Common Sense – Venture Pitch
CommonSense Media is an online resource teaching the importance of digital citizenship. The market is blossoming and the need is great for trustworthy, relevant and interactive resources that educate students, parents and teachers about digital literacy and citizenship.
Please click on the links below to learn more about Common Sense.
Thank you,
Kent Jamieson
Posted in: Venture Forum
joeltremblay 4:41 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi there Kent,
This is super slick. Good work with the visuals and marketing. Is it an original idea or are you taking and adapting another venture? Good use of the Ken Burns effect as well.
Kent Jamieson 1:58 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
CommonSense media has been around for a while now. In fact, I believe Lisa spoke about it during the ‘apps’ OER. I recently found this resource, as my school is undergoing a ‘tech revolution’. Digital literacy and citizenship has been at the forefront of our conversations so I thought I would blend my working world with my student life and learn more about this great company. So NO, not original. I now wish I had implanted my ‘reflection’ page onto this blog page.
Thanks for the comment,
Kent
joeltremblay 4:41 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I wonder if the plugged in nature of contemporary students makes them more aware of their online presence as opposed to digital immigrants?
jenbarker 7:22 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent,
Before I do my rating could answer a question for me. I have used CommonSense videos/lessons in my class. I specifically use their program Passport to the Internet and I was just a bit unclear about what you ‘new’ direction you are taking the company in. The already have extensive resources supporting digital citizenship. I am just unsure what has been “made over” to quote one of David’s posts or what the new venture/idea is. Would you mind clarifying this for me. So far I was highly impressed with your marketing abilities to sell CommonSense. Your combination of visuals, text, and voice over was done so well that it seems professional. Thanks, Jen
Kent Jamieson 1:44 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for that question Jen, without adding my ‘reflection’ that piece of information does tend to get lost, especially with a great resource like Common Sense. When first investigating this resource, however, I quickly realized that offering a monthly fee onto this enterprise would immediately add revenue. As well, with certain aspects like lessons, videos and K-12 units teaching digital citizenship, a fee for each of these resources could also be added on. Furthermore, although Commonsense does have an application for the iPhone, it is quite limited. Adding features like game scenarios for children to navigate through in the app would add value to this resource.
I honestly couldn’t believe I could sign up ‘for free’ and gain acces to all of what CommonSense had to offer. With expectations from parents, and now the government, to protect and educate youth about digital citizenship, attaching a monetary value onto this resource could really be quite lucrative.
So, in answer to your question, I am making the app better and have added a price tag to this service. Nothing monumental, but I hope that answers your question.
Thanks Jen,
Kent
jenbarker 2:16 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Kent,
tomwhyte1 11:27 am on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
To facilitate and objectively review the venture pitch you have put forward, I will be utilizing the guidelines provided within our course, Section 2.7 – Deconstructing a Pitch.
CEO & Team:
After having watched the elevator and venture pitch, I feel the CEO of this venture not only appears credible, but through all aspects of the Common Sense presentation, it was apparent that they were not only knowledgeable but passionate as well, a good start for any venture. However, no specific mention was made in regards to the overall team that this venture has assembled to either develop or take this product to the next stage. Therefore, an appropriate determination of this teams abilities to manage and promote this venture cannot be made at this time.
Venture Concept:
Even though there is a continual growing need for effective and quality professional development, this venture does not provide anything unique or innovative to the market at this time. Regardless, of this fact, Common Sense does provide potential clients with multiple and what appears to be, high quality services for parents, students, and even teachers. Furthermore, the foundation of this approach is based upon the Good Play research conducted at Harvard, which further strengthens this opportunity. As well, this venture recognizes that significant funds are spent yearly on technology around the world, yet no specific benefits are usually noticed. It is in this gap between implementation and results, where Common Sense has decided focus, a gap that may prove profitable. Lastly, Common Sense’s ability to allow schools to utilize their Government Funding may be an essential component of this venture, to ensure its initial success.
Marketability:
Common Sense, recognized that this is a growing market, that includes students, parent and teachers, however no specific information was provided on the market size, either within North America, or Globally (which they plan on exploring in the near future). Without this data, it is difficult to determine true market size, the portion of the market they can expect to hold, and any potential revenue to ensure the success of this venture. Furthermore, it is important to point out, that many resources dealing with digital citizenship are found freely around the Internet, making paid services difficult to maintain, and potential investors wary of providing funds.
Venture Plan:
At this time, Common Sense appears to be near, or even ready to enter this market. However, at this time, more investigation into the need of this service, ability to differentiate themselves from existing services, and convince people to use their paid for service instead of free resources would have to be conducted before investing. Lastly, it may benefit this venture to include a marketing specialist on their team, who may easily provide the guidance to overcome some of these issues.
Jenny Brown 2:18 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent,
I felt that you delivered very professional elevator and venture pitches. In your elevator pitch you were very credible but I felt that you were more selling the pitch to the consumer than to the investor.
There was no face to the longer venture pitch, which I thought would have been a good addition. The only aspect that I personally felt was distracting was the music in the venture pitch as I had to try to hear your voice over it. In this pitch you did venture a bit further into investment opportunities but it still seemed a bit vague to me and the pitch still geared towards the consumer. Saying this though, your comments about the pitch did highlight the investment potential.
I thought both pitches were well developed, you addressed the pain point well and talked of the immense prospect of the venture (that digital citizenship really has no boundaries) and tried to appeal to potential purchasers’ emotions. You addressed how your product was different than the competition’s and how it works smoothly with the systems found within school systems such as Moodle.
As an EVA, I would be interested in knowing the growth of the company, and more about the direction it is going, to have an understanding if the product is and could be enhanced to be much more cash flow positive.
Overall, I thought you did an excellent and very professional job on the pitches.
Jonathan 7:52 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Kent —
Energy was really clear in both videos. I think your presence on the camera is very evident and a strength. You have a natural way of communicating with the camera and I think would make an even stronger proposal had you been present in your second video as well (I should clarify, your second video was great — but I think with your presence there it would’ve made it even stronger!)
It’s interesting to see what is out there and sometimes you have wonder how people monetize on it. I think what is amazing is that companies are often pretty clever about monetizing on a seemingly “free” product. A closer look at the original product shows that they are getting a lot of donations. It looks like they have a lot of big name organizations involved and I wonder if they get clever product placement within the resource?
Would you be worried about alienating the current user base that has used this as a free resource for so long? I like the idea of adding an app as a premium service. I think if you did charge it would have to be for additional value added features as opposed to limiting service. Great idea otherwise!
— Jonathan
teacherben 8:02 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am in agreement with a number of comments above. I was initially a bit concerned that your pitch didn’t seem to do much over and above what Common Sense Media already offers. They have a pretty extensive collection of videos and lesson plans already so I didn’t see what you were doing that was new. They are, in fact, a not-for-profit and are not affiliated with any company, organization or political body (according to their FAQ) and rely entirely on donations and sponsorship. So the idea of revamping their app and charging a subscription for some services is not unreasonable and could provide some badly-needed funding. (Again, on their own website, they say, “It takes an enormous amount of money to create and maintain this website.”)
I thought that the elevator pitch was good. It was brief and to the point, but I got a pretty clear idea what the project was about. The venture pitch on the other hand was a little short on a few things. I didn’t know who was behind it. I didn’t get a clear idea how the funding worked within the company. I didn’t see how you might promote this to extend beyond those who already know about it. And, regarding current users (depending on how we role-play this activity, should we assume that this is a new product or a new direction for the current one?) who have had free access to this content up until now?
So there was a lot to like about this, but there remain a number of unanswered questions.
Doug Connery 8:39 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent:
I am not sure if there is much I can add here. I liked your elevator pitch, it caught my attention wanting to know more and to move to the venture pitch. I also agree with several before me that the pitch seemed to be more for the consumer than the investor. I think it is harder to develop a true venture pitch for the investor when you are working with an existing product as most of the reference material available is focused on the consumer.
Doug.
Pat A Son 7:44 am on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ken
Your elevator pitch was convincing enough to have me look at Common Sense Media.
That Common Sense Media is based on Howard Gardner’s GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education speaks volumes about its heritage. Also you have a product that occupies a niche does not have much competition as you stated and that makes it a viable product for years to come. As a matter of fact I will be recommending it to our school based on your salesmanship.
You are a very good sales man you as and it goes without that you have convinced me that this is an excellent product. As far as am concerned you have covered all the bases that you should in order to sell this product. However you have not made your ‘spin’ on it as to what you are bringing to Common Sense Media that you want me to invest in. As such I am afraid to say I cannot invest in it.
Nevertheless you did such a spectacular job at selling this product that I will gladly employ you at Cognisys to sell our creative product line. ;-).
Cheers
Patason
Kent Jamieson 9:03 am on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I knew I should have gone into Marketing! Thanks for your comments Patason…I will make sure to review Cognisys a little more in depth very soon!
In regards to your comments about not investing, I realize that my ‘ask’ was basically non-existent. It was – and has been throughout this course – my achilles heel. For some reason, I couldn’t put a price tag on this service.
Again, thanks for your comments and i’m glad you liked the pitch. CommonSense is a wonderful resource.
Kent
visramn 12:12 pm on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi,
I think you did a great job of putting together a very engaging pitch. I believe you have a natural ability to sell a product. Your tone of voice, confined, and general presence was a valuable feature of your videos.
Visually this pith was very compelling. However, I did find the elevator pitch to be more like a commercial than a pitch. Your venture analysis started out well. I was drawn in immediately. You addressed a lot of point but there were some components that you could have expanded on. I think the aesthetics of this presentation would definitely draw in an investor but they may ask for some additional information before investing.
Thank for sharing such an engaging pitch and analysis. I wish I had such great skill.
Nureen
jameschen 2:19 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent,
Your elevator pitch is well presented. As an EVA, I am definitely hooked and my interests would be furthered with information on the differentiation, ask and return.
Upon reviewing the Common Sense website, I do wonder how your pitch is stirring the venture in a different direction?
As a fellow classmate, I am, however, not sure if it is a good idea for us to use images from the original venture website because of copyright concerns outlined in section 4.1 of our course blog.
Thanks,
James
melissaayers 2:00 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent
Great work and as others have pointed out – very slick and professional presentations, I am sure you must have some marketing experience behind you!
Good identification of a pain point that presents itself clearly as a venture opportunity. However, from the elevator pitch I am not sure if or what CommonSense really is as a solution. I was not convinced from the video that the venture was either a good or bad investment but it had a great hook that make me dive further an look at your venture pitch.
From the venture pitch personally I not able understand clearly how this is proprietary, or how you can stop other competitors from easily offering similar products (this could be just a reflection of my ignorance in this domain however sorry).
My gut feeling as an EVA is that I am not sure if this is going to be a financially viable venture and I would not invest. In saying that, I am not sure from you presentation if you need financial backing? or how it will be used or how it will make money? or if this is in fact a goal or not (perhaps it is not)?
Thanks
Melissa
sophiabb 11:51 am on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kent,
Great use of video making technology. Your elevator pitch was an excellent teaser and made me want to learn more from the venture pitch. I agree with the others – a very professional presentation that seems geared more to consumers than investors.
Sophia