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  • Sherman Lee 11:51 pm on July 29, 2012
    2 votes
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    Tags: A3   

    Hello, I am Sherman Lee, CEO of cDesign. I work with a team of dedicated instructional designer and corporate training strategists in partnership with Level-5, a video game company to put together this course design tool that does not only let you create, but also guide you through instructional best practices. Launching into the $130 […]

    Continue reading Hello, I am Sherman Lee, CEO of cDesign…. Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • Donna Forward 2:04 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Sherman,

      Very clear and well laid out Elevator and Venture Pitches. Your slides are easy to follow and presented neatly. I like your idea of creating a partnership with other companies and not rivalries.

      One critique I might add is that I would have like to have seen you present more of your future plans and go beyond just the first year outlook for C-Design.

      Good work,

      Donna

      • Sherman Lee 8:37 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Donna,

        In hindsight, I do want to project more into the future of cDesign. Stepping out of my CEO role play for a bit, while I was writing up my venture, I question my source of information. Since this is not a real venture and we don’t have budget to work with, I didn’t have real market information from surveys. From that standpoint, I reserved to saying that I will make 1% of the market in first year because of the lack of information on resistance and saturation point of the market. It would definitely be interesting to know though. If this venture was real, I would conduct a survey before I even do this pitch.

        Thanks for reading 🙂

        Sherman

    • Ronna Hoglund 5:59 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman,
      I think you presented your company very well. I was happy to hear your voice and see your picture. However, the power of video presentation has become evident to me in this course and might be a consideration for “next” time (I am guilty of NOT doing that myself). Other than that I think your idea has GREAT potential and you were very clear on your “ask”.
      Thanks for sharing your idea,
      Ronna

      • Ronna Hoglund 6:00 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        p.s. I would invest!

        • Sherman Lee 8:45 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Ronna,

          Thank you for investing in my venture! I have to thank Dragons Den and Kickstarter for my “ask” section. I was too shy to do it at first because I have never really pitched before and I am very used to just letting people offer whatever they think I am worth, but my boyfriend, who’s a web design freelancer showed me a couple of real pitches and coached me through the process he would go through when he is doing a pitch. I think it really helped me.

          I agree with you 100% on the video part. I regret not doing it but I was in a toggle of between doing a video feed or just voice over. The funny story behind this stems from the project I worked on in my company. I had to come up with an introduction to our teaching program to our business partners and originally we thought, you know, since our core project group know the project inside out, it would be good to film one of us in the intro instead of hiring an actor or getting upper levels to do it. That proposal was rejected and marketing explained that the age and voice of the person has a lot to do with the buy in of the user. And the comment was my team was pretty young so it would deliver a stronger message if we have someone older doing that. Anyway, that was my rationale of not putting my face on there. Looking back though, there are a lot of young venturers so I think I was thinking too much about what the marketer said to my team.

          Thank you again for investing in my business 🙂

          Sherman

    • Meggan Crawford 7:05 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman,

      As a potential investor I am very interested in what CDesign has to offer, though I have a few questions as well. Your pitches were very well organized, clear, and professional. As Ronna said, it would have been nice to see you speaking a bit. You highlighted some key points that give strength to your venture, in particular the information about expected retirements creating a gap in the next few years drew me in. I also liked the use of word clouds.

      I am curious, however, about what you mean by interactivities – does cdesign include templates for games? discussions? What other types of interactivities? As well, in your information about the potential market you mentioned that the first number was simply for one corporation – were the national and North American numbers also based solely on one corporation? If so, what are the larger possible market numbers. My last question comes from the suggestion of partnering with large lms providers – do you think that your competition would be willing to work with you when cdesign could replace large aspects of their company?

      I would be curious to see the answers to these questions, but am encouraged by your pitches and would be a strong potential investor!
      -Meggan

      • Sherman Lee 9:07 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hello Meggan,

        Thank you for your interest in cDesign. My team certainly put a lot of effort into creating this web application. The interactivies cDesign delivers include games, quizzes, puzzles, quests and simulations. Our game development partner, Level-5, offered a lot of expertise in terms of presenting challenges to users in many different ways. If you are interested in seeing some of the samples of Level-5 interactivity, you can definitely refer to their well-known role playing game series – Professor Layton. The only difference is, our users will get to be a part of the game design and twist the professional game interface to fit their own content. Imagine how this could help engage learners and how much more effective this would be in a classroom versus our ordinary course authoring software.

        My first number for the potential market was for a single corporation. The second number is the total of all corporations within Canada. In other words, if we reach ALL corporations (which, of course would be a HUGE success) we would be dominating the $18 billion market nationally. This is the same for the North American market.

        Partnering with large LMS providers is actually quite possible. I think cDesign threatens not the LMS providers but the corporate training consultants. LMS is a tool, and the corporate training consultants does what cDesign offer, but at a much higher price. The partnership between LMS and cDesign is one that would take over consultation firms. I see that we will have a challenge in regards to building the trust in our potential client. As some of our potential customers express worries for not having a real person to talk to and put together courses for them. Although our forum and ongoing support to our customers is in place, I propose that a trade show presentation and trial versions be distributed to show the ease of this tool. If anything, cDesign only make LMS more powerful and appeal to the unexplored market of smaller companies with too little resources at this time to even attempt eLearning on their own.

        Please let me know if there is any other point that is still cloudy, I would be more than happy to clear those up for you.

        Again, thank you for your interest in cDesign.

        Sherman

    • shawn harris 8:36 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman,
      Your presentation in the pitch is rather neat as I am sure you worked very hard on it. The voice over was very clear, the graphics and fonts were good. I was really looking to see the founder/CEO/Executive Director. I am not sure who is speaking. The CEO speaking in person to me would show more credibility and would give the potential investor your commitment for your venture. You also did not make mention of the management team. I might take a negative inference based on the fact that the CEO was unwilling to talk about the team.

      Nevertheless, there’s potential for Cdesign, I think it needs more information though on the target and global market for me to think about investing.

      ~Shawn

      • Sherman Lee 9:16 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Shawn,

        First of all, thank you very much for your time in reviewing my venture. It is my regrets that at this time a lot of our team members are still tying up other work they have with outside companies, so their identities were not to be revealed.

        (jumping out of the role play for a second, I actually put down a couple of big names for the executive team, but I was thinking that this video would be loaded onto YouTube and I took a step back and deleted all of them. In hindsight I really should have asked David if we could or could not role play all the way in a new venture like this. I was concern about privacy and freedom of information issues even though this is a school project. I was thinking a bit too much).

        I will definitely take your advice to heart and make an appearance in my future pitches. Perhaps I will ask my executive team to give a speech too to build trust with interested investor like yourself!

        Sincerely yours,

        Sherman

    • shawn harris 9:38 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      love your spirit Sherman! All the best!
      ~Shawn

    • HJDeW 7:24 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Sherman, you have carried the CEO role of your company well!!!
      You have outlined your company direction, product and vision clearly and directly. The market potential and partnerships will certainly help with your returns. I found your option to turn competitors into partners quite interesting.

      I’m not familiar with how corporate training occurs, but your venture indicates that LMS may be a possible opportunity for improved distribution. For smaller corporations, your product combined with an LMS delivery system would appear to give your product a competitive edge.

      I would agree with others that have already commented that having your ‘presence’ in the venture and/or elevator pitch, even for a portion of the presentation, would help investors gain ‘buy-in’. As it is, your venture is worthy of investment, your personal pitch presence would make it a sure thing.
      Helen

      • Sherman Lee 11:06 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Good evening Helen,

        Thank you very much for your interest in cDesign. Corporate training is usually on a very tight budget and because most of the knowledge is sensitive to changes in company targets and direction of the year, many of the training is not built to stay. Therefore making training a very expensive aspect to sustain should it be constantly contracted out. Of course, we are then left with only subject matter experts to come up with courses, which, as I have mentioned, is not the best way because they have no or little pedagogical knowledge. Hence, cDesign leverage on the fact that corporation would spend money on the migration over to our company in exchange for a long term saving.

        As I have said to other investors who had mentioned my lack of presence, I will definitely present myself more clearly as the CEO next time. I like your idea of presenting at least for a portion of the presentation. I will keep that in mind.

        Thank you for your investment!

        Sherman

    • Dave Horn 11:24 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman

      I thought that you had an excellent venture concept, which was well researched and supported. I really liked how you addressed the fact that your competitors offered similar products in terms of the tools, but that you had the advantage with actually providing the training and experience.
      The market would appear to support the growth and development of such a venture, especially if you could move into the North American Market.

      As an investor I was interested by both your elevator pitch, and venture pitch, and would like to move on the next step of seeing the full-scale venture plan and implementation.

      I would agree with others that you could work to carry a little more weight and emphasis in your voice, but you were clear and easy to understand.

      Great Work.

      Dave

      • Sherman Lee 9:48 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hello Dave,

        Thank you very much for your investment in cDesign. I agree 100% that if I make an appearance with my team, we would probably have drawn more people into our venture. I look forward to contacting you and going over the full-scale venture plan and implementation. It will definitely be even better than what you have viewed so far as our team has learnt from the pitch experience and made improvement to the overall planning.

        Looking forward to prospering with you in this venture!

        Sherman

    • Kenton Hemsing 1:19 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman,

      Your presentation is clear and effective, however, it would have been nice to see your enthusiasm rather that only hear it.

      As for the company, I am curious about the partnership with level-5 and what their stake in the company is. Is this a contract agreement with them or is it a business partnership/subsidiary? I think knowing the answer to that would make me understand full what I would be investing in.

      I would be interested in also seeing an early version of the program and how the templates and system works for the actual users. That would definitely convince me to invest my money.

      Thanks,
      Kenton

      • Sherman Lee 9:56 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hello Kenton,

        Thank you very much for your interest in cDesign, and for your further inquiry in our business structure. Hopefully I will be able to provide you with a satisfactory answer to our vision here.

        cDesign and Level-5 is in a business partnership. Level-5 is actively developing the next game in the Professor Layton series. In this partnership, cDesign has made an agreement to provide them with pedagogical expertise in return for their animation work for our project. A lot of the templates are results from the development of the new addition to the Layton series.

        We can arrange a time for you to either come to our headquarters or connect with you through gotomeeting, so we can show you the power of this program.

        Talk to you soon,

        Sherman

    • Danielle Dubien 9:25 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Sherman,

      I’m glad to see a venture about corporate instructional design. Your venture pitch is fantastic and very nicely presented! It contains strong reasons supporting your venture, simple images and not a single word was wasted! This is the most effective use of wordles I’ve seen. Your tone of voice and speech rate were great. Your enthusiasm and confidence are clearly evident!

      What concerns me about this venture is that it seems to negate the need for knowing learning theories, applying multimedia instructional design principles, differentiating skills vs. knowledge, targeting the level of learning objective (Bloom’s taxonomy) vs. the degree of proficiency, knowing how to motivate students or engaging them with a hook and so on?

      The idea of combining all of this with game design templates seems like a lot, given that game design alone is complex, never mind using it for instructional purposes. The only way out of all of these issues would be to have thorough instructions at every stage of course development. Even then, would the “designer” understand what they are doing? Not to mention that graphic design has an impact on instructional effectiveness…

      There is certainly a great advantage to using the subject matter experts and forming partnerships with LMS companies, but I’m not certain this is the best way. I would have to see how the program works in different situations to be convinced to invest. I think your marketing plan is realistic with a start of reaching 1% of the Canadian market share. However, I would have liked to see references indicating the legitimacy of the data. I like that you would be listening in on discussions in the forum to obtain user and educator feedback.

      Once again, I think that your pitches are presented very professionally.

      Cheers,
      Dan

      • Sherman Lee 10:25 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Dan,

        Thank you very much for your advice and interest in cDesign. It is very true that ultimately the understanding of learning theories and principles is very important to delivery the most effective lessons. At the same time, corporations that cannot afford instructional designers and only has enough time to enlist subject matter experts into a training project can definitely use this tool. It takes years to build that professional grasp onto the concept of instructional design and what cDesign offer is a fast track for those who do not have a starting point.

        cDesign is by no means there to replace professional instructional designers, but it is there to provide a solution which may not have even existed given a corporate structure usually would bypass anything they cannot afford to go for the less costly.

        However, I do appreciate your comments, Dan, as it will help guide cDesign towards betterment. From your suggestion, we will try to make our design guidance as clear as possible. We will also consider providing a more accessible route for users to contact us for assistance if required.

        We hope to draw your interest in the future, once we have deployed cDesign and be able to present to you more solid data.

        Should you be interested, please subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.cDesign.ca (this is fake… kind of want to just complete my role play).

        Cheers,

        Sherman

        • Danielle Dubien 5:02 pm on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Sherman,

          Thanks for clarifying how your services would be used. I’m ready to invest in your venture.

          Cheers,
          Dan

    • Denise 2:33 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      HI Sherman,

      I too really appreciated your elevator pitch and venture pitch. You were enthusiastic, the presentation was crisp and clear. Like others I would have liked to have “met” you in the elevator pitch, but I wasn’t too concerned about it being video. – the way you presented on the venture pitch would have been adequate. I also think you could have slowed your delivery just a bit in the elevator pitch – it was perfect in the venture pitch.

      I was enthused to go on to view the venture pitch by your elevator pitch and remained very interested in investing in your venture. I think you would present well to in the corporate world and this would also encourage me to invest in the venture.

      Some of the previous posts have made comments I would have made too, so I won’t repeat them. I did think that it really is a solution for supporting pedagogy of online learning without having to have professional instructional designers and would mean that much more could be achieved in an organisation without the time and wait for the professionals. I don’t think this concept is limited to the business world…

      It would have been good to see some of the designs and screens that cDesign uses (but it was a hypothetical).

      I certainly would be considerig investing after these pitches.

      Denise

  • admin 6:56 pm on July 29, 2012
    2 votes
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    Tags: A3, ,   

    I have put all of my work together at http://www.mrmckinnon.com/ossltonthego1. The elevator pitch is on the first page and the subsequent webpages flesh out the venture. For those of you that are not familiar with Ontario’s curriculum, all students in Grade 10 must write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). It is written in […]

    Continue reading I have put all of my work together at ht… Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • dmcinnes 12:33 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job Jody!
      I thought your pitches were clear, concise, engaging and realistic. Both appeared well researched very professional. I had some questions about “assigned teachers” to provide feedback. Is that something that already exists, or a service your company would provide?
      At this point, I’d be a little on the fence, but might be willing to invest. Well done!

      David McInnes

    • Jody McKinnon 4:23 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi there. Thanks for your comments. IN many schools, a teacher or group of teachers has the responsibility for preparing students for the test. In my school, it has been the core English teacher. So in this case, he/she would be the ‘assigned’ teacher. This way no teacher is responsible for no more than 22 students (the class size cap for Applied courses in my board). I hope this clarifies it for you. Thanks!

    • Yves Mainville 10:47 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Yes, I would invest.
      Your presentation was dynamic and engaging and pretty much grapped you by the eyeballs from the start. 🙂
      I much enjoyed the format of your presentation – simple to navigate, concise and to the point. I would like to hear more about the market expectations and before actually signing on the dotted line, would like to hear more about motives behind the users (as it is the MEO that wants high grades in this case, and not necessarily the students, no?).
      regardless, this holds potential for me.

      well done.

    • Brian H 11:11 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Jody,
      Jody,

      I really like the app and service but I would not invest under the current fee structure. If all approx. 900 Ontario High Schools purchased a licence for $50 you would have a total revenue of $45 000 minus app store and processing fees. You would have to bank that a major amount of parents would purchase this app at $5 price point.

      I would be interested in this venture if the app could be sold directly to the Ministry to provide the services to all stakeholders free of costs. Otherwise, the market is too small to cover the overhead costs to properly deliver the services promised (staff, hardware, network, development, support ect.)

      Thanks,
      Brian Hotovy

      • Jody McKinnon 12:32 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments. The purpose of this app was to not make money. The fee was nominal on purpose. If this were a real venture, my hope is that the government would have invested in it and provided the differences in costs.

    • Ronna Hoglund 11:47 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,
      Thank you for sharing your elevator pitch with me. I do think that you presented a compelling pitch, however, as a parent of a 17 y/o boy in the Ontario public school system, I would be very grumpy having to purchase “extra” help in any format for him to succeed. That said, my children (I also have a 19y/o daughter) were both successful with the test and I am sure there are other parents and teens who might appreciate it.
      Ronna

      • Jody McKinnon 12:33 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I hear that Ronna. IN theory, if this were a real app and the province paid for it, parents would pay nothing. Because in theory, this app is free for the user…only more if the parents want to receive the reports and controls.. Thanks for your comments.

    • shawn harris 11:50 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,

      Great job on your pitch!

      I think that your focus on this new educational app to help risk learners is very fitting for the current educational technology market! I would surely invest. This is certainly an area with potential for growth in the next several years not just in Ontario but in the Caribbean and other developing countries. I thought that the tone of your pitch was very professional, clear and to the point. This venture seems convincing compared to others I might add.

      I think “No student should be left behind” could be your company’s slogan. What do you think?

      Jody I notice you did not talk about the global market or did I missed that? Is this new app only for Ontario? Are you planning to go global? We have literacy exams here in the Caribbean too. Your team seems credibility and look highly spirited.

      By the way, loved the video about you receiving the Olympic Torch in Dec 06. That must have been an awesome experience. Thanks for sharing with us!

      Overall, I do think your venture has a good market that is increasingly growing overtime. You have provided a detailed venture pitch with information about the market and the product. The concept is a good one… again, thanks for sharing it with us and all the best!

      ~ Shawn

      • Jody McKinnon 12:34 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments. My market is local and I have no interest in going global at this time. I don’t know much or anything about the structure of tests around the world, However, if this were a real venture and it worked well here, it could easily be adapted for export to other jurisdictions. Thanks!

    • Jody McKinnon 8:10 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Colin. Thanks for your response. You are correct in that it is a niche market and that is what I wanted all along to begin. Should it prove worthwhile in the real world, it could easily be available for all learners preparing for the test. I had thought about the tax break thing for investing, but I wasn’t sure about how that would work or if it would be realistic or legal. I’m not a marketing expert, entrepreneur or a business person. I’m just an English teacher that wants to see boys be more successful on the literacy test. Thanks again!

    • Hussain Luaibi 10:55 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Jody
      Neat work! Everything was done nicely. I think your venture will find its place in the market easily especially you mentioned that you prefer it to be in the local market. With the statistics you provided in regard to failing percentage of the exam takers specifically among boys, I presume the market welcomes such education-oriented business initiative because it is simply needed. What helps here is the fact that it is a unique attempt.
      However there is one thing that makes me a bit hesitant which is the profit. You are driving at moving the investors to put their capitals in such a project but you don’t promise them with a good financial repay. Jody, you are addressing and dealing with investors not philanthropists!
      Good job!
      Hussain

      • Jody McKinnon 3:47 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Hussain. Thanks for your comments. The purpose of my venture was never to make a profit. You’ll notice that I’ve positioned this as a way to fit a corporate social responsibility model…i.e. a way for the company to give something back to the community. Thanks again!

    • Dave Horn 11:39 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody

      I thought this was a very well done venture both in presentation and in concept. You were very clear in you elevator pitch and I think that you have hit on a market which does exist. Working in a school with students who are often disengaged and who struggle to study I could see the use for a mobile review tool with extrinsic rewards. I know in BC there is a slow removal of some of the standardized testing and I wonder how this trend could affect the OSST?
      As an investor I would be interested in seeing the full venture plan and implementation scheme, as even if the OSST were to be removed this tool could be adapted for other testing needs.

      Very well done

      Dave

    • mariefrancehetu 7:17 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Jody,

      I was impressed with both your elevator pitch and venture pitch. Both looked quite professional and offered a good balance of visuals and text. As CEO you inspired me confidence that you know your stuff.

      Your venture pitch and entire website was well researched and you really covered all possible questions a possible investor might have. Just one little thing, some of your lines on your web site overlap near the bottom and make it difficult to decipher those last few lines. Otherwise the whole look of the web site is appealing and as an investor I would certainly consider investing in your venture!

      Congrats on your hard work . . . it really paid off!

      Marie-France

    • Sherman Lee 12:26 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Jody,

      Just as an aside, I can see your care for your students through your venture, and I think that is a great thing as an instructor myself. Putting my investor cap back on, your OSSLT on the go has potential. Your elevator and venture pitches were effective. The elevator pitch was efficient and effective. One personal pet-peeve of mine is dragged on and slow-paced elevator pitches. I see them almost like a commercial for investors – too slow and you killed the budding interest. Your venture pitch was well presented, and has your elevator pitch nicely embedded in it for easy referral. Overall, it was a great job!

      CEO & Team: You left the best till last. I think you had a great structure that you introduced what your product was attempting to address and how it brings value to investors before reinforcing that trust with the introduction of you as the CEO and your highly capable team. By doing so, you gave a reason for me to remember you and your team by!

      Venture Concept: I think this is a plausible concept. Being very familiar with the tutoring industry, I know how product that is driven by a standardized exam could draw a lot of interest. This is not only interest coming from the students, but more so from the parents. And what’s better than an app that you can easily take anywhere with you. This definitely beat those phone-book size study guides!

      Marketability: I like it that the users get to use this for free. It is often easier to manage by schools if the students don’t have to pay. That is a big draw in for this market. Do you have any plans on expanding your market beyond who you have identified? I see that the at risk and also the re-write as more of a niche market. Since this standardized exam is for Ontario, I can see that it is of your best interest to reach as much of Ontario as you can. Another suggestion would be a global market. Yes… although your product was created for a niche, it doesn’t need to stay in it. Again, from my tutoring experience, there are parents who are thinking of immigrating to Ontario who might be interested in this as well. This would, of course, be a great marketing feat to reach deeper into the immigration population. There’s lots of potential, so make sure you plan things out!

      Venture Plan: I would like to know a bit more about your plans for kick-off. How are you going to promote this product? What is your plan for dominating the market and keeping your product unique?

      With such a great pitch, I would like to invest in your venture. Prior to committing a solid amount, I would like to further discuss with you in regards to the OSSLT on the go business model and marketing plans.

      Thank you and great job!

      Sherman

    • Kenton Hemsing 8:13 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jody,

      I would invest for the greater good of the students, the ask is not much and the outcome makes it worthy of an initial investment. However, I do have a concern and that is with the government’s reaction to more students being successful on the exams, will they respond by increasing the standards and making the exam harder if future sessions? I know that some provincial exams I have had experience in administering have a set expectation that a certain percentage of students fail.

      I think that a venture like this could also be expanded to include apps for other provincial or standardized exams, (I am not very familiar with the Ontario system), but in Alberta something like this would be useful for all other provincial achievement and diploma exams.

      You pitch is excellent and very well constructed. Great work.

      Kenton

    • Jody McKinnon 1:54 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Greetings all from Iceland..I”m still up after 36 hours, so I apologize if this post isn’t that coherent. Thanks for all of your comments since yesterday. I appreciate the feedback and do see that something like this could work in not only Ontario, but abroad. Re: the test getting easier? I’m not sure I buy that, but there will always be kids that don’t pass. We just need to make that a lower number. Anyway thanks again for all the excellent feedback. I’m not likely to post again. A pleasure working with y’all!

    • mackenzie 4:56 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job! You presented the problem well and introduced the solution clearly. Your visuals enhanced the message I was intrigued to know more about your product. I would not invest in your product since I am not a big believer in teaching to a test, sorry. Great presentation though.

  • Dennis Pratt 9:53 pm on July 28, 2012
    -1 votes
    |
    Tags: A3,   

    Welcome to SAFETY TRAINING FOR YOUTH. As a construction teacher and MET student I am in the right position to help digitalize construction teaching. Watch the elevator pitch and visit my venture pitch and reflection in Google Docs. I think you will see my passion and desire to see safety improved in construction classes. *photos […]

    Continue reading Welcome to SAFETY TRAINING FOR YOUTH. As… Posted in: Uncategorized, Venture Forum
     

    • Jody McKinnon 4:17 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      HI Dennis. I think you are on to something here. Your idea is a great one and I would hope that it would be developed and implemented immediately. Safety is our number one goal and I think that by putting in a digital form, you could probably catch your audience’s attention even more so. In fact, it might be fun to make safety videos with your students to add to your collection of legit safety videos. The idea seems very solid and could easily be sold or given to other jurisdictions as you have stated, it’s a not for profit idea. I didn’t see or hear anything about your CEO and Team so I couldn’t comment on that. Overall, I think it is a great idea that should be pursued immediately, if not sooner.

      Jody

      • Dennis Pratt 2:34 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Jody;

        I can’t wait to get going on the project and plan to initiate it this year over my last two courses. I had a hard time thinking of myself as a CEO for this venture as I do plan on organizing it but don’t know what kind of money will be involved to get it off the ground or see it through until the end. I tried to just mention my credentials and leave it at that. I think many people find it difficult to talk about themselves or sell themselves to others.

        I appreciate the feedback as it is sometimes hard to come by, even amongst your colleagues.

        Thanks,

        Dennis

    • Yves Mainville 11:21 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      Solid elevator pitch and quite relevant. I think it is very ‘à propos’ in current educational circles and the ministry’s push into trades.
      I like the mobile accessibility of the product.
      I would like to hear more about the competition and the market before investing however. Being somewhat familiar with this area, I think strategic partnerships will be key as well.

      Well done.

      • Dennis Pratt 2:28 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Yves;

        I like your idea of strategic partnerships as the initial networking would be more work but it would pay off quickly. As for the competition, I did not touch on it as much as I could have, mostly because there is not much available for youth specific training. There are a few websites put out by the government but they are mostly text and aimed at older youth. I can see this project aligning with Occupational Health and Safety at the provincial level and maybe even getting some government funding through them to develop quality resources.

        Thanks,

        Dennis

    • dmcinnes 1:59 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Dennis,
      It sounds like a good concept. I can imagine how difficult it is to get all the students on the “same page” when many are absent on days that proper operation of tools, or safety demonstrations are conducted. What I wonder about though is how relevant will the videos/apps be when different shops use different tools, and various brands of tools? Also, is there a convention of set standards across Canada or does it vary province to province? Are the differences slight enough that it wouldn’t matter? I wonder if it might become a bit of a hodge podge with some manufacturers videos, some of your own. Would your identity/branding get lost in the shuffle?
      Overall well done.
      David McInnes

      • Dennis Pratt 2:24 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        David;

        Thanks for the feedback and I have the same concerns myself. Most of the construction labs have a basic set of tools and that is where I will start with the simulations and videos. After that set is done I would branch off and specialize into tools that are less common. I can see the library growing and evolving with time. I really like what the Khan Academy has done with their library of videos and would try to do something similar over the years that I am teaching. Eventually I would like to get others involved, maybe through a contest so I am not the only one producing professional quality videos and simulations. For the most part there are similarities between most machinery and that is a great starting point.

        Thanks,

        Dennis

    • dmcinnes 2:00 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      p.s. I forgot to add that I think Workers Compensation Board might really get behind a project like this. Maybe some funding would be available.

    • kimnoel 1:16 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      Nice pitch and a very relevant venture idea. I love the app idea and I think that this could be something other than a “not-for-profit”! Didn’t hear anything about the company or team, but I think you should run with this (hopefully all the way to the bank!) 🙂

      Great job – Good Luck!
      Smiles, Kim

    • Danielle 2:32 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      Great idea for a venture! I also like your elevator pitch. How you personally introduce the idea and follow up with examples is quite effective . As an investor, I would probably want to see more information about your marketing strategy, championship, and the competition. However, I think the venture speaks for itself and certainly has the potential of taking off. Well done!

      Danielle

    • jtpatry 11:06 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      Great idea for a venture concept in the hands on construction learning environment. Safety is always key in these types of environments and by having a mobile app with video data banks to refer back to or engage with prior to using machinery is a great idea. Getting the students involved with the venture would be a great idea as that someone mentioned above!

      Thanks for sharing!

      Jon

    • mackenzie 4:31 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I liked the elevator pitch it showed your problem and your solution. It caused me to look at you venture pitch more thoroughly. I liked the simulation idea but wonder if simulations are the way to go with such a hands on topic. I like the PHET simulations for physics and find them very useful and they save me large amounts of time with lab set up and take down. I would love to actually see one of these simulations since PHET was set up with nobel peach prize money.

      • Dennis Pratt 8:51 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Yes, the simulations and videos will be where most of the money goes. I would have a laptop or iPad set up like a kiosk where students can go to reference the machines they are supposed to know before they operate them. They would have to complete the simulations successfully a few times before getting on the actual equipment.

        Thanks for the response.

        Dennis

    • Bridget 5:53 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      Thank you for sharing your pitches and after reviewing your elevator pitch I have the follow comments.

      I like the way that you video-taped yourself in front of the tool bench since this immediately gave me an idea of what you would be talking about. I also found the pictures to be effective especially the x-ray.

      As a time saver, videos are a great idea and work well within the realm of a flipped-classroom concept but I am not certain that they need to be recreated since a selection of safety videos already exist on the internet. I would have to weigh the value of the time and money spent reproducing these videos. If there is a reason for them to be specific it was not evident in the elevator pitch.

      Bridget

      • Dennis Pratt 8:55 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Bridget;

        I struggled getting everything into the elevator pitch as time seemed to go way to fast. I would have to produce new videos, for the most part, that target youth specifically. The safety videos that are available are mostly created for industry and adults. Youth need more focus and reminders about what the main points are.

        The best example I can think of is Bill Nye. He creates amazing video about science that are created specifically for kids. If you have ever seen him speak to adults he is not so animated or exciting as he does not have to be.

        Dennis

    • sheza 7:54 pm on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Dennis,

      I think you have a great idea here. There is a huge push in all districts, provinces and many workplaces that deal with the trades to hire people who are well-trained on the safety of working with machinery. I liked the simple and straight-forward nature of your elevator pitch, though it would have been good to see some more aggressive marketing to an investor in there. I think you could effectively pitch this venture to the WHIMS Board or as you mention in your venture pitch, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety because your product could fill in the gaps left by their guidelines.

      I especially like the fact that your product will consist of simulations that students go through to learn about the machinery and the safety precautions to take in using it – this is a feature that will give you a competitive edge over other safety resources available online. Launching this product as an app is also a great way to reach youth.

      I think that their is viability in this venture and that you should pursue it! I would be interested in investing after seeing a more clearly worked out business plan.

      All the best,

      Sheza

    • Hussain Luaibi 12:21 pm on August 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Dennis
      Your project has potential success in it. What makes it so is the fact that you are highlighting an important factor in the field training and education: safety. In spite of the fact that you didn’t refer to the CEO and the team working with him, your project is still outstanding in terms of potential profitability. I think your idea can be a great haven for a lot of vocational institutes and schools due to the practicality of the project.
      As for investing in your project, well, I would love to do it of course after considering the rivals of such idea.
      You need to keep on to make it a real one and not only a 522 assignment.
      Great job
      Hussain

    • toddpowell 10:51 pm on August 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Dennis,
      I have had many conversations with my school’s shop teacher about many of the same issues that you are highlighting. There is a great need for your project, and I would love to see this available in the future!

      Cheers,
      Todd

  • jtpatry 9:44 am on July 28, 2012
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    Tags: A3, , ,   

    Welcome to KidTweet, a mobile and web-based platform for elementary and middle school teachers and students. Elevator Pitch “KidTweet” The Venture Pitch can be found and read here: JPatryA3VP(KidTweet) Thank you! Jon

    Continue reading KidTweet Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • vawells 3:01 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon
      Thank you for sharing such an original useful idea for teachers and students. I can see the uses for this tool in and out of school. I enjoyed viewing your elevator pitch and venture pitch. The visual in the background of your elevator pitch was a good idea and your pitch was delivered with conviction. As you state in your venture pitch more research into startup costs would be needed to establish how much of an investment you would be looking for.
      One suggestion I would make would be to include how this service would make money for me, the investor.
      Again thanks for sharing
      Valerie

      • jtpatry 12:49 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Valerie,

        Thanks for the feedback! After viewing many others EP I noticed that they included the money bit. I know I should have included it in my pitch, or something to give it a more profitable boost. I think I got really tied up in the concept itself and how I see the potentials to be an effective tool in education.

        But for sure, I know it missed that bit!

        Thanks again!

        Jon

    • unclereg 10:44 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Jon,

      Creative name and application. I do not use twitter and didn’t know of its age restriction. This would be great to implement/offer at the elementary level. I liked the idea you made about students being given a chance to use a more kid-orientated version of twitter to build up social responsibility at a younger age. I would invest in this. Great job. Great delivery.

      -Regen

      • jtpatry 12:53 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Regen,

        Thanks for taking a look and throwing your support to the venture. I would really encourage you to take a closer look into joining the Twitterverse. It is a world of 24/7 PD and an expansion of ones current PLN. You don’t have to be contributor to use the tool, you have the flexibility to “follow” those that are worthwhile and have substance. Give it a go, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. You can always set up an account and follow my name @jtpatry and take a look at the educators and professionals that I follow and see what they have to say.

        Cheers,

        Jon

      • unclereg 9:56 pm on August 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hey Jon,

        In response to my initial posting, here is some more for your idea. Again, I love the idea because I’ve seen a similar twitter page work successfully in the Surrey School district regarding the topic of technology. Thanks for the recommendation to join twitter verse, I’ll be sure to join.

        Prior to your presentation I was not aware that students under 13 were not marketed for twitter use and were also not allowed to use the program. I think this is a great way to get younger students integrated into using these sorts of social media as a way to give them practice and responsibility to appropriately post to a site such as kidtweet. If students are not given proper access then they cannot truly practice concepts as ‘netiquette’. This idea will also give students access to communicate with students from within their district and beyond. So many times students do not get a chance to meet other students in the k-7 years prior to attending secondary school. I think this venture is a great way to build relationships between similar age students from different schools. Great idea Jon. Would like to see this idea up and running. Good luck.
        -Regen

    • karonw 7:43 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon,

      I think that you have came up with a great venture and concept and it sure fills in the gaps for the elementary/middle school level students and teachers. As an EVA, I think you did very well in articulating your elevator pitch, it was very convincing and you have provided all the details that would motivate and engage one to invest in your product. Also, you sounded very confident which added bonus points to your pitch! I have reviewed your venture proposition and see the benefits and gains for the educators and students but not so much as an investor. If I was to invest in this product what are my gains in revenue? Would it be increasing the registrations at my institution as this product will help my school prepare students who would be responsible individuals in the real/digital world and engage in the global community or would it help me make a profit in another way? I think if you can provide me with this detail then I would definitely be more convinced to invest in KidTweet.

      Regardless, excellent effort and work on your venture.

      Karon

      • jtpatry 4:23 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Karen,

        Thanks for the feedback and questions. I know I really didn’t have much for the investor, I got really excited about the possibilities of the idea, and left that to the side. Probably not the smartest move in the Dragons Den. More thinking that I was going to invest the capital then anything. Some folks haven mentioned the idea of advertising, which I never really thought of, and the idea of licensing/subscriptions would be something valuable to include too.

        Again, thanks for the feedback and questions. Really appreciate it!

        Jon

    • lisamallen 10:48 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon,

      What a great idea and I thought your elevator pitch was fantastic – completely engaging and well done.

      My only suggestions here, as has been noted by other peers is more details on how the venture can make money for the investor. Also, since I am not a teacher myself, it’s a little unclear how twitter can be integrated into the classroom – what are the benefits of having it incorporated in teaching with younger kinds. Maybe I missed this but it wasn’t really clear.

      Cheers,
      Lisa

      • jtpatry 4:21 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Lisa,

        Thanks for the feedback and questions. I know I missed the boat on the “how I’m I going to make money” piece. I got really excited about the possibilities of the idea, and left that to the side. More thinking that I was going to invest the capital then anything. Some folks haven mentioned the idea of advertising, which I never really thought of, and the idea of licensing/subscriptions would be something valuable to include too.

        The idea of KidTweet (or Twitter) being incorporated in the classroom would be to connect with other classes or students, post questions, share/summarizing learning in 140 characters or less. Pretty much the same way many of us utilize twitter now. Its all about connecting, communicating, and
        sharing.

        Thanks again,

        Jon

    • maybacon 12:47 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon,

      Elevator Pitch: Strong elevator pitch. You present yourself very well, clearly and concisely. This appears to be a very useful product in terms of education, adaptation to social media and Internet safety for minors.

      Venture Pitch: This pitch is compelling and well researched. I like the product as an educator and a parent, the concept is excellent for the contemporary social and educational arenas and having a service such as KidTweet could encourage schools to be more open to social media applications and BYOD programs.

      Your market research was thorough, though I would have liked to know more about the competition (apps or Twitter extensions that could potentially supplant KidTweet by operating under the Twitter umbrella). I also wonder how KidTweet will make money – will schools purchase a license to use KidTweet? Will KidTweet include ads? Could children also get a KidTweet account under parent supervision at home, or is this service exclusively for schools? Is there a possibility of following existing Twitter accounts but filtering tweets through the teacher for moderation first?

      I hope you move forward with this venture, as it is a brilliant idea and full of potential! I love the idea of allowing children to practice being good citizens online while protecting them and their future reputations from potential harm during the learning process. Excellent work!!

      May

      • jtpatry 4:13 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi May,

        Thanks for some great feedback! The “idea” of KidTweet from what I searched out is one of a kind other than its older counterpart of Twitter. What I think takes this idea to the next level is that the concept is self-contained under its own umbrella, and you don’t have to worry about the security settings such as Twitter, and presently, if I wanted to use twitter in the classroom, the paper work needs to be completed and it would most likely get kiboshed for the potentials of inappropriate material from other postings. Twitter doesn’t provide the option for the filtering of tweets (teachers in the beginning would need to approve tweets and if there are inappropriate ones, it becomes a teachable moment. As for advertising, never thought about that. I know with many educational sites out there, half the time they dont’ even know what is being shown, and I have come across some pretty hefty religion promotions even in some of the sites my students use. If i know what is being advertised or promoted, can’t see why not.

        If parents are wanting to take on the supervision of their own children’s accounts, heck yes they can sign-up. But again, teachers who are providing this service with their classes might not necessarily “follow” the student.

        Never thought about the idea of following existing twitter feeds, I have no idea if that would work, would be something to look into as their are some really great teachers, educators and professionals to converse with.

        If I had the payroll to take this seriously, I wouldn’t hesitate in getting the ball rolling. I know there is more to it, but the idea is there.

        Thanks again May.

        Jon

    • ping 1:34 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon,

      Impressive elevator pitch, and thorough venture plan! I like your idea, and the funny logo too. For students with mobile devices, the KidTweer is a good solution to link them together in a learning community. I mostly like your idea of experts online as consultants. I’ve thought about that myself. It would be a great learner-centered learning style to have students surrounded by experts anywhere and anytime.

      My question is that how do you identify those experts in the virtual society, by their professional category or others? And how do you redirect questioning students to these experts? Will the students post questions on their own KidTweer pages, or will they find easy connection to the expert right have knowledge in his interest. I might need more market analysis as for how many partition of kids under 13 will be allowed to have a mobile daily, that would help me to ensure a market size and potential return.

      Ping

      • jtpatry 4:17 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Ping,

        Those are really great questions. I think to establish those experts its by doing research before hand. Similar to showing any links to students, teachers must insure that the material is appropriate and kid-friendly.

        Yes indeed it would be great to have more market analysis of how many kids do indeed use the mobile devices. I know from what I discovered, the number keeps going up. This particular service would be offered in a web-based platform as well, allowing for all to contribute somehow (in or outside of the school environment)

        Thanks for the questions and feedback,

        Jon

    • Leonora Zefi 8:09 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Your elevator pitch message is very clear and to the point Jon. You touched on all the key elements pertaining to this venture. By posing questions and providing answers to them, you kept me engaged.
      You did an excellent job in differentiating between kidtweet and tweeter.
      Your vision for the venture was clearly conveyed

      Concept and Marketability
      Kidtweet is a very original concept and your research shows the growth potential due to the large market for kidtweet. Capitalizing on strategic partnerships with ScuttlePad gives the venture a competitive edge.

      Venture Plan
      You have given a lot of thought to the implementation plan. I like your approach to appealing to the investor highlighting the economic and social benefit of the venture.

      Thank you for sharing Jon.

      Leonora

    • chrisaitken 1:14 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      This is a very good idea. Twitter is an excellent place to learn but most schools block Twitter and sites like it. I think KidTweet would give students an opportunity to connect with other students and teachers around the world – exciting! I actually quite surprised there isn’t already something like this out there. If there isn’t I’m sure there will be soon.

      • jtpatry 10:13 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Chris for taking the time to view the pitch! I have had my eye on the social media market for a platform like Twitter for kids, but no dice. You never know, KidTweet might just be it 🙂

        Thanks,

        Jon

    • Chelsea M Woods 9:44 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Terrific idea, Jon! I like the idea of giving students a Tweeting practice ground to explore what makes an appropriate tweet, and develop their understanding of follower, following, and mundane vs. relevant. I’ve heard of a few versions of Facebook for schools, but not of kid versions of Twitter. Thank you! Chelsea

      • jtpatry 10:14 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Chelsea! I think at some point very soon there will be a platform like Twitter for kids, maybe this is the one 😉

        Thanks for taking the time to view the pitch!

        Jon

    • gillian 9:16 am on August 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon.
      What a great idea – despite some of the risks you so openly identify, I think you would have a fairly easy time of it getting this idea off the ground!
      I thought your venture pitch was perfect. It was simple and straightforward, allowing the viewer to focus (visually and aurally) on what is important, you and your message and the venture itself. I found the pitch and the presenter to be very professional and definitely would get me to want to know more as an investor.

      Your venture pitch was equally impressive and what’s more … honest. I thought the overall presentation was well researched and logical. The focus on security measures was important to sell this venture to both teachers and parents of your target age group. You also demonstrated some practical uses for the product in a classroom setting which is also important for the buyers of this product – who is not the user.
      Finally, I appreciated your honesty in your self-evaluation. I think many of us circled around the cost factor – I know I did!
      gillian

  • Colin 3:51 am on July 28, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: A3, , , ,   

    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

  • David Vogt 6:07 pm on July 27, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: A3, ,   

    I’m starting to get some A3 submissions so here are detailed instructions and a further chance to ask any questions you might have. A3 Posting: Please post your A3 to this blog before midnight this Sunday (late submissions can’t participate in the Forum).  Be sure to select the “Venture Forum” category for this post so […]

    Continue reading A3 Postings and the Venture Forum Posted in: Announcements
     

    • jtpatry 11:20 pm on July 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Good evening Dr. Vogt,

      I am a little unsure of how to embed or link a pdf file to the reply. It also doesn’t a spot to select the venture forum. I’m I missing something or should I just be creating a new post? Thanks.

      Jon

    • David Vogt 6:34 am on July 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jon –

      One way for making a PDF available is In the Dashboard area, under “Media”, by selecting”Add New” to upload the document into the blog, including getting a link for it. But you can also link from other document hosting sites or embed using something like Scribd.

      And if I understand your question, when you create a new post, the “Categories” selection is on the right side, with “Venture Forum” being among these (the 7th).

      Hope this helps,

      David

      • jtpatry 9:42 am on July 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Perfect! Thats what I thought we needed to dow as just create a new post, but the message stated to reply! Thanks

        • David Vogt 12:27 pm on July 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Jon – Each A3 submission should be a new post in the Venture Forum. That enables PulsePress to be activated successfully.

          David

    • janetb 8:09 am on July 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi David,

      You mentioned that we don’t have to post our “reflection”. Is that referring to the self-evaluation mentioned on Evaluation Rubric, or is it something else? Any particular format you are hoping for or is it fairly open-ended?

      Thanks,
      Janet

      • David Vogt 12:28 pm on July 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Yes, Janet, I’m referring to the self-reflection part of the rubric – this doesn’t need to be posted, simply submitted to me separately with the complete assignment.

        Cheers,

        David

    • shawn harris 11:09 am on July 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi David, I would rather distribute my Venture Pitch just to those specifically assigned to review it. How ever, should they send me a copy of their review by email or will that be shared with the entire group?

      ~Shawn

      • David Vogt 11:26 am on July 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Shawn –
        That’s fine if there are elements of your Venture Pitch which you don’t want public disclosure of for intellectual property (IP) reasons. Most reviews don’t delve into IP, but I won’t argue with additional caution. Please ask your reviewers to also copy their reviews to me when they forward them to you.

        Cheers,

        David

    • shawn harris 1:46 pm on July 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi David,
      Should I send both the Venture Pitch and Elevator Pitch to the Reviewers? Or the Elevator pitch has to be posted here in the forum?

      ~Shawn

    • David Vogt 9:53 pm on July 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Shawn –
      Post both if that’s convenient. The elevator pitch is a minimum; the venture pitch is something you can control the distribution of .

      David

    • Sherman Lee 9:54 pm on July 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi David,

      I ran into some major difficulties with my video converter that I use to convert powerpoint into videos. It was working when I did my test slides a week ago, but everything is out of sync now. I don’t know if I would be able to fix the problem before midnight. Is it okay if I send you the PowerPoint Show instead? I am not sure how to post this onto the blog 🙁 Sorry for the inconvenience. Just discovered this when I was reviewing the videos today.

      Sherman

  • David Vogt 9:44 pm on July 22, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: A3, ,   

    Hi everyone – Wow – week 12 already!  What a rush… I know everyone is deeply immersed in their A3 assignment, so just email me if you have any last minute questions. The protocol for A3 submission is that you should email your completed Elevator Pitch and Venture Pitch directly to me so that I […]

    Continue reading Anticipating A3 Posted in: Announcements
     

  • David Vogt 12:55 pm on June 24, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: , A3, ,   

    Happy Sunday – Everyone has their A1 grades emailed back to them now – please let me know if you haven’t found yours, or if you have any questions. And as your A1 analysis helps set the stage for your A3 pitch, please let me know how I can help your progress there.   For […]

    Continue reading A1 Returns Posted in: Announcements
     

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