Venture Forum Page 3RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • janetbar 8:18 am on July 28, 2012
    0 votes
    |
    Tags: ,   

    Welcome to PL-Ease – a service oriented venture designed to help educators shift from traditional classrooms to Personal Learning Environments. Elevator Pitch for PL-Ease Venture Pitch for PL-Ease   Thank-you, Janet Barker

    Continue reading PL-Ease Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • unclereg 10:50 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Janet,

      Very well delivered. Well organized and thought out. It’s great to see you reference the new BC education plan to give your pitch credibility and good timing. I would invest in this venture.
      Great job. I will read your view your entire venture pitch later on and comment more on your vision.
      -Regen

      • unclereg 9:30 pm on August 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hello again Janet,

        Sorry it took a while to get back to you……but again great pitch and great idea.
        I teach within BC and I guess this idea makes most sense and has the most value from a BC perspective as K-12 education is definitely going to be changing over the next few years. This is a resource that teachers will need to help create these personal learning plans as the bc government establishes their bc learning plan within the future. I think this idea would be best established on its own without any sort of support/control given to any school districts. This idea could easily be a stand-alone venture and does not need any decision making power given up to schools/districts/etc. That being said, it will be difficult to to get this program recognized prior to the BC educe plan being launched. This venture will need to wait until the expectations and learning outcomes are published for this idea to really the shape as a response to new BC Learning plans. All of these points considered, I still think this idea will be successful, and needed by many in the years to come. Nice work Janet. Good luck.
        -Regen

    • vawells 8:34 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Elevator Pitch:

      Hi Janet

      Well done! I really enjoyed your elevator pitch. The presentation of your elevator pitch was professional and clearly delivered. The images were informational and held my attention throughout the pitch. As Founder and CEO of PL-EASE, your voice exuded an air of confidence that gave weight to your pitch and inspired confidence in me as a potential investor. Overall your pitch caught and held my attention and made me want to delve deeper into your venture by moving on to your venture pitch.

      One suggestion to strengthen your pitch would be to include yourself delivering the pitch as you did in your venture. Your quiet confidence and obvious knowledge of your venture would serve to give your pitch even more appeal.

      Good luck with the venture

      Valerie

    • vawells 8:39 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      hi janet

      Venture Pitch Analysis

      Pain Point
      The problem that your company PL-EASE would be addressing is clearly defined and supported with sound research.

      Solution:
      The development of a venture to custom design PL-EASE to meet the customers’ specific needs and support for teachers, schools and districts sounds realistic.

      Differentiation:
      Your company has the clear advantage of offering the whole suite of services that gives you an edge.

      Marketing:
      Marketing strategy is thoughtfully and clearly laid out. I believe that with the shift towards 21st century learning and the move towards differentiation that a strong market base is possible, not just in the field of education.

      Championship:
      Your commitment, credentials, confidence about your product are clear and inspire confidence.

      The Ask:
      $75 000, clear plan of how this money would be spent. I would like to have a breakdown of specific expenditures as I am unsure that the investment you are asking for will cover your expenditures.

      The Return:
      I am unclear as an EVA how much return I can expect on my investment, and would need to have negotiated the percentage before agreeing to invest.

      Yes I would potentially be willing to invest in this venture at this time however I would need more financial information around my investment and return on investment before I could fully commit. The pitch is credible, concept is feasible, founder is credible and knowledgeable and the potential market is there for this venture to be successful.

      Valerie

    • janetb 10:08 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thank you for your thoughtful analysis, Valerie. I agree with all of your suggestions for improvement – I should have included video of myself in the elevator pitch and the Ask/Return in the venture pitch were weak, which reflects my lack of business experience. I should probably have factored in business advice to the Ask!

      Thanks again,
      Janet

    • Deborah S 10:33 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet,
      Great use of graphics in your elevator pitch. I thought you did a great job explaining your service and the benefits of it but it would have been a bit more personal if you had delivered some of the content yourself.

      I thought your venture pitch clearly articulated your service and you effectively explained the problem that your service was addressing. I liked the fact that you are offering three levels of service for your customers; a great example of differentiation! You did a great job establishing your credibility as the CEO of the venture.

      Although you mentioned your venture had competition, I would have liked more information on who they were, what services they provide and their cost structure. In addition, as an EVA, I would need more detailed information on exactly how large the potential market is and what portion of it you were targeting.

      Good job!

      Deborah

      • janetb 8:04 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thank you for your comments, Deborah. I agree that I needed to spend a little more time on competition and your comment about including video of myself in the elevator pitch is a common theme. I was worried that there would be too much of me between the elevator pitch and the venture pitch, but in retrospect, I should have added video instead of the picture.

        As to your question about market, the end-users would be teachers/administrators, but the buyers might be school districts. The intent would be that individual subscriptions could be inexpensive enough for individual teachers, but districts coudl buy at a bulk rate. I found the marketing and finance part of it hard to work out as I have no real frame of reference or experience in that area. Definitely something I would seek advice/help on if I ever decided to move the venture from hypothetical to real.

        Thanks again,
        Janet

    • karonw 6:58 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet,

      Great venture! Your elevator pitch was well articulated and you have showcased the current problem, the solution, what you have to offer, and the future market growth all in a short well-organized pitch. As an EVA, in reviewing your elevator pitch I thought that you have did an excellent job in narrating it, you have kept it short and simple yet getting to the point and hitting all the specifics. Throughout the elevator pitch you also remained calm and kept a confident and convincing voice which really persuades your investors to invest in your venture. However, I felt a bit disengaged in viewing your elevator pitch, I think if there were a bit more motion over a slide show style would have really made it a lot more lively and engaging. I think that your venture pitch itself was fantastic and I think if you kept your elevator pitch in the same format would have been excellent. Regardless, you did a great job and as an investor, I would love to invest in this venture of yours.

      Karon

      • janetb 8:14 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments, Karon. I agree that the elevator pitch (and the venture pitch, for that matter) could have used a little more pizzazz. Definitely something to remember for next time! These were my first attempts at movie making (and first ever uploads to YouTube) so the learning curve was pretty steep. I think I was so focussed on making it work that I lost some of the focus on making it catchy. The artistic, marketing aspect is a whole other learning curve I haven’t conquered yet – something to work on in the future 🙂

        Thanks again,
        Janet

    • troos 12:45 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Janet:

      You have developed a great venture that would fill a desired service for teachers. The group presentation on Personall Learning Environments convinced me of the value and reality of PLEs. Your company provides the needed support in implementing them. You speak with a clear voice throughout your elevator pitch and present a defined purpose and offering for your company. You come across as a competent CEO who is confident that PL-Ease is a viable product. Great job. After viewing your elevator pitch, the questions I come away with are:
      1. Who are your clients? Will you sell directly to educators or will you market to institutions?
      2. What is your target market area? Is it BC? Other provinces?
      It is possible your venture pitch answers these questions.

      Tim

    • Leonora Zefi 7:21 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet.
      What a carefully crafted and well delivered message for your venture. The stats and statements between your pitch were very impactful.

      CEO and Team
      As the CEO you represented yourself extremely well as an expert in the area of PLE and an entrepreneur.

      Concept and Marketability
      Effective use of PLE-s in the education sector is an excellent concept with a very promising market reach. You have obviously done your research and identified your target market.

      Venture Plan
      Your plan is very well thought out and your willingness to work for free quite a refreshing concept. You made your plan sound more credible by supporting it with not just clear financial requirements but also with clear and promising ROI for the investor.

      Great work Janet.

      Thanks,
      Leonora

    • chrisaitken 1:04 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet

      With consideration to the PLE movement now, I believe your venture concept is at the scale to be profitable. When I was involved in professional development, I found that faculty were completely mystified and intimidated by the practical use of PLEs. In many schools and college, the investment in professional development has not been enough to keep pace with the developments in the digital world. Now we are at a state where students are learning constantly in these chaotic environments without the qualified mentorship of a teacher. As school administrators begin to realize this, there will likely be a rush to invest in professional development giving a consultancy like yours with your strong background in PLE-based education a wonderful opportunity.

      Your proposed three levels of support offers the flexibility to capture a larger market share. I am interested however, in the consulting fees and subscription fees, that will provide the return you outline.

      I would invest in this venture.

      Chris

      • janetb 1:04 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Chris,

        Thank you for your comments. I thought different levels of support would be useful as teachers range so widely in their technology expertise and comfort level. I didn’t include fees because, quite frankly, I had no idea what would be appropriate! I think that is where an investor with some business savvy could be very helpful.

        Thanks again,
        Janet

    • ping 7:45 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet,

      Love your pitch! It’s a great idea to help teacher with their PLEs. Knowing the market with your own experience of pain points, you pitch give a through plan of solution, market and finance for your venture. You deliver the venture pitch with passion and confidence, that impress me deeply, and make me believe that you are the right person to lead this venture, and you’ll do a great job to make it successful in the targeted market.

      As for suggestion, I’d like to know more strategy of your services. You proposed 3 levels of services, ranging from free website and paid mentorship. Do your plan to help teacher at the beginning of the PLE, i.e. to establish it, or do you plan to continuously serve them in the life cycle of their PLEs? I think that makes different scope of your venture, and will make a different business model as well as revenue at the end. Personally I think the life-span services will ensure a more stable subscription and will monetize your research of the market to a wider extent.

      In addition, I would have asked for more analysis of the cost & gain services, especially the face-to-face ones. How much will you charge for a f2f workshop or mentorship? In my impression, that would be costly, both for your venture (the flight travelling maybe) and your clients. I would suggest you think about online workshops, or just base them on the available social community platforms.

      I would invest in this venture with these enhancements. You’ve done a great job, Janet!

      Ping

      • janetb 1:09 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Ping,

        Thank you for bringing up a few issues – I definitely think the plan would be to support teachers past the initial start up of the PLE phase and continue on through the life cycle of the PLE. With the ever evolving role and capabilities of technology, I would think that having someone do the research, find new things and provide some solid evaluation of them would be worthwhile to many teachers, so I think the venture could continue to grow and support over time.

        I don’t know how much to charge for the various levels of service. Currently, our rural district often pays a small fortune to bring in specialists for pro-d events, so I think the money is out there for f2f workshops. Certainly, there could be a tiered plan though, so a workshop via elluminate or something similar could be arranged at far less cost than a f2f workshop that would involve travel costs. I do think that part of my plan is to reach those teachers who are not actively involved in technology, so the f2f option would be important to include, though.

        Thanks again for your great questions!
        Janet

    • gillian 9:32 am on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Janet,
      Very well done – and I’m not just saying that because I was part of the PLE team! Both pitches were clear, straightforward and honest in their approach.
      Your explanation of the market and the pain point speak to me on a professional and personal level as a teacher in BC who is currently facing the implementation of the BC Ed Plan.
      I was most impressed by your approach or rather your commitment to meeting teachers at their level with three offers of support. In doing so, I believe you hit on one of the key resistance factors to implementation of new technologies and new ideas into practice.
      My only criticism is in your cost analysis. I think you have undervalued your start-up costs even if you don’t pay yourself. I also think it’s important to show your value to your investors and should therefore include your salary in your “ask”. I would give you more!
      gillian

      • janetb 1:12 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks, Gillian – I definitely struggled with “the Ask”. I estimated two part time salaries at about $20,000 each and then another $35,000 for marketing and site design advice/support. Estimate might be too strong a word … more like wild guessed 🙂 Definitely an area to work on and/or get help on for a real venture!

        Janet

        • gillian 2:16 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          This was an area I would have liked more information and/or resources on as well. Maybe an activity that involved the whole cohort would have been beneficial – or at least something to cut our teeth on.
          gillian

    • Chelsea M Woods 9:35 am on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Wow, I love your idea, it is timely and relevant! You have made clear the pain point, particularly the BC education plan, but also the general evolution of education as well as the challenge of time and overwhelmed teachers. Your ideas about potential markets are solid. Starting ‘small’ with BC will provide time to develop the program and systems for your venture. You sold yourself well as a champion, although I wondered why you offered to work for free: perhaps instead you could delay payment until the venture becomes financially stable. It seemed from your ‘ask’ that you want to start with Humanities and Elementary, but I would add Science, Math, and an integration specialist because as PLEs take off I think we will see single subject studies fading out because they aren’t practical in a real world context.

      You did not go into depth on competition: were you able to find companies that are providing similar support? Another area to search would be developments in the IB Programmes: are they addressing PLEs? Would IB schools be a potential market?

      You seem to be planning on being the sole support employee in the beginning: what is your plan for providing the support you are offering considering the size of your market?

      Overall I would support your venture after you thoroughly review the competition, develop your organizational structure to include more specialists, place the CEO (yourself) in a more executive position, and clarify training and expertise of your staff.
      Chelsea

      • janetb 1:18 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Chelsea,

        Your question about including science/math brought up a pretty big miss in my venture pitch … my teaching area is math/science, so I would be that specialist! Totally should have included that – yikes. I didn’t even notice it was missing until you mentioned it. Oops.

        I couldn’t find any competition that directly related to helping classroom teachers. There were lots of sites about setting up your own ple, or specific courses that were offered that incorporated ple’s, or tools that could help organize a ple, but none that provided help to classroom teachers, used to a f2f environment, who didn’t need a ‘canned’ course, but help reorganizing their own courses towards PLEs. Well, none that I could find – it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I found a few inspiration speakers that would come and do key note addresses about PLEs, but not any that provided personalized support.

        Thank you for your helpful questions – if I were to move ahead with this, they would be very valuable.

        Janet

  • HJDeW 6:50 am on July 28, 2012
    1 votes
    |
    Tags: digital learning badges, , , game changer,   

    Imagine earning your gold level digital learning badge for your personal educational efforts in ETEC 522! Learn more about this disruptive, game changing technology and how learning badges will revolutionize open, online learning environments. See how LB4U will connect learners with opportunity. The ELEVATOR PITCH is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBbyzDwaEDc The VENTURE PITCH is found HERE.

    Continue reading LB4U – get your learning badge for 522 here! Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • jtpatry 1:00 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Good Day Helen,

      Thank you for your pitches, you can hear and feel the excitement in the elevator pitch for this possible venture. Despite my own pedagogical and philosophical perspectives on “earning” badges to represent learning (are the learners learning, or just wanting to get that badge, what about those students who are aren’t able to achieve, etc) you are absolutely correct in stating that more demand is being voiced in regards to accountability. With social media becoming almost intertwined in daily life, I think your venture has great potential to be woven into this type of learning market. I haven’t joined the fourSquare world, but I do see how people become “hooked” into this type of activity and enjoy having the recognition for his/her accomplishments or achievements. Parents would also benefit from seeing what levels students have achieved and can follow along with their child’s learning development. From a business standpoint, I would be willing to invest in this company as I can see a dollar value potential (and return and profit from the original investment). Schools/boards I’m sure can’t wait to jump in and get in on this opportunity.

      Thanks,

      Jon

      • HJDeW 5:51 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the feedback Jon. I too have some issues on philosophical levels, but so many learners within ‘standard’ learning environments will work for extrinsic motivations as a step to gaining internal motivations. With social learning environments so tightly tied to student success, it is the disenfranchised and disengaged that need this type of support to succeed. Helen

    • janetb 8:32 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen,

      Your elevator pitch is engaging and thoughtfully laid out. You made a good argument for the need for celebrating our successes and providing us with a visual reminder of what collecting badges used to be like. I think you are right that having a way to “display” one’s badges online could be trend that catches on.

      Good luck with your venture!
      Janet

      • HJDeW 5:53 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Janet…. as a former special education teacher who worked with students who just needed to be able to show off some accomplishments, this product caught my attention.
        Helen

    • Claire Burgoyne 4:32 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen,
      Your pitch for LB4U is well done. You sound excited about this venture and clearly explain its features and why you believe it’s beneficial. As I understand it LB4U supports extrinsic motivation which isn’t the trend in educational reform efforts. That said, some people do like to collect stuff and having the option to accumulate badges may appeal to some. I’m just not convinced that the opportunity to participate in LB4U will contribute to student engagement and lead to meaningful learning.
      Claire

      • HJDeW 5:59 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Claire, I respect that on philosophical grounds there may be many who would not invest or purchase this product. It provides and external symbol for something that should be internal and intrinsic. The mechanism for creating something that explicitly demonstrates what others have achieved, especially those whom a learner may respect and look up to, will give some students the goal and learning path to achieve more than they would otherwise. Just look at what is happening at the Olympics! I watched young divers watching the bronze medal winners today and aspiring to follow their path. Learning badges are just another way for ‘expert’ learners to model and show the way.
        Helen

    • gregcamp 8:39 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen, you can hear in your pitch that you are passionate about your venture and believe in it. I like the idea of the badges that can be displayed online to celebrate success. I think this is likely a market more targeted towards elementary school students and as an investor I need to know how I am going to make money and I need convincing that this product wouldn’t just be a fad and disappear within a short timeframe.

      Greg

      • HJDeW 1:57 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Greg, the market would not be limited to elementary students, but that would be part of the potential market. It would be marketed to individual learners at the adult, higher ed level first, and move cautiously into younger learners (with research and design being done to ensure that it is the right move, of course !!). I see this as being ‘sold’ to individuals just as the ‘certificate’ or ‘transcript’ are currently ‘sold’ to learners by their learning organizations. It would be a value-added to the ‘award’ for achievements gained. So, once I receive my certificate from MET, I can migrated my info to the secure LB4U site and there receive the digital images of my courses and achievements which I can then show and share to the world…. does that make sense?

        It can also them be embedded into my resume when I go out job hunting for those elusive ed/tech jobs OR be incorporated into my CEO blog/web presence for all to view. Bragging a little, yes! Sharing my path of success for others to emulate, perhaps!

        Four square is not a fad and look how people are flocking to earn badges and share their social activities with others. This is the leading edge of a potential tsunami! Jump in before you get swept away.

        Have I convinced you to invest! Hope your funds are in transit! 🙂
        Helen

    • chrisaitken 12:50 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I think that with the increase of PLE style learning badges will become mainstream. The market probably won’t be for courses like ETEC 522 which are part of a credentialing program, but for learning that takes place through social participation on the web. There is the potential for people to learn anything they want on the web without the help of teachers and courses and this valid learning should be recognized somehow.

      However, with Mozilla Foundation already establish an open framework for badges I wonder where the revenue stream would come from. Is funding possible through a Canadian government agency? Perhaps. But without detailed information on the business model I might wait and see what transpires with badges through the open source movement.

      • HJDeW 2:04 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Chris, waiting could potentially leave you out of the windfall once this product hits mainstream. LB4U is positioned to make the most of the OBI by working in partnership with learning organizations (such as UBC) and with learners to provide secure, transfer of data and achievements -rather than each individual applying to UBC for their learning badges on completion, this will be streamlined and design of the badges would be done by LB4U (with approval and control of brand by the learning organization). We are the ‘go-between’ just as Facebook is social media. OBI is the mechanism, hence the proposed partnership with Mozilla in R&D, but our proprietary work in display and design would be where the actual money to be made resides. Hope you don’t miss this ‘boat’. Invest in learners today!
        Helen

    • lisamallen 11:07 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen,

      It’s clear that you are passionate about your venture and you have really backed up the ideas presented with theory (which is comforting as an investor). I would have liked to have seen more information on your competition and what sets you apart from them.

      Overall, great pitch!

      Lisa

      • HJDeW 5:24 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Lisa, your feedback is appreciated. There are a few competitors in this ‘business’ in the US, but none in the Canadian marketplace, that I discovered. But cross-boarder, internet based businesses are not uncommon so it is worth investigating further.
        I guess what really sets LB4U apart is our knowledge and experience in the Canadian education field. Hope that is enough to keep Canadians buying and supporting Canadian ventures.
        Helen

    • maybacon 11:45 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen,

      You make an excellent presentation and exude enthusiasm for your venture. Although some may have philosophical reservations about this type of venture, several people could benefit from having markers for signaling and commemorating their achievements. As an investor, I would be concerned with the philosophical issue, which has already been cause for criticism among existing reward systems (such as the one available through Khan Academy). Nevertheless, I believe that this kind of motivation will play an important role in the future of education.

      Excellent pitch and good luck with this venture!

      May

    • Leonora Zefi 7:44 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Your enthusiasm and confidence in this venture came through your pitch Helen. You clearly articulate what B4U plans to do and what it needs to be successful.

      Concept and Marketability
      I think the concept of B4U to validate and celebrate learner success is a good one. I can see market opportunities for this venture in being incorporated in electronic portfolio applications and as you have pointed out, strategic partnerships are absolutely crucial for venture success.

      Venture plan and financials
      Your plan is well thought out and your venture analysis is very thorough.

      Thanks,
      Leonora

      • HJDeW 8:20 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Leonora, your feedback is helpful. I’ll look forward to our continued venture relationship when we meet to ‘share the funds’. 🙂
        Helen

    • Leonora Zefi 10:10 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Sounds good to me Helen 🙂
      Leonora

    • ping 9:49 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Helen,

      Great pitch! Your idea is totally innovative to me, for I’ve never heard about such kind of service in my country, but I believe there is a sure market waiting there. Online badge service could be provided cross-country depending on their international reputation, therefore I believe your venture has a prospective potential in global market, with global competitors as well as you have pointed out.

      You elevator pitch is very engaging, which instantly catch my attention. I can’t help imaging how much children and other learners will like these lovely badges shown on their websites. Your venture plan is very informative, with professional demonstration of your solution, marketing strategy and financial consideration. I like the “For Profit” chart in the financial overview section, only with a little confusion of what the numbers represents: do they mean the number or users, or the number of badge you plan to release, or the estimated revenue in $million?

      From an investor’s point of view, I think your early awareness of Canadian DLB market is a great advantage, but for a long-term competition, I would hope to find more differential advantages on both technical and marketing level. The use of Mozilla OBI platform can be copied by other ventures, what will make yours different relies on your post-developed innovations upon the platform. The postion of LB4U in the DLB ecosystem is somewhat not anchored a little bit.

      I think you have an excellent awareness of partnership, that shows how you qualified to lead this venture. I just wonder how you will weave these partners within your framework. Your services are 2-sided, both to badge issuers and to badge displayers. That give you double chances of profit. But how about the 2 sides connect directly? I know many universities hold a system of their own to serve degree badge (and other details) inquiry. You need to make more differences to intercept in these services and redirect both sides to the LB4U platform.

      Excellent job for a hopeful venture!

      Ping

    • danishaw 9:43 am on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Helen,
      I found the idea behind your venture to be unique and interesting. You provided a great deal of content based on sound research. As is evident from most of our peer’s presentations, this can be a difficult feat; well done!
      Good luck with your venture,
      Danielle

  • Colin 3:51 am on July 28, 2012
    0 votes
    |
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Welcome to MobileCMS–a classroom management suite for mobile devices that helps teachers monitor students, show demos, and more! This product is ideal for blended-learning classrooms with tablets–both class sets and BYODs. The 1-minute video will introduce you to MobileCMS: its features, benefits, and opportunities. Click here if the video is not properly displayed. More information […]

    Continue reading MobileCMS Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • Meggan Crawford 6:48 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      I think that your venture is presenting something that would make BYOD more attainable in a lot of classrooms, but it is not an easy venture to get started! Your presentation explains your goals and theory well, though it moves a bit quickly at a few points. As a teacher who allows student use of personal devices you definitely had my interest.

      I am curious though, about potential privacy issues this may bring about – to run, I assume that your venture would need a high level of access to the student devices, which some students and/or parents may object to. If the teacher has access to a classroom set of devices this is, of course, a non-issue. As with desktop versions of this venture I would be concerned that some teachers might become absorbed with watching their screen to keep everyone on task at every moment and that the teaching itself might suffer a bit, but that is more about individual educators, rather than your venture!

      I would be interested to see this venture in reality!
      Thanks for sharing!
      -Meggan

    • shawn harris 9:34 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      Your elevator pitch is one which caught my attention. I rocked straight through and just loved the music. I listened to it over and over.
      The mobile CMS venture definitely has potential in the education market. The market was clear stating who it is designed for. You also gave a nice overview on the product features.
      I liked the fact that you had a contact slide at the end in case the potential investor needed more information to make a decision.

      On another note Colin, you did not mention who created this product nor was the management team mentioned. It would have been nice to see and hear the CEO somewhere in between the presentation to add some credibility. Something to look at in the future.
      The classroom management suit has its place in this fast growing market and has the potential to do well!

      ~ Shawn

    • Donna Forward 11:34 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Colin,

      Great, catchy Elevator Pitch. However, I think that I’m getting old because I felt rushed trying to read some of the slides before they moved on.

      When you mentioned that your product could be used for assessment and surveying the class, I immediately thought of clickers and that you were taking this concept 10 steps future will a great, innovative idea with Mobile CMS.

      I really liked your Venture presentation and the way it was put up on the WordPress site, very professional. You used humour which was great. I especially laughed at the comment “yes, this is the link you want to click on”. Your humour continued on as a CEO and I’m glad to know that you’re a very nice person, that you’re very generous and that you are going to donate all of your net proceeds back to education.

      As a business venture, your application is very well priced at $2.99 which makes it a realistic. You have really done your homework to research this idea and crunch the numbers.

      Definite investment!

      Donna

    • Ronna Hoglund 12:05 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,
      I completely understand about not liking your own voice! The only way to get over it, I have found, is to jump in there, do lots of recording and listen! It works! Now I have to get used to looking at myself on video – ick, lol. Anyway, to the point. I think your venture idea is a good one. To entice future investors, however, I think putting yourself out there as a commanding leader would do it. Thank you for sharing your work!
      Ronna

    • HJDeW 6:34 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Colin, you present a novel and interesting venture that has a vision for global reach in the niche of mobile classroom management. It certainly is one area that dominates teachers’ attention and time. Would teachers be purchasing the product themselves or would you licence to school districts?

      Your comment about teachers ‘using technology to overcome their fear of technology’ is certainly hopeful, but it takes more than using it to overcome the inherent issues of tech in classrooms. Since you plan to reinvest profits into education, perhaps supporting communities of practice rather than individual grants to teachers would be a better way to create change with your unique product.

      I was looking for the ‘ask’ for the investors, but there was no specific target amount that you were looking for from your investors. You do provide some interesting numbers for return on investment – just for markets in the US.
      Helen

    • Denise 8:47 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,
      I thought your elevator pitch was very professional and highlighted the pain points and solution and differentiation. As Shawn commented the one thing as an EVO I felt was missing was an intro to the CEO and thus the competency behind the venture. One possibility would have been a slide with your picture and a few lines eg on the WordPress blog the CEO page worked really well and could have been modified (no need for video or voice)

      The venture pitch was again really professional and I too like the clean blog you produced. i enjoyed the humour and you backed up your claims with a lot of good references. As an EVO looking to invest though I actually had to go through the site to find the investment pitch itself and while I was reading all the other material I found myself thinking it was focused on sales. I wondered, if I were unsure about whether to invest or not, whether this need to try and find the info might havebeen seen as too time consuming. One suggestion would be to lead straight to the investment venture pitch and then when hooked all the other material becomes important to explore – (and is really engaging).

      I too wondered what you wanted from the investor – it wasn’t clear, but the possible returns were exciting!

      I believe I would have wanted to know more about investing.
      Denise

    • Kenton Hemsing 12:52 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      You have put together an effective elevator pitch, even without using your own voice. The website that you created for your company is also very effective and informative for investors. It appears that you have also done a lot of research on the potential market for your product.

      As someone who is extremely interested in mobile technology in the classroom and BYOD solutions for educators I am keenly interested in learning more about your product. I have just a few questions:
      1) Obviously this product will be aimed at schools that have good and reliable access to the internet in wifi connections within. Will there be any need for schools to upgrade their existing infrastructure to accommodate so many learners and teachers accessing the wifi simultaneously?
      2) How will support be given to educators for using the product?
      3) How will updates to the program be rolled out to the users? Is it possible that one day it might take 10-15 minutes of class time to allow all users to update the program?

      Other than those questions, I am ready to invest. I think that you have a lot of knowledge about the area and the market is primed and ready for going mobile.

      Well done,
      Kenton

    • Danielle Dubien 8:13 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      The basic idea of your venture is very interesting. I agree that a lot of the features offered by Mobile CMS would be helpful to teachers, particularly the Remote Control, Demonstration Mode and Polling functions. However, the issue of class management may be solved by better training and school/district policies with regards to behaviour management.

      Also, if the teacher’s lessons are not sufficiently engaging, kids’ minds will wander. A teacher who is able to see which students are viewing inappropriate or irrelevant sites still has to deal with the underlying problem leading the kids to visit these sites. A teacher who is able to gain the trust and respect of their students is less likely to need the monitoring services like those of MobileCMS because the kids will be focused on the course content. On the other side of the same coin, a teacher who uses punitive or controlling software might cause kids to want to rebel more.

      It might be worth looking into the psychological effects of using different technologies and management approaches. In the hands of an excellent teacher, Mobile CMS would certainly enhance education. However, in the hands of a teacher who is poorly trained or poorly skilled for whatever reason, it could be a false promise. For me to invest in your venture, I would need to see consistent research results using sound methods that prove that MobileCMS significantly helps to improves students’ results and behaviour.

      On another subject, if you are going to work on apps for mobile devices for teachers, I suggest forming a partnership with companies who produce gadgets that allow teachers to hold onto devices easily. Since the teachers would be working with these devices more often, there are much greater chances that they’ll drop them, so a glove-gripper of sorts for tablets would be useful.

      Cheers,
      Dan

    • Allan 1:23 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin,

      This is an impressive elevator pitch. I think Mobile CMS is an excellent and the product is a sound investment. There is a lot of energy in your venture pitch, and I can see you’ve covered a great deal – competitors, target audiences, drawbacks. Your website in particular is a great engagement tool with your investors. I especially appreciated your FAQ section. I see that your approach centres on the presentation and not so much on your team. I think that is fine, although it would’ve been interesting to see who built this product.

      Well done!
      Allan

    • mariefrancehetu 4:14 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Colin,

      Your elevator pitch was a good combination of music and visual element, but I found the wording went by much too quickly, I had to stop the slides to read the material. I know that you were trying to squeeze in as much as possible in 1 minute . . . Perhaps putting your ideas in point form instead of short sentences might have helped with the timing.

      Venture Pitch
      I felt the web site looked professional and thought your FAQ section was innovative and very pertinent, trying to lure investors.

      As an investor however, I would not have been convinced about your venture after watching your pitch, because I did not feel there was anyone really behind the venture. The team and CEO were not presented and because of that I felt the pitch was impersonal. Perhaps a short video introducing the venture and the team might have been appropriate – your website needs a touch of warmth to give the public a sense that you are talking to them.

      I can see how MOBILE CMS would work well in an adult learning environment, helping teachers foster technology in the classroom – with a worthwhile message I can relate to: pedagogy before technology!

      Cheers!

      Marie-France

Newer posts →

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel

Spam prevention powered by Akismet