ETEC 522 – Sept. 2011

jenaca 4:04 am on November 27, 2011

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  Kristopher 12:18 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hello Jenaca,

  Thanks for the great pitch. The music is clean without providing a distraction, but guides the viewer from problem to solution. You have perfectly timed the writing on the screen with timing required to read it. From the pitch, I found it a little difficult to see how it was different from a standard board, but then realized that it was 7×9 inches; I might focus more on the features of this product that make it different from an iPad or other tablet, as that was the impression that I was left with.

  Cheers,

  Kristopher

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  Jim 6:48 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hi Jenaca,
  Nice video elevator pitch!! I like the change in music when your introduce your product after the stated problem. I don’t see any problem with your pitch but I am left with some questions about the product as proposed and how it would work. There is already a SMART slate product which is a wireless tablet input device that connects to SMART products. How is your product different? Is it actually a mini SMART board? If so, does it have a mini LCD projector attached that projects an small image onto the 7×9″ whiteboard? If not, how does the image get onto the surface of the whiteboard? Is it an iPad-like device that produces the image internally? I think this is a really, really cool idea but I am having trouble seeing how it is different from the SMART Slate or from an iPad-like device. Maybe a suggestion for improvement would be to clearly show how your product is unique and different from the SMART slate or a tablet device.

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  Everton Walker 9:21 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Jenaca,

  Nice pitch and smart piece of technology too! I am also happy that handwriting and typing are catered to. However, even though your idea is really great, you are going to have a lot of competition there are similar products on the market. I guess you will have invest in apps or new features to really be competitive.

  Everton

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  ashleyross 4:25 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hi Jenaca,

  The music and images you’ve chosen to use throughout your elevator pitch are very engaging and provides the viewer with a clear problem and solution. Like others have mentioned, the mini SmartBoard in your elevator pitch reminded me of an iPad or tablet, so I was left wanting to know how this product is different. It may have been your intention though, to get investors to be curious enough to go read your venture pitch.

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  Tamara Wong 7:47 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Jenaca,
  Great pitch! Your elevator pitch has a lot of great information in it. The music is engaging and the pictures add a lot. I like how you took an already existing technology (the SMART board) and made it portable (something that seems to be a growing trend). You really point out WHAT the mini SMART board will do but I was left wondering HOW it will work. I’ve never used a SMART board so I was also wondering (as others have pointed out) how do you plan on making your product different from say and iPad?
  I also liked how you took a different approach to the venture pitch and wrote it down instead of making a video. Your reflection section was great too! While not a necessary part of a venture pitch I felt like it was valuable to me as a student. I enjoyed learning about your thought process in making this company! Overall, nice pitch!
  Tamara

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  Kristopher 8:06 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Emerging Venture Analysis: Mini-SMART Board

  In order to analyze the potential of the Mini-SMART Board venture, we will consider both the internal and external positives and potential negatives.

  Strengths
  This new educational technology builds on the success of its predecessor: the SMART Board. By modifying an idea that has already taken substantial roots in Canadian classroom, and using that powerful branding, the Mini-SMART Board has huge potential to meet emerging needs (especially as needs develop from experiencing other similar technologies. This device has a minimized impact on the user as many educators are already familiar with the parent technology. The connected nature (wirelessly, with presumably a web interface for access outside of the classroom) of this device speaks to its flexibility and innovation.

  Weaknesses
  As much of the strength of the Mini-SMART Board is based on its parent technology’s success, it will also share similar weaknesses. The SMART Board is built to be most functional with the Notebook software (although it does work well with other popular software), which is somewhat limiting in itself. The parent product is known to change regularly and develop, creating a ‘always out-of-date’ sense with the product, which, likely this product would share in reputation.

  Opportunities
  Based on the venture pitch for the Mini-SMART Board, this product is backed by influential people from different areas (business, education, etc.). These endorsements represent a greater opportunity for infiltration into the mobile computer market.

  Threats
  The niche that this product is filling is one that is created largely by the iPad (and subsequent tablet and netbook computers). It is a wireless, touch-based tool that has great capabilities. If this product is not differentiated and its unique attributes highlighted, it potentially could be threatened as ‘just another tablet’.

  Based on the success of tablet computers in general and the infiltration of the parent technology, I would recommend this venture for investment.

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  Doug Smith 2:07 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Jenaca,

  I think this is a well-crafted pitch, with the audio and caption building up and making a good story. Having said that, I feel like this pitch is targeted to the consumer as opposed to the investor. The initial questions posed support this, as they are directly addressing people that working in education – which doesn’t necessarily apply to an EVA.

  cheers
  Doug

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  jenaca 2:52 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hi Everyone,
  There seems to be a large amount of confusion from my pitch and the product I created. As for the Mini Smartboard, yes in a way it is similar to the iPad however, much like apple created the ipad and blackberry created the blackberry playbook…. SMART Technologies created the “Mini Smartboard” which, stated in the pitch and more in depth in my venture pitch, is compatible with “other” SMART Tech devices…much like apple products are compatible to one another etc…
  Also stated in more detail in my venture pitch is the use of this mini board and the sharing of files and information from SMART Tech accessories and devices. Of course it is necessary to implement the SMART Board itself and then adapt to using the mini SMART Board.
  Yes this creation is actually a Mini SMARTBoard! That’s what I am pitching. It is essentially exactly the same as a SMART Board except students have their own, which would replace notebooks and paper items. Students, or business professionals could use this tool wherever they are and still be connected to the presentation or classroom lesson..
  For example, if a student is sick at home, everything that has been presented on the SMART Board that day will be shared on their device…Virtually connecting them.
  Also, I stated those questions at the beginning in hopes of targeting my investors personally, whether there past has been in educational, business or government settings…
  I hope this has cleared up any confusion!
  Thanks,
  Jenaca

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    Juliana 2:36 pm on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

    Hi Jeneca,

    Thanks for the clarifications. I was thinking that you were looking for investors who were will to invest in the Mini SMARTBoard, which would be different than the other existing smart board technologies.

    I really enjoyed your elevator pitch. Also I liked how you took efforts to make your venture pitch look like an actual report from the company. I thought that was a nice touch. While I know that there was no real stipulation with having any figures, I was wondering if a technology like this would be feasible in the public school market. I am not sure if schools would have the funds to purchase equipment like this for their students, even though it would make it easier for the students to keep up. I have found that schools would opt for the cheaper option of emailing students the information and having the students provide their own means of accessing the information (ie. through iPads, personal laptops etc.). This could be useful in a business setting, but again I can see the businesses not wanting to spend anymore money on an extra piece of equipment for their employees. Instead they would encourage their employees to access the information through their laptops or iPads.

    However, I think you may have something here. Perhaps if you developed a type of software that connects a smartbaord to a personal computer which provided two way communication between presenter and audience, you may have a product that improves interactions and collaborations. You just need to ensure that the connections can be made between many points, such office to home or classroom to home. This means people and students can be connected regardless of location. And here’s the big thing…the software needs to be compatible with iPads, PCs, laptops, mobile technologies etc., and evolve with all the software updates that happen on each of the operating systems.

    Hope this helps. If not, please let me know.

    Juliana.

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  Allie 10:50 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hi Jenaca,
  This comment is about your EP as I haven’t yet read your VP. From your EP, I find your product very intriguing, and I want to know more about it. This is a very good thing 🙂 I think it’s exactly what the EP is intended to accomplish. I did notice that the audience seemed to change midway through the pitch, from educators “are you frustrated” to investors. I wonder if you work here might be strengthened by only addressing the latter? As an example, instead of ‘are you frustrated…’ you could make the statement that ‘educators are frustrated with…’ I’m also wondering – how much are smartboards used anyway, within education, corporations, and government (The three areas your identify)? I ask this because these boards seem to be ubiquitous but i’ve never really seen them discussed in my ETEC courses (granted, this is only my 2nd one). I’ve only seen a couple of mentions of them being these expensive pieces of equipment that sit there, seldom used (that being said, my partner’s folks, middle school and high school science teachers, l-o-v-e their smartboards). Might your product be a reasonably inexpensive add-on that will add value to these perhaps underused pieces of equipment?
  best, Allie

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  Julie S 1:04 pm on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

  Hi Jeneca,

  Thanks for your clarifying post it did clear up some things for me that I wasn’t catching. I think I just realized what you did. You proposed an extension to an existing product that is on the market. I did not pick that up and it caused some confusion for me. You are proposing this as though you are a representative of the SMART Board company. Sorry, I’m feeling a little bit of information overload at this point in the term.

  With that in mind I think I would suggest a couple of tweaks for the elevator pitch. As Allie stated, I would switch the wording at the beginning from targeting teachers to making a clear statement that this is a problem. As a teacher you would have the credentials to make this a believable statement. I think it’s important to focus in the pitch the value of the collaboration benefits that you state in your comment above rather than just saying you can ‘pair’ with the SmartBoard. It’s hard to see the business value of ‘pairing’ two technologies but I get it when it allows me to collaborate without messy fiddling with technology.

  Cheers,

  Julie