Mentoring Me
Hi all,
Here is my first attempt at creating my own online hypothetical venture. It was quite the process, but it was well worth the journey. Basically my venture, Mentoring Me, is an online mentorship program that follows the structure of an online dating site. Please have a look and tell me what you think. I’m very open to critiques and would be interested to see how those with different backgrounds feel about it. I can see how hard it is to separate what you think would be a great service from what is going to be valuable financially, although I have tried to address this through my reflection and pitch.
Cheers,
Rebecca
jenbarker 10:55 am on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
I really like your Venture idea. I think you have clearly addressed the pain point and solution. The fact that you present mentees with a real life mentor and do this through a “dating” like format gives you differentiation, or a cutting edge. I felt your marketing ideas were solid. As someone who has been directly involved in setting up mentoring at the district level, I know it can be very costly. When our district releases many beginning teachers for a morning mentoring session, the amount that they pay out to TOC’s to cover is high. I think your idea could save districts a lot of money. On a side note, how might you choose your mentors? Would there be an application process? How would you guarantee quality mentors? Would they be paid or volunteers? Overall, I think both your pitches met the necessary facets required. Great work, Jen
rebeccaharrison 9:13 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good questions. I’m not so sure about choice of mentors, but was thinking that those who are active participants (based on data), may be provided with a day in lieu, or some other form of recognition.
joeltremblay 4:37 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
Being a teacher in B.C. and being able to relate directly to your project idea I was quite taken with it. The concept and elevator are logical and comprehensive. I wonder how marketable it would be to either the government or different districts?
Jonathan 9:27 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Big thumbs up for the idea Rebecca,
Felt like you were speaking to real needs of a new teacher. I’ve always liked the idea of a mentorship program and have felt the need for a service like this. I know that my district offers it on a one year basis to new teachers but it takes many years of mentorship, practice and training for a teacher to be able. To add to Jen’s points about finding qualified and quality mentors how would this company retain a subscription service of a user?
I’m imagining that a match has been made for the user ($50 charged in the first year). Once that connection has been made there is no more use for the site? Does the site get discarded?
Love the idea though.. a lot!
Great work,
Jonathan
Doug Connery 10:33 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great concept Rebecca. This venture provides opportunities for teachers from K-post secondary to have mentors inside or outside their school or institute. I also see the market beyond education for anyone in any sector needing a mentor.
Doug.
tomwhyte1 10:52 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:
The CEO of Mentoring Me, recognizes their limited experience as a classroom teacher, which in most cases might be a determinant to any venture, actually is a strength. For their experiences as a new teacher, requiring effective mentoring in many aspects of teaching shows the potential for such a service in the field of education. Furthermore, the team is strengthened by the partnership, with an individual who has a Computer Science background, a necessary element to design, and deploy the required infrastructure to make this venture successful. One key member of the team, which was mentioned by the CEO as currently absent, is the involvement of a marketing specialist, which would be able to effectively position this venture for success.
Venture Concept:
Education long ago, discovered the importance of mentoring, not only for new teachers but for the more experienced ones as well, for the sharing of ideas and energy strengthens everyone throughout the process. What Mentoring Me does different, is takes this relationship online, through a dating service like platform, to provide meaningful mentorship opportunities, regardless of time or space. On the surface, this approach does appear to be feasible, and demonstrates an answer to a potential issue. However, further research would need to be conducted, to demonstrate that this platform would enhance current mentorship programs.
Marketability:
Even though the market size for this service is not provided, and right now, are only focusing on new/younger teachers, it is clear that this service can be used by all teachers to enhance their skills and understanding of various topics, thereby creating an effective professional development resource, based upon small groups, and common interests. Furthermore, this venture recognizes that teachers in remote locations, or within small buildings have limited opportunities to receive mentoring, and that this service would alleviate this concerns. At this time, Mentoring Me is an innovative approach on mentoring, as it has taken a dating style format and applied it to matching people for mentor relationships. As well, they hope to enhance this service through communication tools, reduced costs, and training videos. Unfortunately, this service could be easily duplicated, especially by existing dating sites, wishing to expand their into new untapped markets. Therefore, it may be essential to create partnerships with an already existing venture, to ensure continued success.
Venture Plan:
Mentoring Me, has developed a specific plan of rolling out their services, which include periods of reassessment to ensure their approach is meeting the goals they have set forward, clearly demonstrating a strong vision for their product.
At this time though, I am concerned that districts or even individual teachers would “buy” into this service, as many educational institutions have developed their own mentorship programs, which focus on what the district feels is essential. However, by potentially partnering up with an existing dating service (to gain access to their back end software, to create effective matches), and refocus this service to all teachers for potential PLC’s, I feel there is an opportunity here.
rebeccaharrison 9:15 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great points Tom and some stuff to consider. A partnership might be a great way to ensure viability and sustainability.
tomwhyte1 10:25 am on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Furthermore, I have been discussing around my school the possibilities of this venture, it has received positive comments from each.
I think yours was an innovative approach at a relevant issue, using already established technology in a new way.
Thanks for sharing your great idea.
visramn 3:55 pm on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi,
I think you did a great job of conveying the need of this product. You covered all components of what is needed in a successful market plan and addressed any concerns a potential investor may have. You were confident and clear when you spoke and your enthusiasm made your message stronger.
I think this is a great idea and after watching your pitches I would definitely invest in this product.
I really liked how you started off by pointing out that you are new teacher who struggled because this shows that you based this product on a need that you yourself have felt. I felt this made your argument more compelling.
Great job. Thank you so much for sharing.
Nureen
jameschen 6:34 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
Your elevator pitch has a good flow, and I think your pain point would need more emphasis on the hook to really grab my attention as an investor. A provision of tangible figures for the ask and return here would also increase credibility. I really like the idea of an online mentoring program compared to what the districts currently have for beginning teachers.
Here is my analysis on your venture pitch using the guidelines found in section 2.7 of our course blog – Deconstructing a pitch:
Mentoring Me: The Content
Pain Point: I am unsure if the problem portrayed in the pitch is a problem big enough to yield profitable returns, because my assumption is that these uncertainties would eventually be clarified as the new teacher gets to know more of the fellow staff members and becomes integrated into the existing community at the school where she teaches. Nevertheless, from the perspective of a TOC high anxiety levels are hard to avoid and would therefore create a need for such online mentoring programs.
Solution: The solution you presented will improve with more concrete examples. How will the teachers be paired with more experienced teachers? Exactly what will the mentoring program help new teachers overcome? Addressing these questions would paint a better picture of your product for the investors.
You do provide information about how the solution will be implemented later on in the pitch at the part about teacher training under Marketing as well as the beginning part of Differentiation. Moving those parts here would be more fitting.
Differentiation: In the video, your differentiation explains what is proprietary about your product. Your pitch would improve if it explains how the product differs from the competition. What does your product offer that current mentorship programs do not? To answer this, you would need to explain what is currently available, what your product offers that is unavailable under the current programs, and why customers would choose to pay for your service over the free ones offered by school districts.
Marketing: At the beginning of your venture pitch, you paint a very clear picture about how your product will be marketed. The provision of price tags for the service also adds to this. Later on in the video under Differentiation when you elaborate about marketing, a technical side note here is that the fading in feature of the volume at 4:28 made the topic “Marketing” hard to hear. This caused me to be unsure of what your following explanation is about, because you have combined the marketing aspect of your pitch into differentiation. As an EVA, I would suggest separating these parts so that investors can be clear about how your product is different from its online competitors and the marketing strategy you’ll be using.
Championship: Credentials of the venture’s leader is established, but a provision of positions that are necessary to bring the product into the market is not found.
Competition: This section is combined with Marketing under Differentiation in the pitch.
The Ask: Your ask of $100,000 is realistic, and you also provide information on how your investors can help improve the venture as well as the risks that are involved.
The Return: The return is 2-3 years. Additional information on your exit strategy would add to the credibility of your pitch.
In all, I think your venture pitch was well presented. You put in a lot of thought on how you would market the product which helps make the venture pitch into a viable investment.
Thanks,
James
pcollins 10:01 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great idea piggy backing on the success of the online dating websites! I’m chuckling at how savvy that was. That’s a fantastic proposal! Your presentation was very natural – it didn’t appear overly rehearsed at all. And your personal belief in this idea came through in your vocalizations. I appreciate that your venture contains a balance of gains for everybody involved learning and mentoring… the older teachers with new ideas/ a refresher in research and the youngsters with well established/seasoned professionals. I was instantly attracted to choose your venture for a more detailed analysis because I can relate so well to the pain point. But I am involved in education and in our district’s mentoring programs. I couldn’t help but wonder if other’s outside of our professional body really see the problems? Your venture was well researched but specific numbers would have gone a long way to support some of your details. I loved how you used a pre-existing concept, with massive technical parallels to your venture. And bringing in the usage of pro-d funds to pay for the 60 dollar yearly fee is reasonable. I’m not sure what you think, but maybe there should be a cost differential to attract more mentors. It was also great that you identified the professionals that you would target – those in isolation. And it struck me, that even in large schools a lot of new educators still work in isolation because of the workload they have to shoulder. The market analysis was well done and I would undoubtedly support this venture.
Job well done Rebecca.
PC
Scott 1:07 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Rebecca, in my opinion, this is a solid venture idea and pair of pitches – you had me at ‘dating website’!
Beyond the wealth of suggestions already written here, I might simply add that you should consider expanding on the dating concept of the venture just a bit more in your elevator pitch. With 60sec. of available time, why not spend another 15sec adding in a sentence or two from your venture pitch, to really sell this very original and key feature of your service.
Bravo,
Scott.
melissaayers 3:58 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
Great elevator pitch. You identify a real pain point and a real solution as well as manage to identify how it differentiates itself from other current offerings. Overall it makes me what to find out more and go listen to your venture pitch.
The venture pitch is also very well though out and researched. You seem an enthusiastic founder and team member who clearly believes in the service/product. A great start for any venture. You use a successful business model already proven in one context in a new and different context as the base of the venture concept. This is interesting and I believe adds to the likelihood of its success and uptake – users can quickly and easily understand what you are trying to do (as can potential investors).
Seeing the responses from others already to your venture proposals this is potentially a highly marketable product at a fair and affordable price. There is a clear market plan and road map and the investment required and expected returns are also clearly stated and seem reasonable.
Overall great work and this is definitely something I would consider investigating further to invest in as an EVA.
Thanks,
Melissa
Pat A Son 4:09 am on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
Great venture. You were very thorough and convincing.
Cheers
Patason
sophiabb 11:32 am on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Rebecca,
Love the idea of piggy backing on the dating site concept. Your pitches clearly outlined the pain points, solution and the ask and return. I believe that this is a worthwhile and viable concept. Well done.
Sophia