Here is a screenshot of the Avatar that I created. He is a cool, buff, tall, gentlemen who boasts unlimited amounts of swag. In a sense, he is everything I am not :(. The role playing feature of this kind of software is definitely engaging and I can see where the name “second life” came […]
Continue reading Manny’s Avatar Posted in: Week 12:
I struggled with customizing my Avatar because I found that the program was taking very long to load the different features, etc. Another issue I had, since I created an Avatar and entered the virtual world is purple shades blocking parts of my screen and even my Avatar’s face. I tried to get rid of these shadows but was not able to. Hence, […]
Continue reading I struggled with customizing my Avatar … Posted in: Week 12:
Congrats on your Avatar. I’m also glad we had to do this project, otherwise I would have never ventures into SL.
Regarding the purple problem, I found this in the SL community page. It does appear to have to do with your graphics card.
“Although it is necessary to download the last drivers for your graphics card, here is a solution which seems that works for some residents and it is worth to give a try. In Viewer 3 open Advanced Menu (Ctrl+Alt+D if you don’t see it) –> Show Debug Settings –> click the down arrow and find “RenderMaxTextureIndex”. Normally there you see the value 16. Set it to 0 (zero) and close the window. See if that makes any difference.”
and
“Some people who have ATI graphics cards are having this problem with the most recent V3 upgrade. See http://jira.phoenixviewer.com/browse/FIRE-4945 . For a quick but temporary solution, go to Preferences >> Graphics and disable Basic Shaders. For a more permanent solution update the 12.1 Catalyst driver from http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-64.aspx?type=2.4.2&product=2.4.2…. or run the AMD driver autodetect tool to update: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/auto_detect.aspx”
Ah, thanks Adriana. I first thought it was due to a sunset setting, but it seems the graphic card is the issue (as you point out).
Thank you so much. That will definitely be helpful. The purple on my screen was deterring me from wanting to use the program but now that you have given me some suggestions, I will try it out again.
Nureen
Here is my avatar; it is so amazing it looks just like me! In fact it is me in my real world environment. After reading many of the experiences people have had: improper loading pages, slow response, funny colours, wrong graphics card, paying for risqué clothing, slow internet, old computer, addiction to the program, I […]
Continue reading Doug’s Realistic Avatar Posted in: Week 12:
HI Doug,
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on creating avatar’s, though I would like to add that I am not sure that making or using an avatar is necessarily about hiding who a person is and more about having fun with creating a different persona.
As for second life, I think that like many other online programs and application the possibility for glitches or slow Internet access is always a potential issue but once accessed it does open you up to an amazing and exciting world (at least that’s how I felt when I started to experiment with it).
Julie
Hi Doug —
I did give avatar building a try and I’m going to have to concur with many of our colleague’s comments and your own about the difficulties of building an avatar. I think it’s probably important to point out that it is difficult because there are so many possible customizations that you can go through when designing your character.
Our students would probably be better equipped to deal with a lot of the imperfections in the process. I wasn’t very proud of any of my creations either, but I did sit through the process and create two different avatars. I can say that I have a grasp of the idea now. It is definitely avatar customization to a high degree. The more customization that you can do — the more complicated the process it is.
I can definitely see that a student or individual that is drawn to Second Life could spend additional time “getting their character” right.
Perhaps it just isn’t for us 😉 I’m glad that I had a chance to see it though.
— Jonathan
Hi Frank,
Interesting shot! I am curious as to where you were in Second Life when you took this picture? As well I am curious, have you ever used Second Life before and what inspired this choice of avatar?
Julie
Hi Julie,
No, yesterday was actually my first time on SL.
I think it’s easy enough to create a loaded performance of yourself in other social media such as FB and Twitter. An Avatar allows us to do more: to experiment and be playful in a broader sense, maybe from a different perspective; which may land us anywhere from the mundane to the incredible.
Perhaps fittingly, one of the recommended stages had been designed with a Scary Halloween-ish theme, with several interesting sets such as the one in this pic. As you can see, I was caught by a human sized spider net, and an unearthly fem spider came down to check me out and determine what to do with me. It was interesting example of the creative potential of OLE, and I thought I should share the class.
MUHAHAHA!!
Nice action on the Venture Forum! Just to let you know, I’ve done my second review of your A2 assignments and you should expect your grades on these later today. I’ve also done a first review of your A3 assignments, so you should expect these back to you, along with your A4 work, by the […]
Continue reading Completion Schedule Posted in: Announcements
Hi there David,
I haven’t received anything via email? Is that where you’re sending the feedback/marks to or?
I’ve just finished relaying all of the A2 grades – so please let me know if you haven’t received them via email yet. Cheers, David
I might be blind but I only see an email acknowledging reception of the A4 assignment.
Pretty brief, but if, like me, you know next to nothing, it’s a start: http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/10/an-entrepreneurs-guide-to-patents-the-basics/
Continue reading An Entrepreneur’s guide to patents: the basics Posted in: Blog Café
eLT-PD is an online professional development site for English Language Teachers. I wish I could have produced and edited this project with the high quality many of you achieved in this course; unfortunately, I lack the know-how. However, I welcome your honest feedback to help me improve it and to hopefully one day be able to […]
Continue reading eLT-PD online professional development Posted in: Venture Forum
Hello Adriana,
I appreciate your honesty about your skills. I was also impressed by others tech savvy skills. I wished I knew how to impose graphics alongside the video of me speaking in iMovie. I liked your Elevator Pitch. You address the pain point and the fact that your venture is free makes is more accessible than going back to University for a diploma in supporting English Language Learners. I also thought your Venture plan was really good. My only suggestion would be to make your ask and return more clear. Are you asking investors for money or personnel? Great job, Jen
Thanks for the tips Jen. I guess because there are so many people that could invest, e.g. government, private educational institutions, language associations, British Council, ELSA NET, etc., I’m not really sure how to pitch to them all. I guess I could perhaps adjust the pitch depending on the possible investor. However, I also felt very ‘green’ when putting this together; I hope to learn from all the tips I’m given, and from everyone else’s work.
Thanks a million.
Adriana 🙂
I liked the consistent look and feel of your slides. The images against the white background created a very clean look. Unfortunately I could not hear any audio and the clip on the slide that said “2 billion” did not play, it just said “codecs unavailable”. So I was unable to get the full impact had I known what the numbers were representing. Based on the text I believe that your venture has a lot of potential as ESL may be a very global issue which was captured through your use of graphics.
Thank you. I’m sorry to hear you could not hear the audio. I really appreciate you taking the time to view it.
I really liked the venture concept and believe it has lot of potential. It would have been great to know bit more about yourself and your marketing/venture plan…
Thanks Ranvir. I hope to learn from other people’s projects regarding where and how to insert more information on myself and how to best market the venture. I am still a bit confused as to hoe pitch a non-for profit venture and to investors who gain different things from their investment.
Hi Adrianna,
I don’t think that technological savvy played any sort of detrimental role in your pitch. The venture plan was cohesive and made logical sense. Good work.
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
I’m going to have to concur with my colleagues. Wouldn’t even worry about the tech savvy aspect. I thought the Powerpoint did the trick just well. You had simply slides, spoke clearly and your message was delivered very effectively. I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s really the message that is the most important and I got it from watching your powerpoint (audio worked just fine for me!).
I definitely would have liked to have a bit more detail about how you were going to roll out your plan? How you would attempt to attract users to your site. But I loved the delivery of your message for the need of this product!
Hi Jonathan,
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I felt it was a bit slow, but recording a voice-over using PPT is a bit complicated. I will work on the details regarding the users.
Thanks again 🙂
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:
Throughout this venture pitch, it was clear that the CEO is not only aware of the need for such as service, but is a significant member of the current English Language community. These essential pieces, speaks to the CEO’s confidence in their venture and the passion they have to make it succeed. Furthermore, the venture is further strengthened by the addition of two other members, who also have significant experience within this field. The only concern regarding this team, is the inclusion of individuals who are experienced at taking real world information, and effectively and meaningfully translating it to the online world. A key element, that will not only attract users, but keep them.
Venture Concept:
Online professional development is beginning to be explored in various areas of the educational world, from university courses to webinars. However, at this time, I am unaware of ventures specifically focusing on English Language Learners, therefore, even though the venture may not be original, the concept is. Furthermore, the CEO did provide evidence to create a foundation of knowledge which supports this venture. Even though I have no experience in English Language, I am interested to see if this is a necessary or only perceived service.
Marketability:
The CEO did a good job of providing information regarding the potential market of students who require instructors better trained in this area. However, I am unclear on the actual number of teachers who provide instruction in this area. For without this key piece of information, a determination on market size, share and revenue cannot be made, all of which needs to be within a certain range to make eLT-PD a viable venture. Furthermore, even though the specific idea is relatively unique at this time within the online professional development market, in the long run, if this venture is found successful, any market share will be threatened by competitors do to lack of intellectual or proprietary right.
Venture Plan:
At this time, no specific market readiness timeline has been provided, creating concerns about their ability to enter the market before or after other competitors, especially considering this market is gathering momentum both offline and online. Secondly, seeing that other products are becoming a reality, is it possible for this venture to maintain its viability if it is simply focused on one product, where as larger companies could attract more users by providing multiple opportunities under the same online platform.
At this time, I feel there is a need for better professional development opportunities in English Language, and with more focus, and the inclusion of web training specialists, this venture might prove worthwhile in the near future.
Thank you very much for your very useful and through feedback. You are right about the number of teachers; unfortunately I only managed to get certain statistics per country and still need to do the math and get figures from other places. Your observations regarding the specific market readiness timeline is also very important.
In terms of competition, our product complements rather than complements with the private market. The private market has well structured courses/books designed to teach very specific elements related to teaching and often designed/written by people with little or no classroom experience. The workshops on the site are from conferences where speakers range from being well-known authors and teachers with years of experience, to everyday teachers who want to share what they do in the classroom. Publishing companies and teacher training schools can complement rather than compete with the site, but I need to get this across in the presentation.
Thanks again. All your observations will help me improve the overall project very much. You have pointed out lots of things. Cheers ☺
Thank you for providing more clarity in regards to the overall project, much appreciated. As well, I remember there being mentioned a Journal? Would this be online, offline… follow the peer-editing model. I found this interesting, but forgot to mention it before.
Hello,
I do not think the level of tech used to create a pitch or plan impacts the message being sent.. You did a good job of getting your point across. Your slides very aesthetically pleasing and your facts did a good job of addressing the need for this product. I worked in Africa for a year and I saw the need for training and the lack of teacher education. This product would do great globally.
I did find that there were some missing components in your presentation overall. For example, I would suggest maybe appealing to your investor and directly stated what you would like (i.e. an investment).
Thanks for sharing. Your hard work is evident.
Nureen
Hi Adriana,
I appreciate your honesty and challenges with the technology; for me it did not detract from your pitch. I thought your elevator pitch did a good job at addressing the two of the three key components: problem and solution. Your venture pitch clearly showed the viability of your venture re assessment of your market, your position, your team and business model. I agree with Nureen’s feedback that your pitch could be strengthened by clearly stating your ask. I had no problems with the audio.
Sophia
In short Adriana, I found your pitch well articulated and concise. While it may not have featured all the production ‘sizzle’ you wanted, it delivers a substantial helping of EVA ‘steak’! Thank you for your hard work and for sharing such an original idea.
Hi Adi,
I enjoyed your elevator pitch. It is well organized and well pitched. I wish there was more information on the ask and return because that would’ve allowed me as an investor to get a better picture as to what I need to put in and what I can get in return.
Thanks for the well-presented pitch.
James
Hi Adriana,
I enjoyed both your pitches and found them informative. You identified clearly a market need and the target customers as well as a solution. Also I like your idea for generating revenue via sponsorship and advertising. Before investing as an EVA I would be interested to know more about whether this is feasible as a marketing strategy, i.e. that you can generate enough revenue from these sources to keep up an running.
Thanks,
Melissa
Hi Adriana
No matter how I tried I could could not view your elev
With the popularity of the internet and English being its main language you have a feasible venture.
Sorry for the previous incomplete pose. It was an accident.
Hi Adriana
No matter how I tried I could could not view your elevator pitch so my opinion is based on your venture pitch. With the popularity of the internet and English being its main language you have a feasible venture that can succeed.
Cheers
Patason
Hey All, Here is my avatar from Second Life. Her name is Larovenas. I found that I didn’t change much when compared to me. I guess I am not quite comfortable with doing something totally different online. I haven’t explored Second Life very much, but I did find it disconcerting walking around and seeing […]
Continue reading Lisa’s Avatar in Second Life Posted in: Week 12:
Hi Lisa,
Great avatar. Mine is also close to what I really look like (well, mostly). I agree with you, it is very odd to interact with complete strangers in SL. I found it much better to meet with my actual classmates. In that situation, it was very gratifying. There are definitely privacy settings for creating educational spaces. I encourage you to keep exploring the educational opportunities of SL.
Best,
Eva
I spent some time creating my avatar and was not successful in creating what I intended to create. This is who I am for now and will re-visit in the future now that I am a Second City resident. Interesting virtual site, does take some time to figure out how to navigate to different regions. […]
Continue reading I spent some time creating my avatar and… Posted in: Week 12: Hi All, I am pleased to present my elevator pitch and venture pitch on my fictitious product of Wizard Portfolio. It is a e-portfolio platform that is part of Microsoft Office 265 SharePoint. This is a for-profit venture and I hope you enjoy both the elevator and venture pitch. Thanks for any feedback. I have […]
Continue reading Wizard Portfolio Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Lisa,
Great work with your Wizard Portfolio venture. Your pitches were visually easy to follow and your script had all the necessary elements. Personally, I like the comfort of knowing that people still use Powerpoint.
In response to a few statements made about e-portfolios and the proper storage of artefacts: I know of many schools with working portfolio programs, that still rely on paper copy portfolios for student work. Especially in the lower grades when many of the skills students need and the work they do is not necessarily done on a computer.
I realize that taking photographs of student work and storing them in an e-portfolio is the way to start that process (Grades 1-3) but to state that there are no organized portfolio systems available could be misleading. Starting your ‘pain point’ requirement with this point may also need revision.
For me, the real pain point with portfolios is the fact that, as an educator, I really don’t know if universities and employers are even looking at these portfolios. In fact, I know many are not. I’m all for storing and organizing a portfolio of work, but i’m just wondering how beneficial a Grade 7 English essay or a piece of artwork from Grade 11 will be in an interview, etc. Perhaps i’m off base with that though.
During the presentation I felt I wanted to see the eportfolio in action. Perhaps a few screen shots or videos of kids actually using the service (or a similar service would add to the presentation as a whole.
As well, while talking about marketing to schools and districts who weren’t using e-portfolio services i was wondering how you would go about doing that? Would it be ‘cold-calling’ individual schools to see if they do in fact need or want an eportfolio service brought in? That had me thinking a bit.
Your ‘weaknesses’ slide was also a little redundant, as you mention that this service would require computers. I would imagine, however, that this is an obvious requirement that could even be left out of the presentation. If a school or company had no access to computers, i’m sure the last thing they would be looking for is an eportfolio service.
Your point about working offline and some other strengths of the service were great. As well, Mr. Great Guy and Ms. Awesome sounded quite generous…can i get their number?
The last little critique i can offer is through your ‘financing’ page, and the point you make about ‘seeking more funding’. It just sounds a little too vague. Is there a number in mind that Wizard would need in order to provide service?
Lisa, you’ve obviously done a great job, and the constructive critiques I have hopefully have been just that, constructive. Your clean, polished presentation offers a great service that definitely fills a need…especially as more and more students begin to go ‘paperless’ in their work at school.
Thanks for your efforts! I enjoyed learning more about Wizard Portfolio.
Kent
Hi Kent,
Thank you for your feedback. If you like PowerPoint, check out Slide Rocket – http://www.sliderocket.com/ (free) or Presenter Media – http://www.presentermedia.com/ (has a fee).
In my school district, we are going towards no final exams for middle school students and instead towards “Presentations of Learning”. I wasn’t quite sure how to spin that very well, but I thought that storing the student’s work and having a way to showcase what they did would be the answer. As well, my district is big into the “Attributes of a Learner” (essentially 21st Century skills) and want students to be able to show these skills. What I was trying to get at was that employers and future schools want students with these skills, but I may be promoted too much that they wanted these as portfolios.
Good point about wanting to possibly see the product or what it does. After reviewing other pitches, I realized how I could have made my pitch better. But I guess that’s how you grow. As well, for the “ask” and “return” I felt that I didn’t have enough background knowledge to put anything there, but I understand what you are getting at.
Thanks again for the comments,
Lisa
Hi Lisa, great elevator pitch and venture pitch. However I did find the elevator pitch a bit too much focused on the consumer rather than the investor. The venture pitch had a better balance and did focus on the investor.
I am of two minds on the purpose of e-portfolios. I agree with Kent above as to why the majority would want to keep their “early work”. There maybe a bigger market in post-secondary programs for students to build up a portfolio for career hunting. We currently have a few programs with an e-portfolio requirement and when we were hunting around for a system we settled on using Word Press as nothing else seemed suitable. So you could be selling yourself short on the post secondary market as some may have a system, but it probably is not that good. If an organization has D2L for example, don’t assume that they have bought the e-portfolio module or if they have that they happy with it.
Doug.
Hi Doug,
Thank you for your comments. Yes, I have to agree that my elevator pitch was geared more towards the consumer than investors. I should have tried to have an “ask” in there somewhere.
Good idea about maybe targeting the post-secondary schools market. In this program, I have only seen portfolios made on WordPress, so there may be a need.
Lisa
Hi Lisa, good job on your presentation but I have to agree that I don’t think there is a real market for Wizard portfolios. I needed to do an e-portfolio when I was completing my education degree at UBC but when I went to an information session for a school district their comment to us was they don’t want to see them. They have very limited time to go through applications and come to a decision. I have to agree that no employer really has a time to look at portfolios. Also the use of Sharepoint is problematic as I know my district is using it but they made so many adaptations to the program that a lot of the options you mentioned might not work. The other problem is that a lot of work isn’t done on computers as many students don’t have access to a computer so only limited documents would even be included. Good pitch and use of graphics but I wouldn’t invest in Wizard Portfolio.
Hi Colin,
Thank you for your comments. Our district is also using SharePoint (that’s why I decided to use them as my main company) and I saw the potential to possibly have something like Wizard Portfolio being used. But I have to agree, there are many glitches in SharePoint and I hope that they can smooth out some of these problems soon. My vision of storing student work that wasn’t done on computers was to finish a unit or chapter and then have students pick out what they wanted to store and take pictures to store. This may seem a little unrealistic, but it could be a solution.
Lisa
I loved the music. I think the elevator pitch looked clean and professional but I would caution against using clipart and images that people have seen a lot of. I’ve seen those first few images a million times. I agree with Doug that this is too focused on the consumer though. As an investor, I didn’t feel that it spoke to my interests. I also didn’t see anything about how your product is different from the other products on the market. Student websites are nothing new and are available for free from some other pretty heavy-hitters in Google and Weebly and more. What makes your product stand out. (Is your company Microsoft? If so, I agree that they have missed some significant opportunities with the education market and this is a glaring hole in their own portfolio.) If on the other hand, your product is separate, but leveraging Sharepoint, then I would have other concerns. Too many schools are shifting away from this sort of self-hosting model and moving to cloud-based solutions. If your idea is that this eportfolio follows the students everywhere and lasts throughout their academic career, then I would again be concerned about a self-hosted solution. What if the next school doesn’t use Sharepoint? What if it’s a Mac school?
Good luck.
Hi Ben,
Thank you for your comments. The song is called “On & On” by Friska Viljor.
Our district is using SharePoint (that’s why I decided to use them as my main company) and I saw the potential for something like Wizard Portfolio to be used. But I have to agree, there are many glitches in SharePoint and I hope that these problems can be smoothed out soon. SharePoint does have the ability for students or teachers to store information using cloud computing; therefor it wouldn’t necessarily be self-hosting for a school district. Students could move school to school within a district and still be able to access their information. If they moved to another district, they would need a Microsoft Office 365 account, but they should still be able to access their information once they had one. One weakness I did miss (as you pointed out) was if a school or district used Mac products.
Lisa
Lisa,
Although I like the idea and could see how well it could be introduced, I know there are other similar programs out there to create portfolios. I think, for your pitch, it might have helped me if you had stated how exactly this product is different. Why is it better, and how could you ensure that it remains better? It is absolutely an attention grabber, as far as the video, but it is perhaps a better commercial than pitch? As an investor I think that other points of your program might need to be shared. I would be interested to learn more as a teacher, but as an investor, I would say no.
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you for your comments. I did try to state how Wizard Portfolio was better than other products on my comparison of companies slide that included the ability of students to work offline, e-portfolio templates, 21st Century skills reflection questions being included with the product led by a school district, archiving student work from grades 1-12, and using familiar tools that are used by a majority of companies in the business world. But I didn’t add how they could have remained better.
My elevator pitch was probably geared too much towards consumers than investors. Reflecting back, I should have probably added an “ask” or what I wanted out of the investors.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. From the perspective of an EVA, I think your pitch would improve with information on how your product differentiates itself from its competitors (i.e., blogs, BlackBoard) because potential customers would wonder why they need to pay for something they can get for free. What is proprietary about your product?
I was unable to find information on your credentials in both the elevator and venture pitches. Your venture pitch is thorough and the plan on how to bring your product into the education market seems viable.
Hope that helps, and thanks for a well-presented pitch.
James
Hi James,
As I look at other people’s pitches and read the comments made on my own, I see ways I could have made my presentations better. One area I think I could have put more effort into was showing the product and how it worked. How I envisioned Wizard Portfolio differentiating from other companies in its ability to store work from grades 1-12 in pre-made grade folders, where students could store their artifacts. As well, our school district is big into the “Attributes of a Learner”, so I thought I would add that school districts could create reflection questions students could answer for each grade.
I am unsure what you are asking about when you state that you couldn’t find any credentials in my pitches. Do you mean references? Thanks,
Lisa
Hi LIsa,
Maybe I missed it, but I am referring to the information about the Championship of your company.
James
Hi James,
I had a slide near the end of my venture pitch stating that Bill Gates and another person were involved with the project, as well as myself as the lead designer and another who was the lead IT personnel. Thanks for asking!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
That was a very professionally made elevator pitch! I felt intrigued by watching it and was drawn to do a further analysis on the wizard venture. I couldn’t concur more that the wizard combined a repository for students work with an innate ability for students to demonstrate their flexibility and comfort with 21st century technology. It was great how you identified some competitors that employers might be more familiar with, but then you showed how wizard was potentially a stronger venture. The cost point wasn’t clear to me, but your projections were easy to understand and bespoke your well thought out target audience and marketing strategies. I did feel that the overly thorough identification with the problems that wizard might encounter actually worked against me wanting to consider investment. I couldn’t imagine how these would be overcome – and it diminished my interest in the product. At this point, I was really struggling to see how the free offerings (mentioned in your slide… with googledrive etc..) wouldn’t be just the same, as well as being more familiar to industry standards. And I’m sorry; even though I looked twice I couldn’t see it clearly mentioned what exactly you were asking for in the way of financing. Nor what the expected return would be. As much as I was impressed with the quality of your research and the suaveness of your presentation I couldn’t see some of what I was looking for with the wizard venture presentation. I would however (I know it’s fictional) be willing to give it a trial in my personal classroom to see what the affordances could be.
Hi PC,
Thank you for your comments. In my school district, we are going towards no final exams for middle school students and instead towards “Presentations of Learning”. I wasn’t quite sure how to spin that very well, but I thought that storing the student’s work and having a way to showcase what they did would be the answer. As well, my district is big into the “Attributes of a Learner” (essentially 21st Century skills) and want students to be able to show these skills. I admit that I may not have added enough to my presentation and that my “ask” and “return” were a little weak. I just felt that I didn’t have enough background information to answer these questions.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I’ve found it fascinating to review your elevator and venture pitches as, essentially, you and have proposed the same solution using different software! Needless to say, I think that it’s a great idea and one that is long overdue.
Your venture pitch was very comprehensive. I felt like you had a good understanding of who your market is and how your product will be sold to them .You were honest and forthcoming with the product’s weaknesses, though I wonder to what degree using a Microsoft product will limit what sort of artifacts a student can collect. You comparison of Wizard Portfolio to competitors was very informative and a good selling point. Your plan is detailed and clearly presented. That said, if Bill Gates is part of your team, then you already have the financial backing that you need. You don’t need my help!
On the whole, you’ve done a great job!
Hi Mr. Cunnian,
Thank you for your feedback. I only choose to use Microsoft because our school district is using them instead of FirstClass now. I saw that several people were also doing pitches for portfolios. I haven’t had a chance to check out your pitches, but I will definitely look at it now.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
I enjoyed viewing both your pitches. Your elevator pitch was very clear, visually attractive and well put together; however, it did not contain all the elements needed to attract investors. Nevertheless, your detailed pitch did go into depth and shows a very clear knowledge of the buyer and end user and why there is a need for the product. A clear problem is addressed and a solution proposed. Perhaps the one thing lacking is information about the competition. Overall, though, you did a great job!
Adriana
On the rubric for A3 there is a component where it says we will be assessed on self evaluation. I am not sure if I missed something. Are we supposed to submit an evaluation with A3? Nureen
Continue reading A3 self evaluation Posted in: General, Questions & Answers, Week 12:
Hi Nureen,
I plan to add this section within my blog post beneath the links to my pitches. I believe David wants us to take a step back and critically evaluate our pitches, similar to what we did in Week Three. I hope I have been able to add some clarity. Take Care, Jen
I agree with Jen, it is something I missed in the first assignment, and do not plan on missing this time as well. I do not plan on putting it into my pitch, but it will be part of my overall project. Hope that provides some help.
Tom
A lot of people I’ve spoken to had trouble with it in the first assignment as I myself did. My “difficulty” section is placed into my pitch as part of the sale.
“Had Trouble With” is a really nice way of saying, I completely overlooked it in the rubric… stuff I give my students grief for… Oh well, maybe I should be more understanding in the future…
Tom
Hi Nureen,
From what I understand we are also supposed to be submit a self-reflection of our projects in addition to the elevator and venture pitch. I included mine at the end of my venture pitch, but I am sure there are other ways to do so.
Hope that helps!
Julie
Thanks for the clarification. 🙂
Nureen
Here is the A3 Elevator and Venture pitch: My venture focuses on a new kind of software that attempts to blend the lines between educational and entertainment software in an attempt to make the new hybrid genre more marketable to the regular gaming community. It’s focus is contextual relevance and it’s explained more in the […]
Continue reading A3 Elevator and Venture Posted in: General, Venture Forum
Hey Joel:
Both of these links take me to your school district access portal, what is the log in and password?
Doug.
Hi Joel,
The same thing happened to me when I tried.
Jen 🙂
Weird. Ok fixed now. Apologies
Joel, fair play it works now for me anyway.
Well done – Sound argument, well presented with a good idea.
I would definitely want to chat to you more about the background you and your team have and what other projects you have done to make sure that you have the ability to develop the ‘Context’ project. Also I would be interesting in learning about the revenue model for the product, would you be pitching it at an educational market or take on the games industry in the ‘real’ world?
It is an engaging and fascinating product you are pitching. I would be interested in being involved early once the development and revenue questions were as good as the concept.
Well done
Stuart
Thank you for the kind words Stu. It’s going to be pitched to both the gaming and educational industries actually because of the nature of software. Remember that what we are trying to accomplish hasn’t actually been done before and recently the gaming industry, like the movie business has become a little shy about producing anything that’s a possible risk. This is one reason that we have been recently inundated with sequels and horrible reboots in both genre’s. One of the inspirations for this software was Lumosity but after working with it I believed that the idea could be expanded and marketed in a different direction. Once I started looking into it, I realized that the product pitch had grown beyond the constraints of Lumosity and that we could really revolutionize the concept and subsequent genres.
As far as the revenue model is concerned, Kickstarter is a model that allows for small donations, usually enough to cover one instance of the software and if the company reaches a certain goal, they can then continue with production based on the promise of customer delivery once the software is finished. It has revolutionized multiple industries because it allows startups to engage the public with products that are deemed too risky for regular production.
Hi Joel,
I see tremendous potential in your venture in terms of education but I’m not 100% sure on the viability of producing an endless continuum of content without a strong user base. If you are tempted to pursue this venture, I might look at crowdsourcing content to establish a larger content repository for use with your platform. Ideally, you would want to create the tools and provide them to others to generate the content for you. I think something like Minecraft comes to mind. Still, I see a great idea, the right person to lead it with passion and drive and those are elements that would encourage me to ask additional questions to determine the viability of the venture. Good work!
Hi,
I think that you have an interesting concept here. I think that if you are able to do it, you could have a very high demand product. However, developing the content for such a project seems like a very large undertaking. I think that you seem like a very confident leader and have made very persuasive pitches.
Jhodi
@ Patrick,
I think that to garner interest in the product/project, we have to showcase the capability of the software first. In order to do that we need to create the three modules first and then approach the crowd sourcing with a later release after we have enough funding to develop user friendly development tools for user created content and modules.
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 […]
Continue reading PD Bridge Posted in: Venture Forum
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
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?
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.
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…
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
It was interesting to go back and reflect upon my participation. I agree that a platform that helps you keep a better track of your own posts would be useful, and perhaps doing this same participation reflection half way through the course. Regarding the platform we used, I agree it is perhaps not the best […]
Continue reading My last participation :-( Posted in: General
Adriana,
Congratulations to you and cheers for your completion of MET!.
What a great idea being able to go back and make some final revisions to Assignment 3 after all the peer feedback. The other suggestion would be to make the font larger and a different text style in the reply section so those of use that can’t see as well as we use to could actually see when we have made a typo, once you hit reply there is no turning back or method to make any corrections. But I do agree with your comment about how brilliant this course is.
This course provided a significant amount of new knowledge construction and created some very interesting and meaningful discussion.
Catherine 🙂
Thank you Catherine. Good luck with the rest of your courses. 🙂
Congratulations Adriana on completing your MET program! I’m sorry we didn’t cross paths earlier. I’ve enjoyed your posts and your work in this course. All the best!
Peggy
Thank you Peggy. I enjoyed your posts and venture pitch. Good luck with the rest of your courses 🙂
I tried uploading a video to this post using the instructions given in 4.1 Venture Forum Resources and I am having trouble. The instructions state to use the upload video icon from the menu, however I can’t see this specific icon. I tried to use the general Upload/Insert feature (the only option) but that only […]
Continue reading Help – Uploading a Video Posted in: General
Hi Doug,
I am having the same problem! Hopefully we will have an answer soon.
Julie
Hi Doug, Julie
One alternative could be to upload it to YouTube and then embed this in the post instead.
Thanks
Melissa
Hey Doug and Julie,
I uploaded to Vimeo, (similar to youtube), and then posted the links. You can choose to embed them if you wish, but it’s up to you. Hope this helps.
Joel
Thanks, I went with the You Tube option.
Doug.
Welcome to December everyone, and the conclusion of our learning adventure. As per my earlier message, you have your A1 & A2 grades now, and should have the balance of your grades by the end of the week. I’m thoroughly enjoying the grading process, as I do ETEC522 and MET overall, because all of you […]
Continue reading Something ventured… Posted in: Announcements
As the course comes to a close, I just wanted to let people know about a really cool website for product ideas, it’s called Quirky. Although specifically for consumer products, if the course stirred your interest in becoming a product entrepreneur, this is a great place to start. Or if you are just interested in […]
Continue reading Bringing product ideas to life – Quirky Posted in: Blog Café
Welcome to KidConnect, an online learning program for young hospitalized patients in Canada. The goal of this venture is to bring learning, communication and entertainment to those in need. For a better look at what KidConnect offers, watch the elevator pitch below. As well, please keep in mind that although the pitch is delivered as […]
Continue reading KidConnect Posted in: General, Venture Forum
Nicely done Julie!
The one size fits all approach of online videos is redundant and stagnating the growth of this powerful medium for communication and education.
Continue reading Micro One – Engage with your passion Posted in: Venture Forum
Stuart, just a wonderful job here. I was waiting for someone to show me both a great idea and production value. You obviously are quite skilled at presenting information, and the points you make – along with your easy pace and volume of voice – make for an informational and entertaining pitch.
In terms of content creation, would I need to create 3 copies of a video? Or would I need to create a ‘Ground’ copy and then the program itself sifts through the content to create lesser detailed overviews?
I love this idea, and would be interested in installing this type of service onto other aspects of educational media. Ebooks is one off the top of my head that would greatly benefit from this technology. Instead of overviews to ground level, you could have Grade level books, and the student could choose a harder level. ESL students could benefit, struggling readers, etc.
You have a solid, polished pitch and I would be interested in hearing more.
Thank you,
Kent
Thanks for the kind words Kent.
On the question of the delivery of videos there would be three options as I see it. First of all there would be just the ‘ground’ version and the software would extrapolate the other versions from that. The video and subject would have to be suitable which it would be able to decide automatically.
The second option would be to deliver 3 copies and the software would match the timings itself.
The final option would be to deliver the ‘Ground’ level and we would extrapolate it manually. This would be particularly useful for things like you mention – grade books, ebooks, and tutorials.
Naturally each would come in at a different price point – with the second option (3 copies delivered) being free to upload and then charging the end user to view OR the provider paying to use the delivery mechanism and it being free to the end user.
Stuart
Hey Stuart:
Great presentations and product. I like the way you demonstrated the Mirco One concept with the elevator and venture pitches – you are a pro.
I really can’t see anything wrong with what you have done perhaps because both presentations peaked my interest. That is the idea of pitches, if you catch an investors interest, then any flaws are not important. If we were to take this further, then as an investor I would say – lets talk.
Doug.
Hi Stuart, your presentation is a great example of how a quality presentation can really sell a product. I really like your presentation everything from the background music, sound quality and animations were all professionally done. You obviously have some experience in these areas. As for your product it does sound interesting but as you mentioned you would need to decide whether you have 3 videos or if you have the software able to manage the timings. I thought the presentation was excellent and well thought out and for that reason as an investor I would listen and view a demo to really evaluate if I would invest.
Hi Stuart,
Your elevator pitch is well-presented. From the perspective of an EVA, I think the pitch would improve with the support of a description of the pain point in an actual learning setting. Also, information on what the proprietary technology is, how the technology fosters learning and growth of the user base, and who the content contributors will be (i.e., who will be making & uploading the videos?) would also bring marketability to your product.
Thanks,
James
Stuart, I was very impressed with the overall presentation of both the elevator and the venture pitch. It was a very natural move to use you pitches to demonstrate how your product essentially works. As a potential investor, this gave me a much better understanding of the product and the problem that it addresses. Your credentials and experience speak to your credibility and the clear nature of your pitches speak to your ability in content production.
As I watched, I started to wonder how you would go about separating out content into the three levels that you propose. Is that determined on a client-by-client basis? As this is the crux of what your product is about, I think that it’s an important question to address in more depth. Apart from that, I was very impressed and as an investor would be interested in supporting this product.
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
I am going to base my feedback on what we saw in week 3 regarding the content of a venture pitch(Perfecting Your Pitch).
1. Pain Point: the market gap or problem the venture is addressing
Having to view whole videos when perhaps one could go direct to the part needed, is a time consuming problem.
2. Solution: the new product or service that resolves the pain
If it works, it would be great. Using key word searches is a great idea. My only question is who decided the key words?
3.Differentiation: the reason someone will buy or use this new product or service, versus the alternatives
– There does not appear to be anything similar out there
4. Marketing: where and how buyers/users will be reached
– I only watched it once, and cannot remember seeing this.
5. Championship: the competency of the venture’s leaders and advisors
– He knows what he’s doing.
6. Competition: an overview of competitors and partners
-Could have gone into more detail
7. The Ask: how much money, etc, is required to take the next step
– I can’t remember seeing this
8. The Return: how much and how soon will an investor be recompensed.
Can’t remember seeing this
9. The Message
Excellent work. Very professionally made and presented. Your message is concise and to the point, and you make excellent use of graphics. You also use a clear tone of voice and good stress and intonation to carry your message. Though I have some doubts as to how your product would work, you have me hooked on wanting to know more about it, and convinced there is a need for it. Well done!
This product addresses a gap in the market, as it changes the way that video education is accessed. I like the idea of streamlining content based on the level of knowledge that individuals need. It makes sense to have it all in one place. Who exactly would your market be? Would you start in one specific market and then expand?
I think that the idea is fabulous as online education through videos is a big market. As far as marketing goes: how do you aim to get your product out? This could be a stumbling block as there are many video sites out there already, as you indicate. How can you let people know about your service and how it is different? I think your video and eloquence make it clear that you are confident and competent in your product. This is a slick, clear presentation without a lot of extras which goes far in enticing me as an investor. It is clear what you are using your money for, and that was a major factor in my choice to invest, but the return isn’t as clear, nor is your timeline, which might be something to include to interest investors. Overall, a great presentation!
Skoolbo is an interactive game that is targeted at K-7 students to improve their core literacy and mathematical skills. Skoolbo has been built for student use with its easy to navigate menus and enjoyable plot. With the use of exciting mini games, Skoolbo is sure to be a hit in a classroom, at home or […]
Continue reading Skoolbo is an interactive game that is t… Posted in: General, Venture Forum
Hi Jonathan,
Your elevator pitch video is still private and also I can’t open your longer version neither. Looking forward to view them 🙂
Same here. I’m quite looking forward to learning about Skoolbo!
I was dying to hear more about the enjoyable plot of this venture Jonathan.
I am having the same problems as Paula and Peggy.
Skool booo to it not working as I enjoy a good interactive game!!!!
Oh no. My apologies. I will make sure it is opened up. I think I have been pretty confused with all of the settings. It should be up now. Sorry it took so long!
Elevator pitch looks great Jonathan – you had me looking forward to the venture pitch, but I’m afraid the link to that isn’t working.
Hi Jonathan,
The idea of video gaming in education is an exciting phenomenon that I am sure will spark some interesting debates as its implementation progresses. I was unable to open your venture pitch but your elevator pitch was really well done and provided a great overview. My only concern is that you offer 20 free hours of game play to new members as a way to entice them into signing up. I thought that this may have been too much time and would turn an investor off as revenues would take a hit with that model.
Hi Manny —
Upon further thought, I think I would have to agree with you. Skoolbo itself is already in existence and I have a feeling that their current model of providing the game for free is probably the way to go. I was looking for an active way to interest investors (but I may have done the opposite).
If I were to revise the project, I may keep the game free and look to the value added projects (ie. digital books, teacher resources) for more revenue.
Thanks for the feedback Manny.
My apologies for not having the extended version working (I’ve been playing with the links endlessly..)
Hi Jonathan,
I really like your idea. I think the gamification of education is a great tool to leverage to increase engagement. I’ve only viewed your elevator pitch and am not able to access your venture pitch.
Hi Jonathan,
I also agree with many of the others in terms of the excitement generated by using games to teach. The concept is interesting but I wasn’t quite sure that giving 20 hours was quite right. I know quite a few games that I barely make to 20 so you’re pretty giving users all the usage they want out of it and then they may just opt to put it aside feeling as though they barely have anything left to gain out of it. I’d likely say that 5-10 hours is more than sufficient to determine the viability of a product and whether it deserves my hard earned dollars. Anything more is just a bonus in my end. As such, I likely would shy away from investing but would likely follow the venture to see where it leads.
Thanks for your feedback Patrick.
I was trying to figure out how I could increase revenue, but as I think about it more — developing the core product is really important. As I was mentioning to Manny, I think the way to go is to leave the game free. I hear what you say about 5-10 hours and shortening the game — but with the 20 hours I wanted to give enough opportunity for both teachers and students to try it out. Either way, upon some reflection, I feel that a hard cut off would be a turn off to educators and students. As I mentioned in a response to Manny — I think building upon the core product would be important to ensure that students continue to return.
Thank you for your feedback!
I’ve had a lot of difficulties posting up both my Youtube and my documents. I hope it works now, although I’m thinking that it is too late. Thank you all for trying to view my submission.
Hi,
I think that you have done a great job creating an elevator pitch that is simple and provides key points of interest for me to want to further explore your venture. I, like others, was a little surprised by the 20 hours of free gaming to start as I feel like that is a lot and students may lose interest after that or if a school uses it, 20 hours may be enough time to use it without actually paying for it. I would probably shorten it to 5 so that they can get a feeling for it, but not get to use it for the completion of a task.
Jhodi
20 hours is quite generous amount. The creators of Skoolbo actually have allowed this game to go for free. To me it isn’t clear how they are funded currently, but I do believe the way to go with content now is to provide a solid experience and monetize on products afterwards.
Build a product people can’t live without and then they will be happy to pay for it. Try before you buy, I feel is extremely important.
Thanks for your feedback!
Hi Jonathan –
Glad the tech issues were worked out with posting. I didn’t mind the wait and was happy to see your final product. I liked the quality and general content of the elevator pitch, but with so much competition in the educational gaming market today I didn’t really get enough in the brief pitch to sell me I’m afraid. I caught the pain point, but felt the solution could have been expanded upon. I’d like to know more, right up front, about what you mean by intricate story lines – some quick examples perhaps, that are intended to keep the students engaged. So I would have some concerns regarding how you would stand apart from the competition. As a potential EVA, I would be interested in seeing what you’ve got for me once you’ve got some samples to show me.
Hi Peggy !
It’s interesting that you say you didn’t get a good sense of what the product was about. I remember right at the beginning of the course we were tasked with watching a lot of pitches and thinking the exact same thing.
As we headed into doing our own project, I remembered trying to balance out how much about the game I should talk about and how much about the general direction of the venture. It feels like a fine balance because we were definitely suppose to keep it towards the investors. But one could argue that the investors need to have a good idea of what is going on in the product. I have quite a few ideas about how to redo the pitch and I think it would have to include some gameplay. I may be crossing over into copyright issues though if I do this as it is a real product.
Thanks for your feedback, Peggy!
Please find below my elevator pitch and attached supporting venture pitch document for my fictional new business venture – Learn2Read that proposes to develop a range of digital books with voice recognition support for early readers. Elevator Pitch Venture Pitch Venture Pitch – Learn2Read
Continue reading Need2Read – Enhanced Digital Books Posted in: Venture Forum
My goal is to develop a professional ePortfolio application by the end of 2013 that can suitably address the competency assessment and professional development needs of medical schools. Please review my elevator pitch and venture pitch and I look forward to your feedback.
Continue reading ePortfolios for Health Professions Posted in: Venture Forum
Please click on the following links to view my Elevator Pitch and Venture Proposal for the first international extension of US based company Play-Well TEKnologies! (Play-Well TEKnologies is an existing company that currently only has branches within the United States. I am proposing London as a first location for an international branch.) (Links removed at […]
Continue reading Play-Well TEKnologies – London! Posted in: Venture Forum
Hello Jennifer, thank you for your venture! I have always been a big fan of Lego, and its educational value. I’m glad that you added these learing features into your Prezi – gears/pulleys, engineering, math skills, etc.
I couldn’t see you elevator pitch, but i could hear what seemed like an introduction. Powerpoint kept loading forever, so eventually i just gave up on it. I also tried to import it into my Dropbox, but unfortunately i’ve lost that login information…urrgghhh. I’ll track it down soon enough and review your pitch then.
Back to your venture pitch, the Prezi was quite organized and flowed well. It was good to see the program in action through your pictures, as i’m a big fan of seeing the service working.
Your price range seems quite reasonable, but with so many ‘special pieces’ that you mention the kids having the opportunity in using i’m curious as to how you are less expensive then your competitors.
As well, your asking price of $25,000 seems low to me. Although this amount will be matched, i still don’t see $50,000 going very far in terms of starting a brand new venture in a place like England, where our dollar – or the States’ – doesn’t count for very much.
I did appreciate knowing when my money would be returning to me, however.
Another point I noticed was that much of your presentation seemed like an advertisement for potential employees looking for jobs. Information about ‘team buidling and training’ might be more geared towards potential employees, rather than investors in the venture.
I’m also wondering that with so much red tape involved in trying to get Play-Well in Canada, there must be the same issues regarding a European branch. Perhaps adding this fact to your ‘pain point’ would be helpful.
Although you have a terrific brand name, that many would recognize, I still think I would need a bit more information in regards to the legalities and financials with moving a brand into not only a new country, but a new continent. Your overview of your competition also seemed to be based in North America, and i’m wondering if England has any similar products. Is Mad Science in London?
Just a few things i’m still trying to figure out. However, a nicely polished presentation and venture pitch. Well done!
Kent
Thanks Kent! I can see where maybe some of my points weren’t made in the clearest way by some of your questions…
The special pieces that we use in the kit are used only by the instructor. Students do not take home the projects we create. (That would get WAY too expensive.) Our employees successfully impart that the take away from our courses is the knowledge and experience over material things. We provide links to where parents can purchase materials online if their children would like to continue exploration on their own at home, but the only charge they incur from us is the class rate.
As far as the team building aspect goes, that was meant as a way of expanding our business (and not referring to anything internal). Instead of solely running after school enrichment, camps and experiences for children, why not branch out into the corporate world, providing interactive team building experiences for corporations at large? I am based near Boulder, CO in the States… home to many computer tech companies, including Google, who have expressed interest in this type of experience. It would obviously be more of a special event type of occurrance, but a new source of revenue regardless.
Thank you for your comments regarding red tape and other issues. I hear you! I have been trying to figure this out for a while. As I understand it, England does have a “loophole” of sorts which allows a single representative of a foreign operation to come in and do business under a standard VISA. Fingers crossed because I hope to push this to headquarters upon my return!
Hi Jennifer,
I really liked the learn by play with Lego concept presented in your venture pitch and also thought the presentation itself was very well organized. One thing I would suggest is to give the venture pitch an equal focus on how the programs actually work with the students and even perhaps some actual examples instead of focusing more on the marketing and future goals of the company.
Julie
Thank you for the suggestion Julie! Obviously as an instructor, I am super passionate about what I have seen this program do in the lives of my students. Unfortunately, I was so afraid to overload my presentation with too much sentimentality that I neglected to really express what the individual programs do accomplish! I agree with you that perhaps I shouldn’t have played it so safe here. (We really do great things!)
I do hope that people visit our YouTube page to see the projects in action though! Prezi could never do that justice (though perhaps I should have included one or two in my presentation). Food for thought going forward! Thanks!
Hi Jennifer, I had problems with your elevator pitch so I wasn’t able to listen to it. Your Prezi was very well organized and personally I have always loved playing with Lego. I think your idea does sound interesting but I am not that familiar with the market in England so I don’t believe I can comment on how effective you would be. It sounds like you are doing the necessary networking and research gathering that you need to be successful so I wish you all the best.
Thank you Colin. I was having quite a bit of trouble with my pitch as well. It seemed to end up working fine on my end in the end, but I am quite bummed that so many of you seem to be having trouble with it. Those that know me from other classes know my obsession with creating video, so being without a computer here has been murder. I weep for my Mac back at home!
I am currently staying in a part of England inundated with children and families. I have put out feelers with mummy groups and local enrichment sources and have actually garnered quite a bit of interest. It is all very exciting; I can’t wait to bring the news home with me in a few weeks.
HI Jennifer,
I like the concept of integrating play with education and what better way to do so than lego. I am having a little bit of trouble understanding how the business model would work for such a setup. I read it as an franchise in which you build partnerships with individual entrepreneurs who would buy the kit for $10000 and then receive training on how to go into schools and work with students. My wife had a similar activity in her class in which the school paid $300 for a third person to come into the school and work with students on building projects using lego-like materials. My only question is why someone would want to fork out the initial $10,000 for that specific kit and membership to this group. Unless this organization already has orders from schools that need to be filled, wouldn’t one do better on their own?
Our company currently is not interested in providing franchise opportunities. This venture would be in-house only. I am basically tasked with making the case for bringing it abroad. With the interest I have garned in one very small borough of London, I feel that I have more than enough ammo to back up my request. I am looking for additional funding as my company is slow to compensate any new territory, whether within the US or outside.
Hi,
Overall, I think that you have an interesting concept here. Learning with LEGO can be very engaging for students. However, I would have liked have been able to view and hear your elevator pitch for more engagement from myself to get interested in the concept. For me, this format was not very engaging and did not spark my interest. I would have also liked to have seen a stronger focus on the student in the venture pitch.
Overall, I think that you did a good job on both pitches. They were both informative and developed a positive view of your company and marketability.
Jhodi
Hi Jen –
I thought you did a great job with your pitches. I’m a fan of educational uses of Lego (never used them for that, but think they are great for that purpose). I liked that your elevator pitch, early on, distinguished Play-Well Tek from similar competitors, with the curriculum being the main difference. You provided more detail in your venture pitch. The vertical structure of your prezi (What is..; Why; Marketing; Who is behind…, etc.) took me clearly and logically through your venture. Your Ask – clearly mentioned in the elevator pitch but no mention there of what it was for, but you answered this in the longer venture pitch. Even matched by the company this seems low for what the funds were to provide, but the money aspect is something I am admittedly weak about myself. You say my investment will be returned in a year; with a tidy profit I hope? The team has plenty of credibility – I love the title VP of Marketing and Fun.
Well thought-out marketing plan.
I thought you did a great job. The product seems expensive to me, but you put it into perspective. I’d be interested in further discussions, but the competition would be one of my main concerns.
This service is an extension or alternative form of teaching, so it may be a more difficult sell based on that point. However, this service comes at a good time. There is a massive movement in education towards play. This is a great example of using play to teach and learn. I didn’t get a clear idea of how this is different from the robotics and lego options already out there? Why is this particular program special? The championship in this venture is clear and this is a definite point of strength. I also think that it would be easy to market this. Expos, schools, etc. would be great avenues, however, your “difference” from other similar types of services would be important to include in any advertising or marketing that you do. Your ask and return are very clearly laid out and seem more than reasonable. Would it be possible to do online instruction as well? Could this be another area of growth for your company? I would definitely invest in this venture.
Hi Jennifer,
Great job on your elevator and venture pitch! In your elevator pitch, I got a sense of who you were and what you were pitching. As well, you had an “Ask”. Depending on who you were targeting, I could see a need for this product. The idea about kids learning through play (especially LEGOS) is great.
Here is some constructive feedback on your venture pitch:
• Your elevator and venture pitch were well put together.
o The Prezi was easy to follow
• I was unsure as to what market problem Play-Well TEKnologies was a solution for.
• You did include the competition, but I think you could have stated why your product was better than these other products. You mentioned it in your elevator pitch, but I think you should have re-stated it again in your “Competition” section.
• Marketing – you do state where you will go to promote this product such as expos, community events/fairs, trial classes, promotional flyers but…
o Who will your major market push be towards? I am unclear as to who runs the programs and where they are held.
o Will you target schools or school districts? Do you target organizations that run after school programs like a YMCA?
• You included information about the cost of the “Play-Well TEKnologies” kit, as well as attendance fees and how much instructors would get paid. I thought this would be good from an investor’s point of view since it would give me an idea of where this product would make money. The amount of money for the kit did make me wonder if this was too high of a price for an organization to buy into.
• You did state an “ask” and “return”
• I’m not sure if I got a strong sense of the strengths and weaknesses of “Play-Well TEKnologies”. What are some of the issues that may arise?
Since I had quite a few questions as I went through your venture pitch, I would not invest in this product. But in saying that, good job on both pitches.
Lisa
My Elevator and Venture pitch are based on interactive technology that enable student/teacher manipulation on any surface. Unlike the traditional smartboard and white board that server pretty much one purpose, a glorified mouse and projector that a teacher uses from the front of the baord, my idea revolved it around multiple purposes in education and […]
Continue reading My Elevator and Venture pitch are based … Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Suhayl:
Unfortunately your Venture pitch looses sound at 3:14 and it does not seem to recover so I can’t really do an evaluation unless it is complete. Your delivery is great in the first three minutes of the venture pitch, however you talk very fast in the elevator pitch, I think trying to get too much in, so it is hard to follow.
Doug.
Hi Suhayl,
From what I was able to learn from the elevator pitch and first few minutes of the venture pitch (as the sound cut off for me as well), I think you have a really great idea; one that I would very much like to learn more about. In particular, I like that it is pre-set for you with all the programs, doesn’t require wall mounting and is made more portable. However, besides those features, I wonder how it really differs from the SMART Board because in my experience with SMART Board, it already offers a wide range of interactive and engaging lessons and can automatically link to the internet. As well, I would like to know more about the financial plan that enables the MultiBoard to be sold at a lower cost.
Finally, one other tip is that I found you spoke way to fast in the elevator pitch and I had to listen to it a few times just to catch what was said. I think the ideas are there and the product is great but would have been better sold in that pitch if the script was kept more brief.
Julie
I concur with Doug and Julie, in that your elevator pitch was quite fast and didn’t really seem to offer a clear message. Upon reviewing your venture pitch I was intrigued with quite a few facets of your presentation. It was too bad the sound went out when it did, as your pitch was really gaining momentum.
I also wanted to know more about ‘Multi-learn’. what is that?
I will say that i disagreed with your critique of Smartboard technology. I use mine almost daily and have never even used the programs installed therein and still find it quite engaging because of it’s connectivity to the internet. You really are only limited by your own imagination.
Because your presentation cut out I don’t think I can go any further with comments or a possible investment.
If you do fix the bug I would be interested in seeing the rest!
Kent
I like the elevator. Nice touch.
Like the others, I think it went too fast. And the elevator pitch should really be a slick product in itself. This wasn’t particularly slick. For example, you stumbled on a few lines in there and probably should have cleaned that up. So while I am always attracted to ideas that involve combining cool gadgets, you didn’t sell me on this one. Good luck.
I liked the idea of your product and it definitely would be something I would be interested in seeing and assessing whether to use it in the classroom. Though you had enthusiasm in your presentation you stumbled a few times and made mistakes like forgetting the “e” in Venture. These mistakes can hurt a presentation even if the product is good. As for the rest the sound cut out so I wouldn’t be able to evaluate. Overall I liked the product idea.
I like the idea as a teacher, but your pitch, although interesting, was difficult to understand. Additionally I have seen some similar technologies, so perhaps including some information on how exactly this product is different would have bolstered it for me, and perhaps changed my opinion. Despite the great idea, I would not invest in this venture.
Job well done in the beginning Suhayl.
I could here the belief and support for your product coming through with your voice annotations in the elevator pitch. The multiboard is an interesting idea and worth of investment investigation. I did my best to piece together what the offerings/askings were for this product but the sound cuts and doesn’t return.
PC
Hi Suhayl,
I liked your elevator pitch as it did a good job of explaining your product. As others have identified, it wasn’t terribly polished, but it did do the job. I think that the product is innovative and does address a relevant problem. It is unfortunate that the audio cuts out in your venture pitch as I would have liked to have known what the expected retail price would be so that I could determine if such a product could compare with others, like SMART boards.
I do have to pass on this one mainly because too much is unknown. However, if you are able to post a transcript of what you would have said in the rest of your venture pitch, I would be interested to read it.
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. Elevator Pitch Venture Pitch Thank you, […]
Continue reading Common Sense – Venture Pitch Posted in: Venture Forum
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.
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
I wonder if the plugged in nature of contemporary students makes them more aware of their online presence as opposed to digital immigrants?
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
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
Thanks Kent,
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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jenbarker 9:10 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I like your description of your avatar. Very funny! I think this type of environment can be almost too engaging for some. My husband has a friend who has no “real” life because he spends every waking minute that he is not working, playing WarCraft.
Eva Ziemsen 11:36 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jen,
I thought you might be interested in this, as there are some distinctions between Word of WarCraft and SL.
Warcraft belongs to what is called:
MMORPG—Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game
“In an MMORPG the player assume a role and identity not typically related to his or her real world self and attempts to earn points to move to a higher level within the game.”
http://msitsecondlife.wikispaces.com/Understanding+Online+Worlds
Second Life is best described as a:
Metaverse, which “now come to represent the idea of an online 3D world inhabited by avatars controlled by their real-life counterparts.”
http://msitsecondlife.wikispaces.com/Understanding+Online+Worlds
As the website describes, there are similarities, but also differences.
“A metaverse is similar to an MMORPG but with some big differences. First, in a metaverse, players are not playing a defined role such as a hunter or mage, they are playing a character they have created.
Second, the metaverse typically does not have specific goals or objectives created by the metaverse itself. Players can create their own goals or objectives but they are not an inherent part of the world.
http://msitsecondlife.wikispaces.com/Understanding+Online+Worlds
There is more useful information on that website. They also highlight that may major companies conduct their training in SL.
A metaverse environment can be used for training purposes. As mentioned in the opening of this article IBM and Cisco have both established classroom spaces within a metaverse for training purposes. It is also possible to create create other learning environments in which people can interact to learn about items in 3D. One can imagine providing instruction on how to repair a laptop through a virtual tour of the laptop within the metaverse.
http://msitsecondlife.wikispaces.com/Understanding+Online+Worlds
You may like reading about MMOLE-Massively Multi-learner Online Learning Environments (as they are much more tailored to specific learning and likely present less risk and distractions of the full metaverse of SL).
Let me know what you think. Rest assured there are differences between SL and World of Warcraft. I too know of people who are addicted to this, but they have different incentives than SL entirely.
Eva Ziemsen 11:24 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny,
Great avatar. As I mentioned to someone else, Dr. Sherry Turkle writes extensively how we can use avatars to act out versions of ourselves that we do not in our real life. She speaks from a psychological perspective and mentions that this can also be a very useful therapeutic method for certain people. I’m not suggesting that in any case with you, but just saying that it is quite normal to create an avatar that is very different from our ‘real’ self. Thanks for your thoughtful message along with your avatar pic.