PD Bridge
The following links are to each component of my Venture Pitch. I have included both the video and transcript version, to provide options depending on your personal or learning preference.
Elevator Pitch – Video – Transcript
Venture Pitch – Video – Transcript
Self Evaluation – Document
References – Document
Thank you for taking the time to review my both my Elevator and Venture Pitch. I enjoyed the process of exploring an idea, and creatively thinking up a solution.
Comments, thoughts, critiques welcomed…
Tom
Posted in: Venture Forum
Mike Rae 6:18 am on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Kick a** job Tom!
excellent delivery of both pitches, clarity, hand gestures and inclination all worked really well together. Your idea is a very good one. In my experience professional development has been unfocused and in general, a waste of time. Considering that teachers in BC must meet a PD requirement, it seems inevitable that this time will be better allocated to improving teaching in meaningful ways. Just the idea of changing the current system, which I agree with you, is very outdated, should be enough to get districts listening.
I liked your presentation style with embedded video on the page with buzz words popping up as you say them. Very effective.
Great job!
MIKE
tomwhyte1 7:30 am on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the review, it is greatly appreciated.
And like you, I feel that current PD is not as effective as it should be or even could be. I hear many teachers grumble before and after these “events”, not really seeing the worth of these opportunities, not because they are not passionate, but because the opportunities themselves leave something lacking…
Do I think I solved the problem, nope, but took a good swing at it…
Thoughts?
lullings 5:31 pm on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You took an excellent swing!!
Great elevator pitch Tom. Really engaging. I did feel that I didn’t quite know anything about what it was that you were really offering but was excited to go to the venture pitch to find out.
Your elevator pitch was incredibility detailed and very much leveraged at the educational profession audience. You certainly covered all the buzz words in completing the delivery.
For me this is an excellent idea. It is delivered well and has a clear gap in the market. I would not invest on the back of this pitch unfortunately. I would imagine that teachers could find themselves accessed/judged on how much they do within the PD Bridge environment – particularly because their account is with them throughout their career. Secondly I would not see districts allowing a fully online system take over from their traditional professional developments (despite them really needing it).
But these reasons didn’t loose me entirely. I would happily discuss further with you your initial strategy for getting the teachers and districts on board. The concept is a necessary development within the teaching environment and I would be interested in not missing the opportunity to get in early with you and your concept.
On a side note – how did you get your elevator pitch to be full HD and then have your elevator in 4:3 360p. Not that it made any difference to your delivery but just curious.
You are a natural at delivering content too so fair play.
tomwhyte1 10:52 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
First off, thank you for taking the time to review both my Elevator and Venture Pitch, even though they were a lot of fun to complete, it was a challenging and educational experience.
Upon reflection, I see your points regarding potential implications of online professional development. I myself believe, that it would be possible to have both, in the perfect world. Do I think, the world of education is ready, maybe not yet. However, in the next ten years, more of our teachers will be those that are currently and constantly connected to screens. So maybe one day, this format may exist.
Yet, I agree, how to get people on board? See the value? It was my hopes to approach it similar to the Khan Academy, yet added the pay for element to ensure the continued existence of the service. Yet, I am curious to your thoughts, on how to best approach individuals/institutions?
As for the HD issue – both Elevator and Venture were filmed at 60 frames a second. The elevator was edited entirely in iMovie, so no loss in quality. However, I decided for some reason to use Keynote for the Venture Pitch, to do the bullet points, etc… However had a difficult time getting the exported version to work like I wanted it to. So I manually did each slide, while using Camtasia to record the events. Which lowered the overall quality of my project… so was disappointed there…
Lisa Nevoral 10:38 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
You have put a lot of thought into your product. You did a very good job on your elevator and venture pitch. As noted in another post, you certainly used educational buzz words in your elevator pitch. You mentioned in your video that “PD Bridge” was going to capitalize on using Web 2.0 and social media. I wanted to know how “PD Bridge” was going to do this and I thought you might have expanded on this a bit more throughout the venture pitch. Did I miss that?
Here is some constructive feedback on your venture pitch:
• I liked that you had a “PD Bridge” logo.
• You were very relaxed in front of the camera and spoke at a good pace.
• You included the pain point – professional development is time consuming, expensive, and one shot activities which is very true.
• You included the solution – “PD Bridge” – an online professional development site which will also provide resources.
• You did include the competition, or lack of competition, but you could have stated some challenges for you product. What are some of the issues that may arise?
• Marketing – You did state the market size (5.4 million teachers, with an increasing amount of them being younger aged teachers that are more comfortable with web-based technologies), but I would have also liked to know how the buyers were going to be reached. PR, ads, commercials, social media, etc…
o As well, would you target individual teachers or school districts?
• The ask – just in case I got this wrong, you were asking for initial funding for the designing, development, and deployment of “PD Bridge”. Is that correct? What return did you want investors to have?
You did a great job on your elevator and venture pitch. Depending on who you were targeting, I could see a need for this product. I don’t think I would personally invest in this company for a couple of reasons. First, although some professional development days can be tedious, there is also some good networking that can occur during these sessions. I have met people that I still keep in contact with. As well, although travel is expensive at times, if you go with other teachers from your school, it can bring staff closer together and allow them to talk and work on goals together. And finally, although I think the professional development aspect of “PD Bridge” has potential, you lost me when you brought in M.O.O.C, accreditation courses, and other training programs. I think your focus should be on the K-12 schools professional development. Those are just a few of my thoughts.
Lisa
tomwhyte1 11:01 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
First off, thank you for taking the time to review both my Elevator and Venture Pitch, even though they were a lot of fun to complete, it was a challenging and educational experience.
I appreciate and totally agree with the comments/suggestions you made, for many of them ran through my head while reviewing over pitches… Thoughts like… “Should have added that” … “Marketing approach… great idea…”…
But more specifically, the Web 2.0 apps, currently could include YouTube for video delivery, an Edmodo like environment for small group discussions, wiki/blog like formats for content delivery and resource allocations. Things that enhance communication, co-operation, and most importantly collaboration. Again a detail, that could and should have been more flushed out…
Also, I totally agree that I missed adding in Marketing, and what that would look like. A key point to ensure that both teachers and institutions to can access, and would access this venture.
As well, the money, and potential return on investment – which would allow investors to see a potential return, was something I noticed in other pitches I reviewed, and again, wished I had thought to include it as well.
As for the final points you made in regards to traditional PD and all that it provides. I totally agree, my vision was not to replace those activities, but to supplement them. For example, phase one of the project would be entirely free, and expose teachers to new ideas and approaches easily, and effectively, and with enough teachers, a monthly fee of 10 dollars could be applied to access phase two of the program – the professional development focussed on certificates, etc… using Massive Open Online Courses.
Overall, I appreciate the feedback yourself and others have given, for it makes me reflect on the product I put forth, and the changes I would make to enhance the presentation.
Lisa Nevoral 11:22 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
I totally agree with your comment about missing items and wishing I would have added them in also. I found this assignment fairly challenging, and while I tried to hit all the points, ended up falling short in some areas (ie. the ask and return). It was good working with you and good luck next semester.
Lisa
jenniferschubertubc 11:34 am on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
This venture really spoke to me! I got very frustrated teaching the public school system in the States. 9 times out of 10, our professional development consisted of a talking head (usually administrative with little to no teaching background) coming in to our department and either clicking through endless PowerPoint slides or delivering a non-media enhanced lecture about the newest rules and regulations adopted by the district. It was painful, not exactly helpful, and often a waste of time.
What software did you use to create your venture pitch? It is making me weep for my Mac. Seriously though, both pitches looked fantastic. I was impressed by the integrations of text and graphics in a way that was not overwhelming or daunting in any way. The addition of the graphs specifically outlining the market demographics (age, specific technology use, etc.) was particularly helpful in determining the importance and value of the venture. Great addition.
Overall this was a very well put-together presentation. You hit all the key points, including outlining the competition and the job specifications of the team. It would be interesting to see how willing districts would be to move beyond what they are used to and move into the future.
tomwhyte1 6:44 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you for your thoughts on my project, they are greatly appreciated. I believe, just like in many areas of educator, technology will create large disruptions in the consumption and creation of educational opportunities, such as Professional Development.
As for the software – iMovie entirely for the Elevator Pitch. As for the Venture Pitch – iMovie for the video’s, but Keynote for the entire presentation (which was a pain to get into YouTube – so I had to use Camtasia to do a screencast… – next time I will know the solution… instead of banging my head repeatedly against the wall).
Have a great day, and again thanks for taking the time to view my pitches.
Tom
Patrick Pichette 6:59 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
Although your elevator pitch confused me the first time through, your venture pitch definitely helped clarify exactly where it was you were heading with the pitch. My biggest recommendation in terms of the elevator pitch would be to potentially show a group of teachers in a traditional PD environment followed by what they would like in your environment (following PD on a device).
Despite this minor setback, I think your pitch is very engaging and shows great potential. Having experience this point point as recently as yesterday, I know that this approach would be extremely beneficial for me. I would much prefer go through content at my own pace than that of the presenter. I would also appreciate the ability to skip or rewind through content as I attempt to grab every useful bit of information that would help me in my teaching practice. The proposed team appears sound and shows a well thought-out approach to implementing this venture. Although I do feel there is likely a fair bit of competition in the market, I think your determination and passion give you an edge in securing funds for your venture. The only thing really missing in your pitch is the investment amount you’re seeking, what you plan to do with the investment funds as well as the exit strategy for investors. These are definitely major points however, so you are asking EVAs to do a bit of legwork in getting this info rather than providing it right from the start. Still, I would likely take the effort to seek out additional info as you do show a promising venture.
C. Ranson 7:54 am on December 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
Sorry, little late here but all the pitches are so interesting and take time to watch and digest.
Your pitch and presentation are excellent, well researched and I think you have a sound venture idea, especially if there is non or little competition. Your delivery is very clear and professional, you have identified a problem and a viable solution to the problem, your team is impressive. The video is a bit choppy, I had this issue as well and couldn’t seem to address it in my pitch. I wasn’t sure how the revenue would be generated but maybe I missed this. Well done.
Catherine