Noah’s Elevator Pitch
Two.o Tutoring
Using open software and free applications, we are able to help set up face to face tutors with an online presence that will not only help them help their clients but also allow them to advertise through social networks.
Full coverage in e-learning e-vesting nburdett_etec_522_pitch
or the highlights…..Pitch etec 522 nburdett
13 comments
1 Ernest Pao { 11.28.09 at 5:14 pm }
Nice job, Noah! You’re video turned out well and the enthusiasm in your voice is apparent. Well done!
Ernie
2 Barrie Carter { 11.28.09 at 7:46 pm }
Hello Noah:
Great idea! Tutors would definitely be making more money, having not only f2f tutorial sessions, but also online tutorial sessions.
Sharon’s pitch on Homeworkclub.bc.ca offers similar services… perhaps a merger? LOL
Cheers,
Barrie
3 Noah Burdett { 11.29.09 at 1:54 pm }
I realized that after seeing here pitch, merging is good thing.
Noah
4 Adam Rattray { 12.02.09 at 1:37 pm }
Hi Noah,
Great editing skills. Your voice corresponds very well with your visuals.
Cheers,
Adam
5 Omar Ramroop { 12.02.09 at 1:53 pm }
Hi Noah,
Your elevator pitch is quite well done. Although there are many different types of tutoring services being offered through the Internet, a place where tutors can self-market themselves and network out their services is a great idea. Naturally, I had to take the dive.
Your entire pitch is wonderfully presented and unique in its format. I felt more like I was reading a feature article in a business e-journal than simply a venture pitch.
The greatest asset that a venture such as yours has is in its ability to be launched quickly and effectively at minimal costs. You effectively control the growth of the venture while choosing where to focus your services. While the blended service you are providing is not unique with regards to creation or development, it will still prove to be beneficial as you are saving clients time and resources. Many businesses thrive off of that mentality. People are willing to pay money in order to save their time, efforts, and resources.
There are difficulties whenever attempt to enter a “new” or innovative market segment. One such challenge for your venture is that once you have effectively broken down all of the barriers of entry, competitors will naturally enter the field offering comparable services. You would have to stay on top of your own training and development as well as add additional members to your crew.
Overall, I would invest because I see it is as a low-risk venture. Minimal costs and operating on open-source platforms should require minimal investment capital. If you ever think about starting it up, I would invest some of my time in your venture as well 😉
Excellent and thorough job!
– Omar
6 Noah Burdett { 12.02.09 at 7:45 pm }
Omar,
Thank you for both your comments and your offer of help. I am working with my wife and her biology tutoring client right now as a way to help work out some of the bugs and to see how exactly it works in the real virtual, I will try and keep you posted with links through the blog, or you can email me your email if you like,
noahburdett@gmail.com
7 Erica T { 12.02.09 at 10:01 pm }
Here is my formal review of your pitch as an EVA:
Your 42 s elevator pitch clearly outlines the online tutoring and collaboration sites that are available and reflects the overwhelming nature of parents who wouldn’t know where to begin.
The PowerPoint presentation again highlights the various applications available but I think you need to put a larger focus on what your company provides that users couldn’t find on their own for free.
I really enjoyed the newsletter format and thought that was a VERY creative way of highlighting your company’s offerings.
As a teacher: I will briefly pick on the spelling errors in your document. I assumed that it would be proofread anyway, before the pitch goes to the printing press. ☺
This document, however, shows competitors and market viability very effectively. This was a great creative way to analyze your company.
Because I am limited to shortlisting only 3 pitches out of 10, I still need to be convinced that your company will bring me profits as an investor and that you will draw paying customers.
8 James Richardson { 12.04.09 at 9:56 am }
Hi Noah,
I really enjoyed your entrepreneurial spirit and creativity in your pitch. Your trilogy of different media captures the benefits of each. The video clip is fast paced, up beat and to the point. Your pitchman skill rivals the slapchop/shamwow guys (and that is actually a good thing). The slideware is professional, clean and well laid out. The spoof e-vesting review article could have used some spell check but the medium was the message. We have seen the value of the use of interview as a means to deliver a credible message. You have clearly analyzed the market and your competitors on many levels. Your niche is well suited to the leaner more nimble operation you envision. Your closing remarks and heartbreak Helen’s Dragon’s Den style analysis was a great way to deliver your reflection beyond the entrepreneurial hype.
Most parents looking for tutors want some face to face time and so the local market is large and does not lend itself to offshore tutors. Giving the local neighbourhood f2f tutor the skills to expand online is attractive. Many tutors are retired teachers and would likely not have existing web expertise so the consulting/training fees you could generate may be substantial. A house visit from a computer service tech can easily run $60/hr. A tutor typically charges $30/hr.
Would I invest? probably not as I am not convinced that high enough returns would be forthcoming as a silent partner. This business model does not need a large capital injection and lends itself to mom and pop funding and initial internal marketing. You would need to have a noncompetition clause worked out and offer clients the opportunity to partner and expand your network. Would I recommend Two.0 Tutors to teachers and students? Absolutely. When do you open shop?
Jim
9 Brian Powell { 12.04.09 at 12:07 pm }
This is my formal attempt at a review of your pitch presentation
Overall I think the elevator pitch was very good, as good as some TV commercials I’ve seen if you could get it under 30 seconds. It should be packaged with the venture pitch as a sample of how qualified you the team is with technology. The full venture could use a spell/grammar check especially if you consider who the market and buyers are. The market is tutors or Math and English specifically, I’m not sure for what levels k-12 or higher? I’m not sure how big the market is but I think your product and plan are scalable. Your elevator pitch suggests where you would look for tutors. If you asked for investment it doesn’t sound like too much and you could probably make another pitch as you grow. Overall it’s a good idea, not requiring a big investment or incurring big risk. Good work.
10 Ammar Al-Attiyat { 12.04.09 at 12:29 pm }
Note: Due to time limitation, I’m replying directly after I reviewed the pitch content, apologies for any duplicate remark(s) already raised by other colleagues !!
Hi Noah,
Thank you for the great pitch (elevator, PPT and the Newsletter). Great Job.
My remarks;
– Big plus that the business model is based on consultation service, this will make the starting seed money quite reasonable.
– I liked the idea that you’re endorsing different e-tutoring platforms/tool, this will make you platform independent and select the best tool/technology that would suite your e-tutors (i.e those with verbal skills will prefer Skype, those with written/visual will prefer Odijoo and so on).
– I think potential investor will like the fact that the business owner is himself a teacher (business competency)
– My worry regarding the economy of scale as your business model is starting with f2f consultancy with real life tutors and it appears to me it’s more of a one-man-show company, I think you better invite fellow teachers/ MET students as prospect business partners.
– To tackle the economy of scale issue, I also suggest you think of investing time/money in the start to design a training certification track, something like the “e-Tutor Certification” (OK, I don’t want you to compete with UBC MET : ) !! it’s a rapid experimental course that gives the basics given in e-learning format, allowing you to generate another revenue beside the f2f consultancy and help as a marketing tool for your company.
Good luck 🙂
11 Mark Reed { 12.04.09 at 2:22 pm }
Noah
Your presentation format is interesting and effective. I think your section reviewing potential weaknesses is very insightful. The product is well thought out and indeed there are challenges in finding effective tutoring services over the net. I would suggest that if your were able to develop a product that provided tutoring support based on an individual’s personal learning style you may be able to offer a service that is not as prone to copycats. By teaching tutors you have effectively identified an emerging or new market for your venture. Another aspect, which may be helpful for the success of yourventure is the small scale model. The market potential is identified effectively in your brief as very lucrative but when large companies are involved their associated costs tend to go up as well. Therefore, as I believe you are trying to present in the business model you are employing (individual training so they can initiate their own client base) has an inherent value in that as soon as a business hires more employees they need to find the customers to support their employee base. Perhaps your model also suggests that tutors can be as busy as they want to be either full time or part time.
One area I am not sure about is how the asynchronous vs synchronous contact with clients will be addressed but that is a more detailed concern. For example, would times be set up for access with a customer in a forum or would there be a data base of resources to access for support. You do say that service will be on a 1- 1 basis and that tutors will be trained to use various tools that I presume suit them. A few more details on the actual product would be helpful – how the training will occur and what it will entail.
Overall I think the venture is a good idea. It is well presented and has some good potential for development. In terms of getting a return on my investment I would be hesitant to invest at this point based on the uncertain potential for profits.
12 Annette Smith { 12.05.09 at 2:18 pm }
Hi Noah,
I really enjoyed the creativity of the newsletter. I think it speaks to the creativity you bring to this venture, and as it seems to be a primarily one-man show, that is very important.
I think the market for individual tutors is large, it certainly is in Toronto where I am. Given that, there would be a large market for you and your services. Bringing tutors to OSS solutions and free software is a brilliant idea, and after seeing your pitch I would have to say that you seem to have the tools to bring it to fruition.
Good luck!
Annette
13 Len Pelletier { 12.05.09 at 2:59 pm }
Hi Noah, here is my formal review of your pitch as an EVA:
First off, your elevator pitch is well crafted and well spoken. I’ve seen commercials on TV that were inferior to your pitch! It certainly does the job an elevator pitch should – explaining exactly what you do in such a way as to intrigue me, as an investor, to find out more.
Typos aside, your choice of newspaper format was a creative way to explain the details of your business. It allowed me to get a sense for the personalities involved and other intangibles that a stiff powerpoint presentation would have failed at. This being a fictional production, it was difficult to turn off my “snakeoil salesman” radar, but if this was a real newspaper and Heart Break Helen was a trusted e-learning expert, this would lend credibility to your venture.
You did a good job pointing out the weaknesses of your venture. Unfortunately I think these are substantial. Convincing clients that you are a necessary part of their tutoring company when you are using tools that they can get by themselves is difficult. You mention that it’s not the tools but the expertise one how to use these tools that you’re selling, but considering this fact and the small scale economy represented by your market, I don’t know how much you can realistically expect to charge.
Nonetheless, you forestall some of this through your well-constructed breakdown of the potential for the e-tutoring market. I think you will be able to find investors for your project!
You must log in to post a comment.