could then incorporate that as a resource in their PLN.
This is an engaging “elevator pitch” in the way it was graphically presented, and the presenter was very enthusiastic. But looking at the venture pitch criteria and expecting a “showcase of the flashiest ones” I would have been expecting a focus on:
Pain point – it was not clear what the gap or problem is for primary and secondary schools
Solution – it was not clear what the “new model”, “new split”, “new solution” actually is and what it solved
Differentiation – the only component identified here was the reduced retail entry point, and it was very brief and could almost be missed. If this was significant it needed to have a greater focus. Also if CloudConnect was a new model/approach it was not spelt out how this would differentiate it from other LMSs.
Championship – the company ‘s competency was highlighted, but there were no details so it seemed hollow and just a sales line.
The slide introducing the “new model” actually highlighted the numerous LMS offerings already in the market place and created a feeling that there was already a great deal of competition for CloudConnect.
gregcamp 2:17 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I would not invest in this venture. First off, the presenter used slides to attempt to describe their technology and although the presenter was well spoken I felt like I had no connection with the presenter and could not understand really what his company was proposing.
CEO & team: The presenter didn’t outline who the key management teacm members were but simply says that the principles have years of experience in innovative technology and media.
Venture Concept: The presenter mentions that Cloud Connect is a new start up and is a collaborative software program for use is primary and secondary schools that treads new gound by bringing the power of institutional courseware to public education. It this point I am lost and don’t know what they are talking about. They then go on to show a slide on Blogs, wikis, mobile, e-portfolis and grading and they that their innovative software brings teachers, kids and parents together in a learning journey.
Marketability: The presenter mentions that in the North America the Learning Management Systems market is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars. They don’t mention what % of this market they are looking to capture, however they do mention that Cloud Connect significantly reduces the entry point for LMS technologies. This sounds like they are trying to compete on price which could be good for them as the public education system is extremely price sensitive and technology bugets are very lean. They make no mention of what the future looks like for an investor or if they have an exit strategy in the works.
Again, the presenter sounds confident but doesn’t provide enough details so that I can understand what the product is and from an investment standpoint I am out.
Greg Campbell
gregcamp 7:05 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Should have checked spelling first. Here it is again.
No, I would not invest in this venture. First off, the presenter used slides to attempt to describe their technology and although the presenter was well spoken I felt like I had no connection with the presenter and could not understand really what his company was proposing.
CEO & team: The presenter didn’t outline who the key management team members were but simply says that the principles have years of experience in innovative technology and media.
Venture Concept: The presenter mentions that Cloud Connect is a new start up and is a collaborative software program for use is primary and secondary schools that treads new ground by bringing the power of institutional courseware to public education. It is at this point I am lost and don’t know what they are talking about. They then go on to show a slide on Blogs, wikis, mobile, e-portfolis and grading and describe that their innovative software brings teachers, kids and parents together in a learning journey.
Marketability: The presenter mentions that in the North America the Learning Management Systems market is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars. They don’t mention what % of this market they are looking to capture, however they do mention that Cloud Connect significantly reduces the entry point for LMS technologies. This sounds like they are trying to compete on price which could be good for them as the public education system is extremely price sensitive and technology budgets are very lean. They make no mention of what the future looks like for an investor or if they have an exit strategy in the works.
Again, the presenter sounds confident but doesn’t provide enough details so that I can understand what the product is and from an investment standpoint I am out.
Greg Campbell
Dave Horn 8:53 pm on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Greg
I agree with your assessment that this venture lacks key details about how they are actually going to have their software bring these the various tools together, who the development team was and their qualifications, as well as what percentage of the market they intended to capture and keep.
While the presenters voice was clear and confident as you noted, I too felt a disconnect between poorly created slides and the speaker.
While they mentioned being competitive with other LMS technologies do you believe this is enough to draw in other District level purchasers? I would want to know what costs were associated with their particular tool in terms of start up, installation, training, and development.
Dave
Denise 10:32 pm on May 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
HI Greg and Dave,
I guess I saw this an an elevator pitch and so I wasn’t concerned that cost wasn’t covered – the pitch should have had me interested enought to then ask for the next pitch with more detail.
Denise
gregcamp 8:26 am on May 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Dave,
You make a great point regarding associated cost as many times these costs are somewhat hidden.
Greg
Hussain Luaibi 11:10 am on May 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Gerg and Dave
Apparently the questions you raised should be asked with all the presented applications which don’t show the “hidden fees”. Besides, there could be a hardware upgrade to have the application used properly.
Hussain
chrisaitken 6:02 am on May 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
NO, I would not invest in this venture.
The LMS market is very crowded and highly competitive. They attempt to differentiate by “significantly reducing the retail entry point.” However, open source LMS solutions like Moodle and Sakai have already reduced the entry price to zero. They mention that make a ” decisive split in an established market” while displaying the terms, blogging, wikis, analytics, and mobile. There is no decisive split here with these functions as the major LMSes already offer these functions. I do not see originality or differentiation in this product.
I am also skeptical of the viability of the LMS market in the future. The LMS still has a stranglehold on online learning but slowly educators are realizing the value of teaching students to develop their own Personal Learning Networks outside of the confines of an LMS using free social media tools.
We learn nothing in this pitch of the leadership or development team or their goals for their product. I think the only prospect for Cloud Connect would be to gain a few customers and hope for a Blackboard buy out which could actually be lucrative for their investors. But over the long term, I do not think this will be a viable venture.
Dave Horn 10:43 am on May 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Chris I think you bring up a good point about students developing their own PLNs outside of the confines of the LMS and I think that this will force LMSs to more dynamic. I do still think there is room for growth in LMS as they serve as effective areas to organize learning content and resources for the educators. Student could then incorporate that as a resource in their PLN.
Denise 10:26 pm on May 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No I would not invest in this venture.
This is an engaging “elevator pitch” in the way it was graphically presented, and the presenter was very enthusiastic. But looking at the venture pitch criteria and expecting a “showcase of the flashiest ones” I would have been expecting a focus on:
Pain point – it was not clear what the gap or problem is for primary and secondary schools
Solution – it was not clear what the “new model”, “new split”, “new solution” actually is and what it solved
Differentiation – the only component identified here was the reduced retail entry point, and it was very brief and could almost be missed. If this was significant it needed to have a greater focus. Also if CloudConnect was a new model/approach it was not spelt out how this would differentiate it from other LMSs.
Championship – the company ‘s competency was highlighted, but there were no details so it seemed hollow and just a sales line.
The slide introducing the “new model” actually highlighted the numerous LMS offerings already in the market place and created a feeling that there was already a great deal of competition for CloudConnect.
Denise