ID Network – A Professional Network and Marketplace for eLearning Service Providers
ID Network brings together elearning specialist contractors and prospective employers in a professional network. People are recruited and contracted for elearning development projects and the project is fully managed in a virtual work space.
View the elevator pitch at https://vimeo.com/46539653
Read the venture pitch at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qc73POT9_EwM39WLrPU2EEnLFaf2XzIleETU5wiYEmU/edit
Posted in: Venture Forum
unclereg 8:39 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Chris,
This is a neat idea. I never realized that a business looking to incorporate forms of e-learning could cost it so much. This idea reminds me of an ‘ebay’ style idea of shopping for the best, most beneficial company to build another company an e-learning platform. This sounds like it would work, but to be honest, I’m not educated enough within this field to say yeah or nay. I can’t even really generate proper questions to ask. I’m therefore still on the fence for this one. I’ll be thinking of this idea later though, and will comment again in the near future.
I like the artwork in the elevator pitch!
-Regen
vawells 1:36 am on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Chris
Thank you for sharing elevator pitch. Your idea is original and certainly would have a potential market. Your pitch was very well spoken, however, as an EVA, I would have liked to have seen you deliver the pitch to give me a sense of the person behind the venture. Giving investors a chance to see firsthand your commitment and passion for your venture might entice them to investigate your venture further.
Good luck with your future ventures
Valerie
Deborah S 8:24 am on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Chris,
This is an interesting concept. Your video clearly communicated the nature of your venture, and while it was engaging, I have to agree with Valerie. It would have been helpful for you to appear in the video so I could see who was pitching the idea.
The use of statistics in the opening of your venture plan clearly establishes the need for your service. As an EVA, I would have liked more information on who you were marketing to, e.g. would it be K-12 schools, post-secondary or corporate? Also, it would have been helpful to provide some subheadings in the report. I always like to jump to the financials (it must be the accountant in me : ) and they were difficult to locate without subheadings.
Good luck!
Deborah
chrisaitken 11:58 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Deborah. This venture would target the corporate learning world. There may be a market in post-secondary as well, but to begin with we would focus on private corporations.
karonw 6:19 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Chris,
Good job on your elevator pitch, you have proposed the problem, the solution and the specifics of what ID Network does in a less than 1 minute long pitch! You maintained a calm and convincing tone throughout your pitch, personally I really liked the way you illustrated your pitch. However, as an EVA I believe first impression matters and if I was to invest in your venture I would like to see the CEO do this presentation as I think this would convince me better and strengthen the confidence you have in your venture which would make me buy into your venture. The impression that your pitch gave me was that this venture is marketed to people in the workforce such as employees in a corporation and after reviewing your detailed venture pitch where most of your information and statistics was based on USA and as you indicated in your paper that ID Network is a global trend, will this venture also be marketed to the general public including students globally?
Once again, excellent elevator pitch and thanks for sharing!
Karon
chrisaitken 11:56 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the feedback Karon. I just wanted to address your questions. Yes, although half of the worldwide elearning market is based in the U.S, this service would be open globally. We would charge the fee to employers (free for contractors).
gillian 6:43 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Chris,
Great job – I can tell you have done this before. Very professional – your pitch had a very convincing array of stats and other research to support your venture approach and give insight into the product your are selling. I was personally very intrigued by the costs and hours required to turn out a one hour module (I should be more accountable of my own time).
I was a little confused by the 5% fee. Am I right in assuming that the 5% is charged to the hiring company? For example if a contractor is hired for $100.00 the company that hired them is charged an additional $5.00? (pardon for my simple math, but I am an English/Humanities teacher). Did I get that right?
I can see some potential pitfalls with underbidding and undercutting on behalf of the contractors, but that’s capitalism right? Your self-reflection also noted the possibility of both contractors and companies going outside of the system once a relationship is established – I hadn’t thought of that – hopefully your platform will be enough to keep everyone on board.
Thank you for such a professional and enlightening presentation.
chrisaitken 11:53 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Gillian. Thanks for the kind words. Yes, you understanding for the 5% fee is correct. An employer awarding a contract to a bidding elearning service charge you pay ID Network 5% of the total project. Perhaps it is low, but we would need to attract corporations to post their projects to get off the ground.
troos 1:18 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Chris:
I think you’ve developed a great concept. If you can develop your venture as a trustworthy middleman as you propose, I think that you can maintain a necessary buffering capacity that holds the two sides ogether that you wish to connect. Your elevator pitch is a clear presentation where you identify the pain points and relevant solutions. Your relaxed voice indicates your confidence in your venture but personal/facial presence would have helped to convince me of your authenticity. As others have stated, I am unclear on the 5% transaction fee and how that will generate revenue for your company. I’m also not clear on your target market. Is it global, continental or restricted to some local level? This is based on your elevator pitch and you may have answered this in your venture pitch. Great work.
Tim
Bridget 5:49 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Chris,
Thank you for sharing your pitches and after reviewing your elevator pitch I have the follow comments.
I like the way that you set the stage with the concept that elearning is an integral part of education and you follow with the fact that it is a costly endeavor to maintain a department with all of the facilities necessary to operate. You had me interested at this point and continued to do so by then posing the question “What if corporations had access to a global network of learning design professionals on a project basis?” then answering it by introducing IDNetwork. I thought this was well done. However, when I look at this a practical venture it seems that it would take a lot of time and effort to match the training specific to a company. I can also see that companies might be concerned about information regarding their projects might be leaked by the elearning trainers who do not work directly for the company.
On the technical side, I thought that the visuals were great and the description was straightforward. One small adjustment would be to make sure that words on the screen match the words in the audio (example: staff training vs employee training).
Bridget
chrisaitken 12:21 am on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Bridget
Thank you very much for the feedback. When I read your concern about companies wanting to protect their information from leaking it to elearning providers, I instantly kicked myself for not including a part in the venture pitch about the legalities of contracting through IDNetwork. I would include a non-disclosure agreement in the contract between employers and contractor.
I also believe that this concept would save people time in money. An employer could scan several portfolios and bids and make an appropriate match themselves. IDNetwork only provides the platform.
Thanks – wish I could have read your comments before I finished the paper!
Dennis Pratt 9:32 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Chris;
This is a great idea and I can see the corporate world heading this way as they want to know what they are getting for their money and still want a voice in how their products/education gets delivered. Many companies would like professionally produced training but do not want to front the cost of creating it themselves, or even know where to begin. They can now shop around for what they are looking for and contract someone to do it. Easy. I might be calling you up for some help on my venture. As others mentioned I would use your own voice as it brings out your passion and shows your competence as CEO.
Dennis
Chelsea M Woods 9:25 am on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
HI Chris, I found your pitch clear and appreciated the illustrations because they helped me visualize the somewhat foreign to me concepts you were discussing. I think the idea of outsourcing e-learning development is a fabulous idea, and love your idea of developers bidding for projects. I can see a lot of creative people flourishing in that context, rather than being assigned projects based on the needs of their employer. An interesting model that I will keep in mind as I think about how to make the best progress and bring the best out of people in the workforce. Thank you!
Chelsea
Leonora Zefi 6:19 am on August 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This is such a creative idea Chris,
You are absolutely right that e-learning is costly. My experience has definitely proven that.
I can see the potential for this venture as employers try to incorporate e-learning more and more in their workplaces while trying to save costs. Going to a pool of experienced individuals who can develop the content certainly makes sense and is appealing to corporations. I really like the idea of the portfolio – experts can showcase their work and make it easy for clients to decide.
Thanks.
Leonora
toddpowell 10:30 pm on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Chris,
As a visual person, I really appreciated your pitch, as I could visualize much clearer. I appreciate that you haven’t sugar-coated and recognized the opportunities for outsourcing and the incorporation of elearning into the business sector. Ah, money is what makes the world go ’round, doesn’t it?!
Thanks,
Todd