jameschen
Hi all, I think having people to vote for and give marks to the available pitches for assignment 3 would be improved with more detail that explains the achievement for the number of stars assigned. The written comments are more useful and accurate at getting the points across. Perhaps having an explanation for each set of […]
Continue reading Participation Portfolio – Suggestion for A3 Posted in: General Hi all, I chose an existing venture, Knewton, to build my role-playing elevator and venture pitches on. Please have a look and let me know what you think! ETEC 522 Assignment 3 Venture Pitch: Knewton Thanks! James Update: Sorry for not including my elevator pitch here on my initial posting. Here is my elevator […]
Continue reading Assignment 3 Venture Pitch: Knewton Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi James,
Although I think you have a great marketing idea here, suggesting you bring Knewton to BC schools, I don’t see a new venture idea. In my opinion, you are using Knewton’s pre-existing venture but haven’t done a “makeover” to take it in a completely new direction. Perhaps I am missing something but when I went to the Knewton site I couldn’t see any difference between your product and theirs. Your website was well designed and easy to follow. I liked how you set up the sub-headings, addressing the many facets necessary in a pitch. Given that this was a fictional assignment, I might have added some fictional names and beefed up backgrounds to your management team. This would have given your venture more credibility.
Thanks for sharing, Jen
Hi Jen,
Thank you for your evaluation of my pitches. I felt that Knewton was already a well-established company going in the right direction (i.e. partnering with major publishers and doing trials with large universities), so my take on this assignment was to try to help potential investors see that there is a need in the public sector for Knewton’s Adaptive Learning technology and that such an investment will provide investors with a lucrative return.
Thank you for pointing out what I need to be aware of from the pitches I have made. I will keep your suggestions in mind when future pitching opportunities arise.
James
I watched your elevator pitch and think that the “two minutes” comment was a good way to hook the viewer. For me to be excited about the venture, I think it would be helpful if there was more enthusiasm portrayed. I am guilty of not seeming very passionate in my own pitch, but I can see how it would make a big difference to a potential investor.
Hi Avinder,
Thanks for your feedback! I too feel that my lack of enthusiasm would deter potential investors from investing. Perhaps having a red-bull before doing an elevator pitch late at night wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all…
🙂
James
Hi there James,
I agree with Jen in that it’s not clear as to what the new direction is that you’re taking the software in? Also, with regards to return, it’s a little unclear as to how they will see a return on their investment beyond the philanthropic route. Otherwise very thorough and polished.
Hi Joel,
Actually, when I started this assignment I found it a bit of a challenge to think of something that would steer Knewton in a new direction because I felt that they were already doing very well. But then I thought that if Knewton can establish itself in the public sector early as THE platform for personalized online learning then there could be potential to make good profit because currently no other companies can offer what Knewton has to public school students. Public schools need to rely on teachers/IEPs to provide personalized learning content for students, and most teachers are overstressed with the workload they already have.
Regarding the return, I did not write how investors will get their money back in the venture pitch because I do not know the routes that are available for investors to take. I also have no idea about the numbers needed to calculate how long it would take for investors to get their money back. Perhaps another look at how to devise exit strategies would shed some light. From this perspective, “success” for implementing Knewton’s technology in public schools would mean having established Knewton infrastructures for personalized online learning across major cities in Canada. When this happens, Knewton can sell their Canadian public school infrastructure to companies such as BlackBoard or SMART Technology (ones that are already established in the public sector). Hope that makes sense 🙂
And thank you, Joel, for pointing out the points my pitch did not address satisfactorily. I will keep them in mind for future references.
James
Hi James —
Good presentation. You got right to the point. It seems like a solid proposition although as an investor I’m curious as to how your company will differ from the competition. I think it might be beneficial to highlight one or two of the big differences that your take on Knewton would be different. Nice site to complement a good video pitch otherwise!
Hi Jonathan,
The differentiation of my pitch is that Knewton’s technology is the only one I know of on the market that can help teachers in their teaching by recommending content for remediation AND be incorporated into 3rd party learning platforms if one already exists. BlackBoard Analytics for Learn, for example, only analyzes user information. It does not let students know the fundamental concepts they are having trouble with and recommend the content that would address these challenges. I am, however, not sure if BB’s analytic technology can be incorporated into 3rd party platforms and so have assumed that it cannot, so in a real pitch this would need to be addressed by contacting BB directly.
In any case, thanks for letting me know of your concern, Jonathan. Much appreciated!
James
Hi James,
You pain point is outstanding in that it showed that you did your research; you pointed out the relevant percentages of the current learning and teaching situation in BC, so investors can see quite clear why Knewton is needed. However, I agree with the comments above that the return is not clear, (I think this is the most important part that investors want to know) and the credibility of your team is not that convincing.
Too bad that we can’t hear you well in the elevator pitch, However I think I can hear the passion you have for Knewton in your voice 🙂
Hi Paula,
Thanks for your comments! I think you made a very good point about the return being the most important part that investors would want to know before making an investment decision. As I’ve mentioned in my above response to Joel, there is some information I need to gather before I can come up with an acceptable plan regarding the return.
Regarding the credibility of my team, yes, what I have on my venture pitch is not enough to exude credibility of carrying out the plan. My notion is that since my pitch has been based on a role-playing approach, in a real venture pitch the people suitable for those positions will be identified before pitching my idea to investors.
Thanks for letting me know your thoughts!
James
Hey James,
My laptop has bad audio and with the elevator pitch it wasnt a great combo. thanks for the subtitles though. I agree with your pain point and it is one that needs to be addressed, perhaps knewton would be a good alternative to the status quo, but I don’t see the new idea. As a potential venture capitalist, I want something that jumps out from your product that maybe knewton doesn’t do or is lacking in.
thanks for the pitch!
MIKE
Thanks for your comments, Mike!
Hi James,
Your website is very attractive, and very easy to navigate. You have identified the problem and how Knewton could be a viable solution to better teaching and learning in BC schools. I agree you have identified the competition but why is Knewton a better product. You have taken this existing enterprise can you share how you are launching it differently as the new CEO? I am thinking you are improving the marketing and selling of the learning Platform!.
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
I tried to create a situation where the people with a limited budget can save money in the long run by investing in Knewton’s technology. My take is that by using what Knewton (the real company) already has and pitching for investment in the Canadian public school sector, the establishment of the company’s presence there will allow investors to make money from government funding.
If I were to launch the product from scratch, I would not do it differently from what Knewton has already done – by offering free trials of its technology to large universities and then using the user feedback to promote its product to large publishers, because publishers need schools to buy their product in order to make money.
Hope that answers your questions, and thank you for your input!
James
Hi James,
I like how you laid out your site; it’s beautiful 🙂
As others have mentioned, you’ve done a good job talking about the pain point, marketability and the solution.
And, I think for investors to get excited about giving you money, they will want to have a better handle on venture plan and the returns/exist strategy associated with it. Regarding the latter, I’d be careful about pitching your idea as a means to make money from government funding. Any government rep will immediately shut you down if they see that they could be implicated in a scandal in which public money was seen to be funneled into the hands of private investors. In this case, greed is not good.
Hi Frank,
I hadn’t thought about how pitching an idea to make money from government funding would have such negative effects. Thanks for letting me know this important point! I will be sure to frame my pitches so that potential investors know exactly how the money will be used by the company.
Thanks,
James
Hi James,
First off, what a lovely site. It was extremely clean, uncomplicated, and easy to navigate, which for some strange reason is often hard to find nowadays! I applaud your design.
I found two subpages of your site particularly interesting: Pain Point and Competition. It was very clear that you did your research to come up with the numbers and narrative explaining the importance of a product such as Knewton. The Competition page was an EXCELLENT resource that I very well may bookmark for future reference. You can see the effort you put in to express the knowledge you have of the market here.
I understand that Knewton is not a new venture, nor are you taking it in any particularly “new” direction. It is hard to reinvent a well working wheel, isn’t it?! I do applaud your effort to explain the importance and value of the program as it currently exists however. I would have liked to have seen a more well-developed Championship page (even if it meant creating something just for the sake of the project). Championship is often very key to investors; a more well developed page would make the proposal much more effective.
Overall, I think you did a good idea showing us the benefit of Knewton; it would have been interesting to see it taken to a new level, though even I have no idea where to go from here! Good work.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your feedback! I think my pitches did not do a good job of explaining the differences between what Knewton already has and what I will do differently if I were the CEO of the company. Perhaps this explains why I am not the CEO of Knewton… 🙂 In any case, I agree with your point about further developing the Championship page because why would investors invest in a company run by people TBD? I will keep these in mind for future reference.
Thanks again,
James
Q4:Does AR infringe on the personal privacy rights of individuals? Would you feel safe having your information accessible to anyone in public? I think whether or not AR infringes on the personal privacy rights of individuals depends on the terms of agreement users consent to when they register to become a member of the community […]
Continue reading Does AR infringe on the personal privacy rights of individuals? Posted in: Week 07: This is Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Foundation. OLPC is a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts which provides low-cost, internet-capable laptop computers to children across the world. Its XO laptops have been designed specifically to meet the needs of children and their usage under extreme weather conditions, […]
Continue reading Nicholas Negroponte, Founder and Chairman of the OLPC Foundation Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp Selecting one (1) of the reports, review it in sufficient detail to post a concise critical analysis of it in the ETEC522 course blog, focusing on the following general criteria: How, and how much, is it useful and valuable to the broader community of educators, as well as learning technologies specialists and venturers? Upon reviewing […]
Continue reading Analysis of the Educause: 7 Things You Should Know About report Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
I really enjoyed reading the Educause report. Their focus on the educator and practical approach to presenting the information really makes it a tool that one can use to help guide them to useful and effective learning tools. You are right that there is not a lot of data presented…I suppose we are to trust that they have collected the data and analyzed it before presenting the information.
Each of the reports provided in section 2.1 of this module seem to provide information that is targeted to fulfill particular investment needs. I think for reports that do not provide sufficient data to support their claims, it would be best to examine other sources on the same topic before making any sort of investment decisions.
Hi my fellow teammate,
It is a good idea that Educause reports their finding by answering the 7 essential questions f. I hope they continue with this seven things series format ( I have found 18 of these reports). The readers can quickly skim through their report to find any particular piece of info or just to keep themselves abreast to the latest tech.
Hi Paula,
I think this report and the one by Ambient Insight would be useful as follow-ups after reading reports that have summarized the trend in learning technology. It is too bad that all of the more detailed reports need membership to be accessed, which is nonetheless reasonable for the information and services one receives.
Hi everyone. My name is James, and this is my 5/6th course in the MET program. I have a B.A. in Philosophy, a diploma in TESL, and a B.Ed. in Elementary Education at the intermediate level. I have worked with students from K to adults as an EFL instructor for 5 years in Taiwan, and […]
Continue reading Hello from Vancouver! Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Welcome James,
Your motivation to help students selecting technology is similar to mine. I have wanted to help students and my colleagues with this, which lead to my joining the MET program. Pitching to policy/decision makers is an important skill. Have you taken ETEC 520? I found that to be a helpful course related to decision making. All the best.
Ken
I’m going to take 520 next term. Can’t wait! I’ve watched Dragon’s Den, and seeing people pitch their ideas to the big companies really got me thinking about the skills I need to have in order to navigate through a tech driven economy. Looking forward to learning with you and everyone else in this course!
James
Hi James,
I’m also in EFL and have found it’s not that easy to get fellow colleagues to use technology unless management is onboard; however, sometimes it’s management that is onboard, but teachers aren’t because of the time it implies to learn to use the tool in question. Perhaps creating and OER aimed at getting teachers onboard would be good.
I look forward to sharing our experiences in EFL.
Good luck,
Adriana
I think so too. Since technology is evolving at such a rapid pace, it can be intimidating for teachers to step out of their comfort zones and into the zone of proximal development in terms of technology integration using unfamiliar technology. An OER targeted to help educators and management streamline this process sounds interesting!
James
James! We meet again, after just finishing 530 this summer. I enjoyed, as always, the month long break. I’m looking forward to more of your great insight this semester.
Peggy
Great to see you again, Peggy! Looking forward to the things I’ll be learning from you and everyone else in this course!
Hey, buddy! It’s great to see you again. I was wondering when we would share another class.
Good to see you again too, Ben! I was wondering about that too. I am with Sheza and Rose in 512 this term. Looking forward to the things we’ll be learning together this term!
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jenbarker 10:16 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I didn’t mind the peer assessment bit, but felt the specific aspects we were asked to rate could have been expanded a bit to reflect the multiple facets of pitches.
kstackhouse 6:56 pm on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great idea, a rubric for each component would help in deciding the scores for the pitches. It would probably make the evaluations more consistent if we were all going on the same criteria.
adi 3:19 pm on December 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I actually found grading and commenting on other people’s work very useful, it helped me reflect on my own work and how I could have improved it. The feedback everyone gave me and others was also very useful to learn from.