The Pitches Patason’s_Elevator_Pitch.wmv http://youtu.be/y0h7UmugwjM Patason’sVenture_pitch.mp4 http://youtu.be/xbwpeNLPC5E Reflection My idea for the product designed for this course began some years ago with the release of the ipad. It started when my colleague and good friend that sits next to me- a Macappresiendo complained about the new device that Steve Jobs was making and his dissatisfaction with […]
Continue reading The Pitches Patason’s_Elevator_Pitch.wm… Posted in: General, Venture ForumToggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Pat A Son
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Pat A Son
McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, Strengths · Sound theoretical and technical base · Well-developed online presence · A long history with the education industry · A large market share in education as is the largest educational publisher in the U.S · A wealth of resources to draw from with their experience in the print media · A wide […]
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Pat A Son
My AR book
Hi everyone, Please hop over to http://www.zooburst.com/zb_books-viewer.php?book=zb02_50827c6951e9d and play with my AR book (1 page) on ecology. Building the page was simple enough but I did not like the fact the height of an image above the book is pegged to the size of the image. A little image editing skills would go a long […]
Continue reading My AR book Posted in: Week 07: -
Pat A Son
Augmented reality in my classroom
Technology such as AR can certainly go a long way in enhancing the learning experience in any science class such as my integrated science class. Here it can be used to visualise abstract concepts, reinforce tangible ones, visualize real activities that are impossible to observe, go on virtual field trip and generate interest. I can […]
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Pat A Son
Jeff Bezos the founder amazon.com
Born January 12, 1964 Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos the founder and CEO of Amazon.com which isthe largest online merchant of books and a wide variety of products on the World Wide Web. He graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and computer science. After graduating he worked at several […]
Continue reading Jeff Bezos the founder amazon.com Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp -
Pat A Son
Gartner’s 2012 Top Ten Strategic Technologies are as follows: Media Tablets and Beyond Mobile-Centric Applications and Interfaces. Contextual and Social User Experience. Internet of Things. App Stores and Marketplaces. Cloud Computing. Next-Generation Analytics. Big Data. In-Memory Computing. Extreme Low-Energy Servers. (NB. Cloud computing is number 10 in the original list because I find it is […]
Continue reading Gartner’s 2012 Top Ten Strategic Technol… Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace -
Pat A Son
Hello from Tobago
Hi everyone, This is my sixth ETEC course so I am passed the halfway mark and it has been great so far. I am of the opinion that this will be a different experience to the others since it is geared towards ‘selling’ rather than the theories of learning and teaching. In a way I […]
Continue reading Hello from Tobago Posted in: General
avninder 1:34 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Patason,
I choose to view your entire pitch because I was intrigued by the tablet notebook folding motion in your elevator pitch. I think you totally hit the mark in terms of using the media to portray your message in the pitches and the images you used were interesting and relevant. I also liked that you used reviews from various sources to increase your credibility.
You mentioned that there are who competitors have the ability to use the portal ability but only for certain types of phones. Is your competition also able to use the notepad/keyboard function? Even though it is patented, does something similar exist?
I am currently not an avid tablet user, although I use my smartphone all the time. To be able seamlessly move all of your information to a bigger screen with more flexibility is a huge advantage.
There was also a lot of information in your pitch regarding the growth of cell phone use. But since your venture is the tablet and its patented features, you may want to consider keeping the focus on how a tablet could be marketed to current smart phone users in the education field.
The only other suggestion I would have is giving more information about yourself and the development team. Your pitch was convincing and knowledgeable but if there were more details regarding your educational background and relevant work experience, you would gain credibility.
If I had a million dollars lying around, I would consider investing. Good job!
Pat A Son 11:06 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you avninder.
Your Comments are valid and would certainly help my venture
Patason
Ranvir 4:23 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
An excellent venture concept considering the mLearning market is booming. I also like the ability of smartphone plugging into a tablet device – very novel ideal indeed.
As an investor, I would like to know more about you, your experience in this market and proposed marketing plan to recoup the investment of $1million.
Pat A Son 11:13 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Ranvir,
I was going to do some financial projection but left them out when I discovered we did not have to do any ‘money’ since my video was getting big and unwieldy.
Patason
Mike Rae 4:48 am on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Patason,
I love the idea of being able to turn a smart phone into a tablet. This device could be especially useful for schools wanting to employ a BYOD program, considering that a lot more students have smart phones on them than tablets, the school could purchase something like your product in bulk and have the kids use their smart phones in them.
part of my problem with doing work on my tablet is that I miss my keyboard, and this product would be a solution for me.
I would have liked to hear more about your marketing plan and where you would sell your product, and of course a little more about you and your background.
I felt a little hypnotized by the repetition of the animation of the product, but in a good way. It may have brain washed me into thinking that people would use it! good work,
MIKE
Pat A Son 6:34 am on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you Mike,
Your point are all valid but rendering took longer than I planned and I had issues that I do not care to mention here that got in the way so I did not do as good a job as I had planned.
My target is education, business and emerging markets that will be serviced by our distributors as I imagined the company to be an O.E.M. Customers can still purchase directly via our website however. We will pay special attention to schools as we want our customers to be ‘hooked for life. So to this end we will have special deals with volume discounts for academic institutions.’
Within the next five years we expect that 40% of tablet owners and 30% of smart phone users will be using our product.
ME:- An educator with 25 years experience, For the last ten I was director of the educational technology unit of the ministry of education.
Tooooo Late 🙁
frank 10:06 pm on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Pat,
You have a great Idea here!
I think you have good know-how related to the business elements of this venture: the pain point: marketing, the Ask, the Return etc.
If you want to people to invest real money into this idea of yours, I suggest you do 2-things:
1) I would go and study successful spin-off products from popular technologies and study how they worked with OEM’s to develop their Spin-offs. If you can get the even 1 of the Tablet providers on board, this will go a long way for you in getting their support: they will share their design specs with you and you can potentially get exclusive rights to being their supplier if you can earn their trust – if they compete with you like Microsoft did with Netscape, you’ll be dead in the water before you start.
I would not spread myself too thin here; you’re better off creating a solid product for 1-technology platform, then something mediocre that suits several different ones. Even if you work with India’s $20 project, I think this venture will eventually pay off.
The key thing is to build a relationship with the OEM you want to support.
2) If you want to be the next Steve Jobs with this product, you’re going to have to find a couple of Wozniak’s who can design and deliver a solid product for you. I would search high and low for those guys and get them rolling ASAP. If you have a solid product, everything else will follow. To do that, you’ll need some Angel money from family and friends, line of credit etc ($100k) to fund the prototype in the first year. If you have the right guys, I think it’s a risk worth taking.
Great idea and Good Luck!
Pat A Son 4:39 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your suggestions Frank.
You make me feel as if am ready for the big times.
Patason
kstackhouse 10:51 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great presentation and very thorough. I loved the animation with your presentation. There is a children’s toy that let’s you connect a smart phone (I think iPhone) to it to access more information. I thought of it when I saw your presentation. It is similar to your idea, where the resources of the phone are being drawn-upon to make the original device more powerful and provide more features. You can take a look here: http://itikes.com/. It would make sense that this is something that would be useful for adults too. Nice work.
Pat A Son 4:39 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you Ken
C. Ranson 9:05 am on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Pat,
I agree, great idea! I think your product would be very marketable and you have identified the student target group that would be a very interested in this product. Your elevator pitch and presentation are very impressive. I would invest in your product! BRAVO.
Catherine 🙂
Pat A Son 4:40 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you Catherine
jenniferschubertubc 9:13 am on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You had me at adapter, Patason! I do think that mobile computing is certainly the wave of the future, especially having gone through my own hardware woes during my travels. I have had to learn about many different ways to communicate, collaborate and work, through necessity over interest. You product has me extremely excited about the future of this technolgy.
Your elevator pitch was very thorough, containing lots of valuable information, including research backup, flaws in currently available devices, and description of your new product. (I think the biggest thing for me was unlimited power supply! Well done there!!) Your venture pitch naturally brought in more specific information, including relevant facts and figures outlining the market share, which I found helpful in evaluating the importance of such a product.
My only question relates to the adapters. Will they indeed be able to accommodate every type of mobile phone, or those that are touch screen technology only. (Only touch screens are shown in the animation, but “all phones” is mentioned several times in the pitch.) Will even the old flip phone work here? I suspect that most mobile owners will have the latest, but undoubtedly there will still be students who cannot afford that level of technology. That is not a primary concern for your product however, but may be a question asked by an administration who is determining whether or not to integrate it into the educational system.
Overall, I was very impressed with the product! It reminds me of the Microsoft Surface they keep advertising here in the UK, but your adapter technology (and unlimited power supply) are what make it unique and pioneering. If I had the money, I would back you tomorrow!
Pat A Son 5:03 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you Jennifer,
The technology is for smartphone because they share the same technology with tablets so it easy to make a portal to convert a smartphone to a tablet. To do this with a feature phone would be a more expensive and less profitable affair.
Cheers
Patason
Scott 2:01 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Indeed, at its core this is an original idea which shows potential.
As a CEO Patason, you seem very knowledgeable and passionate about your product, which is a critical strength. I am also quite impressed by your team as presented in your written reflection – thank you by the way, for sharing a well written summary of your venture.
Where I begin to have reservations about the idea is with its concept and marketability. The concept of a folding ‘dock’ is novel and addresses many of the pain points of mobile technology as you note, however at least two concerns immediately come to my mind:
Firstly, your case, takes away to a certain degree, from the ultra portability and desecrate size of tablets and smartphones. I love my phone because I can take it anywhere and use it with one hand. I love my tablet because I can cozy up with it in my lap to read and type. After Jon Ive struggles with the form factor for a device for years and sources durable materials to construct it with, I’m just not inclined to add an extra case to it.
Secondly, how does the hardware you add, particularly the stylus integrate with existing apps? Can I still use Evernote, GoodReader and the other apps I enjoy, as I always have?
In terms of marketability, you have some solid references to support your products need, however some of the charts in your venture pitch were a bit dated – one from 2010 which notes that RIM’s market share is near what Apple’s is, which of course is no longer the case.
Finally, I am left feeling somewhat uncertain of what I am getting for my 1 million dollar investment – how will the money be used (though numbers were not an explicit component of our projects).
I hope I am not being overly critical here, but in my mind, the concept and plan need some clarification and review before I could consider investing.
Pat A Son 5:22 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Scott,
I love your thoroughness because this approach will bring the best out of any product you look at. As for the case it is valid concern but the main idea here is that you have to weigh the protection factor, creative affordances and unlimited battery life against form factor. Students will overlook the latter because the others will make the difference in their education. Considering that this is all you would need for school it is not an unreasonable assumption. The stylus is compatible with the current crop of drawing software.
Cheers
Patason
Patrick Pichette 7:20 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Patason,
I appreciated the enthusiasm you showed in your venture and although you attack a pain point regarding the limitations of a smartphone by adding additional affordances, I just felt as though you were adding bulk to a perfectly working device for its function. If I want a tablet, I’ll buy a tablet while as if I want a smartphone, I’ll buy a smartphone. I don’t see much reason for buying a smartphone and then having to carry around the additional bulk that will likely not see much use. I’d rather carry around a VGA adapter, HDMI adapter or make use of an Apple TV along with a bluetooth keyboard when the need for projecting my screen’s content to a larger screen arises. The built-in Airplay functionality of an iPhone tackles much of what you propose and with a charger cable, there is unlimited battery power for using your device in this way. Still, your passion and motivation were evident and although it is an interesting proposition, I would likely look to invest elsewhere as I’m not convinced that it’s a feasible product.
Pat A Son 10:27 am on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Patrick,
Thank you for your suggestions. It is clear that the creative product line is not for you. However you must remember that students are one of the main target groups of my products and they will have to weigh the tradeoff between added bulk and creative tools with unlimited battery life. From your scenario we have to remember that there will be times in the field when a plug is not available and the creative package is less bulky than an apple TV plus a keyboard. Finally not everyone lives by the all things apple mantra.
Cheers
Patason