Eveline’s Elevator Pitch & Venture Pitch

by Eveline Yu

11 comments

1 Annette Smith { 12.02.09 at 8:14 am }

Hi Eveline,

I can’t follow the links to your presentation.

Annette

2 Omar Ramroop { 12.02.09 at 10:26 am }

Hi Eveline,

This is an interesting idea. I am wondering, what exactly will these teachers be qualified to teach? If the program is only 1-2 months long, part-time, I would assume they would fulfill the role of teacher assistants or the equivalent.

The serious games component is interesting. I am imagining that it would act as a the “practicum” for these teachers. Although, we all know that until “serious games” make a serious leap into deeper levels of virtual simulations, there is nothing that is the same as being in the classroom 😉

Overall, I like your idea and see promise.

Best regards,

Omar

3 Adam Rattray { 12.02.09 at 1:56 pm }

Hi Eveline,
I don’t think the links for your post are working, but I like the general idea of a online teacher training course. Like Omar I like the serious game component. I am imagining a game where students cause problems for you as a teacher and you have a time limit to deal with it 😉

4 Eveline Yu { 12.02.09 at 3:21 pm }

Annette, I have uploaded the files onto our Media Gallery (if you go into Media, and then Library, you would be able to see the files there). The elevator pitch is fun – 30 seconds, so it should be easier to download.
The full pitch is quite big, so you can email for that if it takes too long to download.

5 Eveline Yu { 12.02.09 at 3:31 pm }

Omar and Adam,

The program is short as it is a training session for tutoring companies around the world. It is a preview of what teaching in a classroom would be like – without having to go through the entire teaching program.

Having taught in Japan for a big publishing company, and being trained for 2 weeks straight in Vancouver prior departure and 2 weeks straight in Japan upon arrival, it was very fun, but stressful.

These companies train individuals to teach using their teaching materials, so it is less formal than teacher training.

Basically, training provided lesson delivery and first aid, as well as the customized curriculum for that company. There were hundreds of classrooms all over Japan – and designed in the exact same way – with the same displays on the wall, the same teaching material, and the same procedures and lesson outcomes for each day. It would be great to run through these in a serious game format.

Although classes are about 50 minutes each, nevertheless, I did have to see an average of 400 students every month, at 4 different “classroom” locations.

I just think if we did not have to commute everyday to these training in Vancouver – that would eliminate interview processes and training commute time – as driving into Downtown Vancouver everyday can be quite stressful. =)

So that is where my idea came from. Teacher Training – get a taste of the real thing.

6 James Richardson { 12.02.09 at 8:05 pm }

Hi Eveline,

The voice over powerpoint was catchy and effective although there was a bit of a humming sound. You kept it to the 30 seconds and although it was a bit rushed (by virtue of the time limit) you covered key points re: market, benefits and potential for graduates of your program.

Jim

7 davidp { 12.02.09 at 9:37 pm }

Hi Eveline.

I like the approach in the pitch. I think it would appeal to a lot of young university graduates who might be heading out to Asia and wanting to make some money along the way. Offering an agile approach to getting a TEFL certificate via the Net is certainly an approach worth considering.

Like Jim above, the mic buzz was a minor distraction. But you made the key points work.

8 Mark Reed { 12.05.09 at 8:00 am }

Hi Eveline

I found your pitch for TEFL certification on the net very appealing and you do a good job of presenting the benefits of this certification in an attractive fashion with the powerpoint slides. This sounds like a fairly extensive business proposal with many players which in my mind requires funding unless the contributers are doing it gratis in exchange for shares. So as an investor I would be hesitant to put in funds without knowing more about how the key business developers were getting paid. As well knowledge about competition from other providers would be helpful and what it would cost to take this training from your company vs a more traditional company. Great job on the presentation and an idea worth further investigation as a potential investment opportunity.

9 Brian Powell { 12.05.09 at 10:26 am }

Hi Eveline,

It sounds like your TEFL certification is an abbreviated one for a specific market of EFL providers in southeast asia as an improved online version of existing training. I can see these companies you mention being interested to combine with at least one face to face meeting with prospective teachers in Vancouver.

10 Annette Smith { 12.05.09 at 12:44 pm }

Hi Eveline,

Your pitch delivered a clear vision and definition of the market. The company seems to have good partnerships and the TEFL certification gives credence to the venture.

The presentation was engaging, although I agree the hum was a bit distracting. The audio matched the slides, so I was not trying to read and listen to different things, which can be more distracting than any hum. As a gamer, I think that the simulations sound really interesting, and provide that hands-on type of training that ESL teachers need.

My only issue with the pitch was the lack of information on the specific team that would be leading this venture, and the fact that there was no financial information.

This pitch would be sufficient to get me to ask for more information, but I would not be willing to commit funds until I had seen a robust financial outlook for the company.

All in all a good pitch!

Annette

11 Ernest Pao { 12.05.09 at 4:09 pm }

Nice, quick, to-the-point Powerpoint presentation. I did find the sound quality a little muffled and words spoken a little fast so it was a little hard hear what you were saying. Nonetheless, your elevator pitch was engaging and highlighted some of the main points of your program. It would probably appeal to many potential students who are looking to head to Asia to teach English. Good job!

Ernie

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