Please visit my Elevator Pitch below for a new Classroom LMS product called “Cloud LMS.” Truth be told, I would prefer to have done a video of myself speaking but a combination of me being a poor line memorizer, along with lighting and camera difficulties, led to the movie below. I like the narration though […]
Continue reading Cloud Connect Posted in: Week 13: Venture Forum
Take a moment to write your final post about which PBA future emerging market tool (product or service) you have used and which one you would like to see more of. As some of the coursemates have mentioned in their posts, I would also like to see more of blogging. Blogging is the area that […]
Continue reading Final Post: Blogging and Cloud Computing are Ways to Go Posted in: Week 10: Product-Based Assessments
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andrea 10:11 pm on November 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
What a great elevator pitch! I really liked that you were clearly speaking to people about an investment opportunity, but that you also quickly described the product, identified the size of the market and existing issues for schools, and even spoke to the strength of your team’s skills. Well done!
Andrea
jarvise 11:32 am on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I like your idea, and the rationale makes a lot of sense. I also liked your last two pages evaluating your own pitch. I wasn’t sure how to get that into my own. I never thought of just blatantly doing it. Good job! I would be hesitant to invest. Not because of any issues with your proposal, per se, but with the nature of the market you are targeting. A direct to schools pitch seems very risky. A lot of products that make so much sense for adoption within schools just can’t get traction, for no particular reason. The culture of the education system is weird this way. Unless you can attain fad status, unfortunately it seems difficult to gain widespread adoption. I would be much more comfortable investing in a product sold directly to students, parents, or companies. That being said, it doesn’t really fit with what you are proposing. I think that there are so many products emerging in this area at this time, that it may be too risky. Especially since many of them are free. Your elevator pitch was one of the best I have seen. Great work!
Emily
Deb Giesbrecht 5:34 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Doug,
I had the same technical issues – not to mention I hate being in front of the camera! I liked your presentation – very well done. The graphics and concepts were very clearly defined and I think the market is very expanse. It would be challenging to set yourself a part from all the other Learning Management Systems out there – but your plan appears to be well researched and very feasible. Your elevator pitch does make me want to investigate the venture further, so I think you effectively did your homework! Great job!
Keisha Edwards-Hamilton 8:15 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Doug.
Cloud Connect is a very interesting venture. It grabbed my attention quickly and I am keen on learning about how it works since it promises a new way for learning management systems which in my opinion is much needed today to cater to the different needs of today’s digital age learners.Considering that the LMS market is worth billions as stated, this is a venture I would definitely pursue. Great pitch.
Keisha
hall 1:30 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
I like the idea of ‘Connect LMS’. The ideas presented in the pitch were clear and could be easily followed. The font size and graphics were very good. I absolutely think it is a brilliant idea especially as institutions are in search of effective and efficient tool to provide learning to a large number of students. The idea of using with primary and high school students is a plausible one and would definitely allow students to acquire conceptual knowledge rather than procedure knowledge at very tender age. Although I think is a good venture, I am concerned about your target market (primary and high school students). I think that your venture would be more marketable if you include the tertiary level students which have been proven to be a good target group.
Conroy
Deb Kim 4:08 pm on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
This is a great idea! I liked your elevator pitch. It had enough information to grab people’s attention and was made clear what your venture is about. I also liked your venture proposal. When I first saw your elevator pitch, I wondered how Connect LMS would be different from other LMSs. You answered my question in your venture pitch. I especially liked the idea that Connect LMS is based on the currently available software products. It’ll make it easier for customers to use without learning new functions. I also liked the diagrams you added as a reference in your pitch. They made clear what you wanted to say about your venture.
As you outlined in ‘The Challenge’ in your pitch, I’m also worried how you are going to advertise and compete against the already existing LMS such as Moodle. Moodle is pervasively used in many districts already, so there must be some unique features of Connect LMS that are different and more appealing than Moodle.
Great work!
Deb
verenanz 12:05 am on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Clear, concise – grabs your attention, it was full of facts and details. You had the answers. Great integration of e-portfolio ideas, product based assesment and other themes from this course. Industry Canada would be VERY interested in speaking with you if you are ready to take it to the next step. I could give you a contact if you wanted one.
Well done!
Verena:)
mcquaid 8:57 am on December 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You’re my last review, Doug. Sorry it took me until now to get to you… on the plus side, though, it’s because you were in my top three!
After watching your elevator pitch a few times, I wrote a few notes down like:
– slick-looking
– talk is a bit fast
– enticing market
– I may be in if what I see later is good enough!
So here I am now, after seeing the rest of the pitch.
Market-wise, it seems to make a lot of sense. There is definitely a trend for growth (as shown by your LMS infographic on page five), and your market share growth prediction on the same page would mean a growth of 15 – 37.5 million this year alone (in addition to the existing ¾ billion market size). It’s definitely enticing. Your SaaS approach, is good, but I felt a little hesitant when you said you would market it to individual teachers first. I would be worried that that would slow growth down, and by the time you had a strong base, could the window of opportunity for the product be gone?
When combined with analytics later, the ability to tailor learning for students and make it personalized, I think, is where this could really shine. Personalized learning is pretty “buzzy” lately – who wouldn’t want things to be tailored to fit them, including learning?
My remaining questions about the program are:
– As you mentioned, teacher resistance – I wonder if that will be a significant hindrance, like in Zhao and Frank’s paper that looked at technology as an invasive species in a new ecosystem
– What will really set it apart from its competitors and hook people? (I think you laid this out fairly well, but was waiting / wishing for something to grab me even more)
– Related to the last point, I’d be scared to death of the free competitors you alluded to.
– I’m curious as to what makes Shoebridge a “visionary” – I’ll have to look him up…
– Just something nitpicky, from an LA teacher – your lack of hyphens for terms like “classroom based” drove me a little nuts!
Overall, I thought that this was a good idea with great potential. With a little more tweaking after your EVA critiques here, you could be really on to something!
Cheers!
Stephen
https://www.msu.edu/user/k/e/kenfrank/web/papers/Factors%20affecting%20technology%20uses%20in%20schools.pdf
khenry 5:24 pm on December 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Doug,
Very good job on the elevator pitch! You had a good balance of voice and visuals and really got all the essential elements within your time. Nice tone and pace, but at times the pace teetered on being a little fast but you held it just enough. I clearly heard your problem, your solution, the competence of your team and reason for your venture, your market and market focus. I also read through your pitch. My main question would be would I really pay for this when I can access elements for free. Therefore, I think your focus and use of learning analytics and personalised programs along with increased collaboration and choice of user with tools are essential. Good job.
Kerry-Ann