Electronic Classroom Solutions Welcome to ECS, a startup that provides retrofitting software and services to existing student management systems. We have a successful beta version of our platform that bypasses BCesis’s interface and that of other SMS’s. We pride ourselves on bringing aesthetics, usability and efficiency to existing platforms– all while saving education systems millions. Elevator Pitch […]
Continue reading Electronic Classroom Solutions Welcome t… Posted in: Venture Forum
Brian H
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Brian H
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Brian H
Chris Houston and Surf Easy
SurfEasy is a new product developed by Chris Houston (based out of Toronto) that provides secure internet access from any computer. They do this via USB stick and a modified version of Firefox providing customers private secure access. With a $59 price tag that allows 2gb per month of user browsing and premium plans […]
Continue reading Chris Houston and Surf Easy Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp-
Yves Mainville
Disruptive technology indeed! Placing high value on me digital ‘freedom’, this kind of product is quite appealing to me. I would think it also quite appealing tho those wanting to to decide what they wish to access and not be blocked, controlled, etc.
I find this costing somewhat prohibitive for the educational market as ‘starving’ students would most likely forego the additional cost after paying the cell bill, internet access bill, rent, scholastic fees, etc.
I also appreciate your comments on how ‘together’ Mr. Houston and his team seem to be – no doubt they have recognized the controversial impact their product may have… I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for this product and its effects on networks and ‘controlled’ environments. Maybe school boards and enterprises use blacklists to filter out anonymizer sites; this here seems to be a hardware based solution that will be far more difficult to control…
Great post. thanks. -
lisamallen
Finally – a Founder and CEO from Canada! The majority of entrepreneurs on that list were from the U.S.! This is such a promising product – but, as you’ve already pointed out, it’s quite costly in an already “starving” educational market! -Lisa
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Brian H
Top 10 Ed Tech predictions for 2011
I have choses to review Dawson and Garry’s 2011 predictions (with the hindsight of a year and half passing). Devices Both writers express their view of 1:1 device to student ratio but have dissimilar views of what that device will look like in public education. Garry, as a Dell employee promotes net books […]
Continue reading Top 10 Ed Tech predictions for 2011 Posted in: Uncategorized-
Deborah S
Brian,
Thanks for the overview. I agree with your point about the infrastructure needing to make a significant transition. In my school board, students aren’t even allowed to use their cell phones in class! I see the great things my daughter’s university professors are doing with cell phones to engage learners and I’m a bit envious. Imagine what we could do with tablets! I think I’ll be close to retirement before my board makes the transition to the 21st century.Deborah
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sheza
Hi Brian,
I wonder whether the debate over tablet vs. netbook is still in progress. There was BYOD policy at the high school I was recently volunteering at and when we would give the students a research period, the majority still brought in their laptops and netbooks, however on a regular basis you would see students in class with their tablets i.e. iPads, Android tablets, Blackberry Playbooks. So, in some ways I see the 1:1 device to student ratio almost as 2:1 – the tablet is really an appliance tool whereas the laptop or netbook serves the primary purpose. I read the 7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps article for my post, and it described the iPad as such, “The iPad was not designed to replace a user’s primary computer, so the applications that run on it often turn it into an appliance: a net- book, an e-reader, a calculator, or a student response device” (Educause). The students bring their tablets to class on a regular basis mainly because they are more portable, they contain their calendar, music and browser at the slide of a finger; but when it comes to word processing and proper researching, I think our students prefer and fall back on their laptops or netbooks because of the affordances like a keyboard it offers which the tablets simply do not.
References: Educause. “7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps For Learning.” February 2011.
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Brian H
Hi, I am Brian Hotovy from Victoria, BC. I am a Middle School teacher that teaches Computers 9 and Photojournalism (Yearbook) 9. I play hockey, fish, ride off road motorcycles and have recently began cycling to work.
Continue reading Hi, I am Brian Hotovy from Victoria, BC…. Posted in: Uncategorized-
Dennis Pratt
Hi Brian;
I also teach computers 9 and quite enjoy it, especially the fact that we do not have a set curriculum for the course here in Alberta just yet. My students get to do all sorts of things. What are some projects do they get to tackle?
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Colin Kam
Hi Brian. Looking forward to working with you. I also teach ICT and yearbook.
Colin
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Meggan Crawford 6:32 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brian,
As a potential investor I am very interested in your venture. There are often platforms that need adjustments made, rather than replacement, and I am curious to see how ECS would manage those daunting tasks.
I think that the key to your venture is keeping the retrofits of the platforms simple – if these new tools require a great deal of training or cause a lot of frustration ECS is not likely to thrive. If, however, these retrofits improve access to and use of existing tools they are worthwhile. At the same time, there is likely to be some negative reaction to these retrofits, as some teachers will likely balk at the idea of having to learn a new interface. My key question about your venture is how a new ‘face’ for a program can make it into something that meets the needs of schools, governments, etc. For example, you give the example of BCesis and how it has not met the needs/goals of any party, but how will a retrofit make it suddenly work? This may be my lack of programming knowledge, but I am curious nonetheless!
Other than that, it was great to see your short and long term goals as it clearly laid out the direction that ECS hopes to take. It might help to give a bit more context for how these goals will be met (i.e. how do you overcome competition to become the leader!).
Great work – thanks for sharing the ideas!
-Meggan
p.s. You probably want to check the spelling of opportunity at the 15second mark of your venture pitch 🙂 (Now Fixed–Brian)
Donna Forward 11:04 pm on July 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Brian,
You really have a great idea here. I know that BCesis is not well liked by many teachers and you offer a good money saving venture that is very convincing. I believe that you could actually make a go at this. You have really done your homework and researched this topic well. Your argument for the company is truly credible.
If I had to be picky, there was one point during your presentation where the music was louder than your voice and I had to strain to follow but otherwise, a very professional presentation.
I would invest in Electronic Classroom Solutions!
Donna
(Typo fixed in Video)
gregcamp 8:33 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brian, as an investor and teacher I am interested in learning more about your product as it sounds like you have a great idea that has real merit. The difficulty I see if having the ministry or school boards by into your idea. Great job
Greg
Allan 11:50 pm on July 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brian,
As an investor, this is a very impressive presentation, and I am interested in investing in your product!
I like the concept and business plan of ECS as a startup that provides retrofitting software and services to existing student management systems. Your elevator and venture pitches is really convincing in showing ECS as a successful platform that bypasses BCesis’s interface and that of other SMS’s.
The presentations were very energetic presentation – music is important – and you brought out the best of your slides and statistics. Your argument is also convincing — the fact that you did some really hard good research on the BC Government is fantastic – I’m glad you touched on its need for an alternative – the government is a good buyer.
Your technology is also a great validation — open source. It’s a low-cost effective technology, and efficient with low overhead costs. I especially am impressed by your 3-5 year picture. As an investor, knowing that ECS has a chance to prosper in a $7.5 million dollar market, as you pointed out, assures some of my hesitations and piques my curiosity as an investor.
Well done!
Allan
Denise 10:25 am on August 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
HI Brian,
I too was impressed with your elevator and venture pitch. Both were punchy and the music really did generate a passion for the venture. I enjoyed “meeting” you in the elevator pitch and so felt really comforatable watching the venture pitch without seeing you again.
I thought you answered painpoint, solution, differentiation and really provided a clear idea of ask and return as well as convincing about the team.
I am not from Canada and so don’t know a lot about BCesis, but your pitches made me very keen to learn more and considering investing. You emphasised partnerships and opportunities that made the venure seem less risky too.
Denise
Kenton Hemsing 12:30 pm on August 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brian,
You have put together a fantastic, effective and well researched pitch for your company. I am interested in learning more about how you are going to retrofit and make the student information systems more user friendly and intuitive for the end users. I thought that you did a great job in creating a rock solid reason, solution and expansion opportunity for your company. Well done.
However, as this topic is a bit out of my expertise, I feel that I could not invest without doing a lot more research myself and totally understanding the market you are venturing into, nothing to do with any weaknesses in your pitches.
Thanks,
Kenton
Danielle Dubien 6:51 pm on August 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brian,
The quality of your pitches is amazing! Great use of music, pictures and narration!
You’ve convinced me that there is a financial need for your service.
You differentiated your own venture well from the others. How do you manage to keep your costs so much lower than those of Pearson? Is it all because of your use of open source products?
Once your services are used by different clients, what ensures ongoing viability of the venture?
I wish I knew more about your topic to be able to make more comments. All in all, I think your pitches are extremely done and definitely worth an investment! I would have little, if anything to contribute to your company because I know nothing about the topic, so the only contribution I could make would be financial. It would better serve you to have someone else invest.
Cheers,
Dan
Brian H 8:00 am on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Danielle wrote “How do you manage to keep your costs so much lower than those of Pearson? Is it all because of your use of open source products?”
Thank you for your questions. We can keep our costs low as our interface is open source and the retrofit software is a simple program that logs the new interface into school’s existing management system. Schools really only pay for a small adapter between the old and new systems rather than a complete overhaul. Training costs are less as the new system is based on web 2.0 standards with the usability consistent to social networking sites.
Great question!
Brian
mariefrancehetu 3:54 pm on August 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Brian,
Well done! I think your elevator pitch was well done, you chose your words carefully and rendered your message clearly. Your use of images, video and screen captures was very well-balanced and well-suited to your subject matter.
Your venture pitch was equally well done, it looked quite professional. The only improvement I could note was the soiund quality, sometimes it sounded as if your recordings were of lower quality, thus providing a less homogenous presentation.
Your message was clear, your subject well researched. If I were an administrator within a school board I would certainly consider investing in your venture. You cleverly outlined the need and solution and convincingly outlined the gap left by competition.
I would definetely be interested in meeting with you for further discussions and possible partnerships.
Cheers!
Marie-France
HJDeW 8:16 am on August 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
David, this venture has merit and potential within a BC educational environment, with growth into other SMS locations (eg. Ontario). The look and feel of the product appeared user friendly and intuitive, but I wondered if market research or beta-testing on the ECS environment was conducted?
Within the elevator pitch, your passion and commitment to the product was evident and compelling. It was good to have your visible presence as a lead-in to the venture information. Nicely done.
Helen