The Educational Technology Experts (ETE)
I’m Lisa Allen, President and Owner of the Educational Technology Experts (ETE), a global consulting firm that specializes in providing analytics, recommendations and training of educational technology to educational institutions. This pitch is requesting the venture’s first year operating costs of $300,000 as an investment in the company.
Youtube Elevator Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R9m3qq63Z8
Posted in: Uncategorized, Venture Forum
vawells 10:54 am on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa
Your venture sounds interesting however I wasn’t able to view your elevator pitch due to your privacy settings.
Valerie
lisamallen 11:14 am on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for letting me know – all fixed now 🙂
Lisa
vawells 12:45 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Lisa. I can now access it.
Valerie
Deborah S 6:19 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
I can definitely see the potential in your venture and I think it fills a gap in the education system. I thought you did a good job describing the service in your written venture pitch, both to the educational and institutional customer.
Before I would invest, I would like some additional information on your marketing plan, and how you determined that you would need three consultants to begin with. I also wasn’t sure whether you would be focusing on the educational or institutional market first. Would you be pursuing them equally? Would your focus be elementary or secondary, or both?
Deborah
lisamallen 10:24 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for this feedback Deborah – you’re right, a more comprehensive “plan of action” would have been a good thing to include in my pitch.
Cheers,
Lisa
unclereg 9:02 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Lisa,
I like the idea and think it be great once it’s implemented within schools but getting access to schools will be difficult. I think district contracts with companies like G&T (Grand & Toy) & Staples will not let you anywhere near the financial outflow for continuous spending from departments. I love the point you make that we are educators not technological experts, which is so accurate. I think technology use within schools will continue to follow the pattern, ‘Hey I want what that guys got’ and that person goes and gets that device from and for their own departments funding. For the future I would suggest planning how you will innovatively gain access to public school department heads, and school spending. Good luck.
-Regen
lisamallen 10:27 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for these comments Regen, I think that you’re right when it comes to public elementary and secondary schools. With higher education and private institutions though, I think they’re much more open to bringing in consultants. Perhaps that is where my “consulting firm” should try to gain entrance into the market.
Cheers,
Lisa
vawells 1:22 am on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. You present the advantages of your venture very clearly. I can see the potential in your idea and agree there is a need for this in the school system. I was left with a couple of questions; Most districts employ their own IT staff so why would schools go outside of this? Would districts allow schools to go outside, as most schools have to choose goods and services from district approved lists?
Good luck with your future ventures
Valerie
lisamallen 10:30 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for these comments – and great questions. Not working in the public school system, I don’t really know how they contract vendors… that being said, perhaps my consulting firm can gain access into the private educational market to start and build credibility there? I think the biggest issue with IT staff is that they don’t have that education theory background – and that’s what sets this consulting firm apart from the IT staff.
Cheers,
Lisa
mariefrancehetu 1:57 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Lisa,
Here are some comments on your venture pitch and your elevator pitch:
Elevator pitch
It is difficult to say all that you want in a one minute period, so it sounds a bit as if you are rushing to say it all quickly. A suggestion might be to make a simple powerpoint presentation outlining the main points, and then use this presentation to read out from on your computer as you are filming yourself.
In one minute you do manage to summarize the essence of your venture however.
Venture Pitch paper
You present a very strong paper here. You outline the need and the solution quite well. You establish your marketing possibilities expertly and it shows your paper is well researched. If such a company was looking to hire I would be interested . . .
As an investor, you certainly have convinced me that it would be a worthwhile project to invest in.
Well done!
Marie-France
lisamallen 10:31 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Marie-France,
I agree, in hindsight a powerpoint presentation would have been more effective for the one minute pitch!
Cheers,
Lisa
Leonora Zefi 6:14 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
I liked your venture plan and how you specified the growth projections. Here are my comments.
Elevator pitch message
The need for The Educational Technology Experts (ETE) services is clearly outlined in the introduction – piqued my interest with the question at the very beginning. The solution is well explained but I would have been persuaded about the success of the venture if I got a clearer sense of the ”uniqueness or differentiation” characteristics of the service provided by the venture.
Marketability
While I see understand the importance of having these professionals advise school administrators, given the arguments and stats about the market, I wasn’t convinced about market opportunities for this venture. Just stating that the government of Canada and BC spend 5 -7 and 4.5 billion in the next 3 years” doesn’t necessarily mean that money will be allocated to a service specific to what the venture is proposing.
There was no mention of competition and that made me a bit nervous despite the specific growth figures (although long-term – 5 years)
Venture Plan
Your venture plan is very well structured and clearly laid out. It includes details plan – revenue and expense processes are very clear and outline promising prospect for the company therefore convincing the investor on ROI.
Thanks,
Leonora
lisamallen 10:34 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Leonora,
It’s hard to pin point the competition since “consultants” are everywhere and the information out there is quite vague. You’re right though, it would have been good if I had included that information in my pitch.
Cheers,
Lisa
Leonora Zefi 4:21 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
I completely understand the challenges of pinpointing the competition. I had the exact same challenge – the main competition for my venture is corporate training companies and there are myriads of them.
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Leonora
gillian 6:19 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
You were braver than I was for your elevator pitch – couldn’t get myself in front of the camera. I found the elevator pitch to be somewhat disengaging however as you were not looking at the camera, but rather reading somewhere off to the side – losing eye contact. I did think that your voice had good variation in pitch and tone though.
As for your venture pitch, it sounds like a great idea. The service sounds extremely thorough from needs assessment to implementation, and I thought it very smart of you to note that consultants were experts in both education and technology, so that you would retain credibility from all sides of the market. I also appreciate how you are careful not to disparage educators by explaining that teachers and admin are experts in education, but not necessarily technology. I also think that the public would appreciate how you are careful to note efficiency and effectiveness – ensuring that private business is accountable with public funds.
As for your numbers, the costs that you mention sound reasonable, but it does seem that you may be missing a few expenses such as office space, equipment etc.
gillian
lisamallen 10:35 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your comments Gillian,
In hindsight, a powerpoint presentation would have been better for the one-minute pitch (especially since I am not the best public speaker in the world).
Cheers,
Lisa
karonw 12:43 pm on August 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for sharing your venture with us. I quite liked your venture idea and I think you have done a good job in trying to deliver as much details and specifics as possible within 1:11 minutes. It is very challenging to be able to pin point the core ideas and being able to present it. You did very well in that matter in trying to convince your investors. However, as an EVA I am a bit picky in the presentation itself, I would find it more convincing if the presenter was looking at the camera providing some eye contact and at the same time adding a smile would definitely boost up the atmosphere of the pitch. Other than this, I think you have did a good job.
Keep up the good work.
Karon
lisamallen 10:37 am on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Karon,
I appreciate your comments. It’s sometimes difficult to smile when you’re nervous! 😉
Cheers,
Lisa
troos 1:09 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Lisa:
Your venture, Educational Technology Experts, is a great idea and similar to my venture proposal for professional development in educational technology. You have good personal presence in your elevator pitch but focusing in on the camera once in a while would have relieved the “scripted” feel to the video. You identify clear pain points and explain your market expectations well. As the venture leader, you sound convinced of your product’s value. Great job. You mention the need for investment based on labor and advertising. I wonder if you are short-changing yourself here. What about office space, equipment, travelling costs and internet access? Will you have a team to support you? You may have provided answers in your venture pitch but I am just analyzing your elevator pitch here. The first half of your elevator pitch seems aimed at convincing your clients rather than your investors. I think your investors need to here this same information but somehow it needs to be clear that you are directing this at them rather than your clients. Good work!
Tim
Chelsea M Woods 8:54 am on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa, great concept, and certainly an area where schools need support. The school I am currently working at brought in EdTech Audits, and they provided us with recommendations for development and areas of strength. I would have liked to hear more about the structure of your reporting process and how you will ensure that your people are experts, and provide useful recommendations to your clients.
Great idea!
Chelsea
Dennis Pratt 8:43 pm on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Private consulting is a great idea for offering professional development for teachers. I would actually prefer to take PD from someone in the industry rather than a colleague teacher. I seem to get more out of the presentation as they usually provide real examples of work that they are doing. The difficult part might be to find, train and keep qualified staff that can relate to teachers and education and try to turn a profit doing so. I know we spend quite a bit of money on PD and some of it gets wasted in my opinion. I would want to make sure we are getting the most for our money and think that most schools are the same. If you have a great product and teachers like it, the word will spread quickly.
Good idea! I can’t wait to see what sessions you have lined up.
Dennis
toddpowell 10:14 pm on August 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Lisa,
Very well done, especially with the paper. You have obviously thought about gaps that exist in the current educational systems. As for the venture pitch, I was a little disconcerted about not being “looked in the eye.” I know that camera work can be daunting, especially for 1 minute.
Coming from both secondary and middle schools, what would your primary focus on implementation be??
Cheers,
Todd