‘SLY’ Elevator Pitch

by Adam Rattray

Hi Everyone,

This business focuses on second life and moodle.

Thanks,

Adam

16 comments

1 Jeff Laird { 12.01.09 at 9:30 pm }

Very gripping presentation – I think I would have cut in Sloode shots between each of your text scene to really hook the viewer rather than leaving it to the end (a few more shots on the education interface) but you have definitely captured my interest.

2 Greg Lewis { 12.01.09 at 10:13 pm }

Very professional, flowing presentation. Moodle and Second Life together? Tres cool – piqued my interest. Loved bit about “school” – students would like that part. Like Jeff, thought maybe some screen shots interspersed might have added to your pitch but this is minor. Music “matched” colours/flowing visuals. Really well done.
Cheers, Greg

3 Cindy Leach { 12.02.09 at 2:10 am }

Wow, great presentation, loved the visuals, good pace. I agree with Jeff that perhaps some more Sloodle shots would have been great but am also conscious of the limited time for the elevator pitch. You definitely hooked me though. If I was an EVA I would want to hear the full pitch!

4 Adam Rattray { 12.02.09 at 1:32 pm }

Hi,
Cindy, Jeff, and Greg thanks for the comments. I agree that a bit more editing would have been good. Even though it could have used a bit more, I am glad it grabbed your attention.
Thanks,
Adam

5 Michel Lacoursiere { 12.02.09 at 7:20 pm }

Great pitch Adam. I think you have successfully merged these two great products with “sound pedagogy” as you say.

As for your comments on editing, I would say that I also struggled with drawing the line in terms of editing. With video presentations like this you can really end up drowning in editing work. Grabbing attention of others is key and I think you have done that here.

6 Sean McMinn { 12.03.09 at 1:21 am }

Adam,

I enjoyed your elevator pitch. I would have to go with Cindy and Jeff on the point of being able to see more examples of the technology being used. But the idea of combining SL with Moodle is a great one (I’ve come across SLOODLE before), and it’s worth investing more research in this area I think.

I can’t seem to access your full pitch though. I would like to see how you idenitify the market what your business plan is.

Sean

7 Byron Kask { 12.03.09 at 7:12 pm }

I did not know Sloodle existed until now. Adam, looking only at your elevator, I’m not sure if this is a pitch promoting sloodle or if SLY is a venture that supports/distributes/customizes sloodle, or even somethin else. I can’t get your full pitch to play, so could you clarify this for me? It’s got me intrigued, but I’m not sure what you’re offering.

8 Bev { 12.04.09 at 5:14 pm }

Hi Adam: Very interesting pitch. Is Sloodle real? I’ll have to go check- I don’t know anything about Second Life.

I think you have a great idea here. Your point about students who come here to study wanting to stay or continue in the same type of program is so true-
We’ve had 3 exchange students and 2 of 3 wanted to continue on. The third one has stayed. What I am a little confused about is what the course content actually is. You said you have accredited teachers and that as the students become more proficient English language speakers they could join in science or math etc. classes. Further on you say that your main target audience is university students- so are these university credit courses?- or just general interest courses? or high school courses?

I am wondering if you have allowed yourself enough time for content development. I don’t how long it takes just do develop the product- but it might be likely that you will need a year to really get things up and going- not sure.
Overall this was an interesting pitch that has targeted a real gap.

9 Adam Rattray { 12.04.09 at 6:03 pm }

Hi Sean and Byron,
It should play. I tried with both IE and firefox and it works. You should have at least flash 8 to play it. If you don’t have it you can down the latest flash player at adobe for free. Just copy and paste this link: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=BUIGP

Hope this helps.

Adam

10 Adam Rattray { 12.04.09 at 6:13 pm }

Hi Bev,
Thanks for taking the time to view my pitch. This is an ESL school that can also offer subject based interest courses. The biggest fault of ESL schools is that they only study English. They should be using English as a tool to learn other things. Those that truly become proficient in English tend to have achieved success this way.
It will not be an accredited school even though it has accredited teachers. This, however, may change if we see a demand and decide to go through the lengthy process of accreditation.
Most of the course content for this course has been created. Therefore, it is more a matter of getting things up and running.
Thanks for your feedback,
Adam

11 Barbara Mair { 12.05.09 at 8:04 pm }

Adam,

Adam, I am looking at this as an EVA. Initially looking at your pitch i did not understand anything. For me it was not “down to earth enough”, i “did not get it”. Had i had 1 more engaging elevator pitch i would not have seen your full pitch. Now looking at the in depth pitch i find it very attractive from an investment point of view.
Your market from what i see are the overseas students wanting to learn English as a foreign language and engage in day to day activities over a period of time in a cost efficient manner. I think the market for this is HUGE and focusing on Japan, a “rich” economy is a good strategy. Merging Moodle and Second Life is brilliant because you achieve your objective very well. I am a little skeptical about your financial numbers. 100K to develop the product and market it in a foreign country seems a little low. Also your 3rd year expenses are substantially lower than your 2nd year which is very hard to believe. I think you have a very promising venture that has potential all over the world, and i believe that if you are online and successful in one country you will get spill over from other countries. Before i invested i would like to see more detailed expenses and revenue projections.

12 dawinder mann { 12.05.09 at 9:57 pm }

Hi Adam,

Good use of flash on your elevator pitch. After seeing that it made me want to redo my own elevator pitch using flash. I did not have any problems playing it like other before me.

Your pitch really got my attention and if that was the goal I think it was really successfull.

Good job.

13 Ernest Pao { 12.05.09 at 10:35 pm }

Nice looking pitch video, Adam! Well done! The questions you posed in your elevator pitch video were fun in a ‘fantasy’ sort of way and made me want to learn more about your product. The screen captures at the end of the video were visually appealing and gave me a sense of what Second Life looks like.

I did look at your full pitch in more detail. I must admit that I may be a bit biased as I am an avid Moodle user and have heard of Sloodle before. I was most intrigued by what it can do and what your plan is.

In your executive summary, I like how you mention that this product would be ready for an educational market such that in Japan. I’m not sure here in North America, parents would be as accepting or open-minded to this type of learning platform at this point in time. Starting in Japan then expanding elsewhere is a good strategy.

I thought you did a great job in your pitch slide/video presentation. You provided some background information about the parent company, market demand, role of Moodle, integration of Sloodle, business model, competing schools, costs, and your target audience. Most importantly, you have answered some really important questions I would have as an educational software investor…”what does it do and how would it help students learn?” You seem to have mentioned financial data throughout your presentation, both means of revenues and projected costs. Numbers such as these are always difficult to predict and are merely estimates. Nonetheless, having some estimates shows you have considered these financial aspects in your business model. Well done. I think you have the makings of a strong pitch and it would be worth of potential investment.

Cheers!

Ernie

14 Adam Rattray { 12.06.09 at 2:35 pm }

Barbara,
Thanks for taking the time to look at my full pitch. You made many good comments that will help to improve this product. If this product were ever to go to market, it would definitely need better financial projections. The numbers that I provided are more of an estimate.
Thanks again,
Adam

15 Adam Rattray { 12.06.09 at 2:36 pm }

Hi Dawinder,
Thanks for the comments.
Best,
Adam

16 Adam Rattray { 12.06.09 at 2:40 pm }

Hi Ernie,
Thanks for taking the time to view my full pitch and for providing feedback. Your feedback was very helpful as it was clear and to the point.
I wonder what your impressions of sloodle are? Guess we will have to save this discussion til a later time.
Thanks,
Adam

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