I have provided the links below to my elevator pitch and venture pitch for a proposed display recording app. I have a few things to tweak but hope you enjoy it….. Elevator Pitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqvr7BLGSjI Venture Pitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMSNz9c5YzE Looking forward to feedback, Manny
Continue reading Display Recording App Posted in: Venture Forum
Here is my venture and elevator pitch: Personal Reflection: This was definitely a difficult assignment given the lack of knowledge in pitching ventures I had at the beginning of the semester. What I found most challenging was trying to gather sufficient details to present in what I consider a possible venture that I am […]
Continue reading EdTech Services Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Patrick,
I’m not sure if I’m just missing it, but is your elevator pitch within the venture video? Was there a particular section of time that was meant to represent it? I didn’t want to watch the whole video out of fairness for my evaluation of the top 3 (30-60 second) pitches.
Cheers,
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
The elevator pitch is played within the video during the overview section. It is the video that starts playing right after I present the team.
Thanks Patrick, got it 😉
Hi Patrick:
Great presentation and integration of You-Tube, Prezi and Camtasia. This gives me confidence that Ed Tech Services knows their stuff.
A great concept but I am not sure exactly what Ed Tech does or can offer. In the presentation I think you could spend a bit more time explaining what the services are that are offered, with perhaps some examples.Perhaps pick one or two areas that schools or institutes struggle with that you could help them with, maybe for example migrating from one LMS to another..
Doug.
After re-reading your comment, I think I understand what you mean now. You were hoping to see 2 or 3 very specific examples of each service offered to further demonstrate how EdTech Services can help. So for the ‘help you find the right tool’ I could present a scenario with someone looking for a solution that meets their needs and I provide a potential solution based on the criteria established. For the ‘coaching and mentoring’, I could explain how EdTech Services would sit down with you to learn how to use Moodle efficiently or provide video tutorials describing the very specific tasks you’re hoping to accomplish with your LMS. For the ‘migrate your content’ I could show a scenario where EdTech Services could take those wonderful binders full of exciting activities and convert them into interactive lessons using Smart boards or another popular tool that the teacher had available in their environment.
I can see how that could have solidified the presentation without putting me over the 8 min mark. I would have had 2 minutes to present the scenarios and discuss some potential solutions available through EdTech Services. Thanks for the feedback!
Ah.. I thought it was clear when I indicated that I would help them find the right tool that suits their needs, coach or mentor them in using the tool they’ve chosen or migrate content towards their tool of choice. I appreciate your feedback though. Perhaps I need to specify that it is an educational tool or give an example of what educational tools are? Or maybe I could have included the same pictures of tools from the elevator pitch to remind users of some of the tools might be targeted?
Thoughts?
Hi Patrick, I think I understand the premise of your business and I can see the value in it. I know many Pro-d seminars where teachers are overwhelmed with new information and get packets that they shove away in their binders never to be looked at again. Having someone to actually help a teacher choose the right technology and then implement it would be very beneficial. However, I also see this as being very expensive because in a Pro-d seminar you might present to 100 teachers but with a mentor session you are working one on one with a teacher. This teacher may not be very computer literate and as a result takes a large amount of time to set things up and additional support. You might also run into problems with what you can access in the district since you don’t have the computer access that some technology would require. Really you would be limited to web based applications only. Overall I see your business as a service business that would be beneficial for teachers but too expensive and difficult to make a return.
Hi Patrick,
I enjoyed watching your presentation and thought it was well organized, you spoke clearly and did a job of integrating technology. I also appreciated that you took the time to conduct research and included those facts and figures to support the marketing goals. Similarly, including a break down of where the finances being asked for are going towards gave it more strength and clarity.
One thing that I would have liked to see a a greater sense of how Ed Tech Services truly offers something different that what other competitors are already offering. Perhaps giving specific examples would have made this point stronger.
Julie
Ditto Julie,
Great use of technology in your presentation Patrick. It really gives a venture like yours that much more validity when a pitch looks and sounds professional. For me, it is often how an idea is presented, and not even the idea itself that is often the most important aspect.
In terms of you venture pitch, however, I must say I needed to watch it a few times to really grasp the concepts laid out. I also agree with the above comments that some more specifics would have been good, to really see what your service – or similar service – looks like in action.
I appreciated your financial information and the options your presented the investors. I’m not entirely sure I would invest in this venture, as much of what you offer I -as a tech coordinator- do for my school already. However, I realize that not every school has people in place to organize, find, and support tech use in schools.
Good luck with this venture if you take it further!
Kent
HI Patrick. I think the pitch was clear and professional. I decided against using background music in mine but after watching yours, I wish I put it in. In your reflection, you comment on a seeming lack of enthusiasm but I didn’t get that and I think the music helped. It looked and sounded slick. I cracked up with you referring to your wife as Chief Relationship Officer.
You value your company at $1,000,000. That seems a bit high for a start-up. I think the idea would work and I think you got your target market spot on. You talk about “using your time for things that matter” which in my 15 years of teaching is probably the complaint that I hear most from teachers. Your little montage of all of the different edtech products out there was just long enough to reflect the sentiments that many educators have–that there’s way too much out there and it’s all very confusing and intimidating. While many schools will go the route of keeping someone in-house that can help them navigate this course, many will find the simplicity of outsourcing more convenient. As an investor though, I would have to compare this venture with other opportunities I see and you have way more overhead than, for example, many of the other pitches coming from this group. It is certainly possible to make money in something like this, but I would be more likely to put my money into something that afforded a simpler exit strategy. I don’t want to own a company and have to deal with the headaches that come with it. I am an investor. I want to make my money and have a way out.
I like the points you make about the site and I see that it fills a real and big need. My concern with it, is the differentation, how do you ensure that your product remains in the lead? Also, if I understand it right, it woud require a continuous high amount of work and a large team to stay on top of new technologies. I can see some serious benefits (as far as advertising for products), but at this point I would not invest in this venture. Fabulous video though and very compelling.
Hi Patrick,
I really enjoyed your venture pitch! This is an ambitious venture in that it asks a lot from investors and it seeks to offer services in an area where there are already established services. I think that you know how you would differentiate your services from those of your competitors, but I am not sure that came through clearly in your pitch.
Your use of the various media in your venture helps to add credibility to the services that you offer; clearly you are very proficient with using them. Again, good job and best of luck!
Hi Patrick – I enjoyed your pitch. An interesting idea. I know I often tend to focus my reviews on whether the quick elevator pitch presents a pain point and a solution – which yours did quite well – but that’s the world I come from; more of an educational EVA. However I think it might be a tough sell. Teachers needing some educational tech support often don’t even know what to ask, or even that they have a problem, and I’m worried that EdTech Services won’t be able to make that personal connection that a F2F support person could. I don’t doubt that EdTech could provide a valuable service to some, but ‘m worried about the real marketability of the service. I wish EdTech Services well however – best of luck with your venture.
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
Hi Patrick,
I liked the way you started your pitch getting to the point by saying how much you need and what the investor will get in return, and then proceeded to do an excellent job of explaining what your venture consist of, what the investment will help do and what the investors return will be. I would invest in your venture because there is a need for this product, you have a strong team, and finally, you have a clear idea of the market and your finances. Excellent work!
Adriana
I have created a venture pitch as an fictitious initiative for developing mobile apps for oral health care screening and prevention, the idea was to investigate a topic that would be meaningful to my profession and identifying an area that is under developed. Venture pitch and presentation 2 f nov 2012 from cranson16 Reflection Creating […]
Continue reading Elevator Pitch & Persausive Presentation for Mobile Apps Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Catherine,
Nice idea and you definitely have a strong team to lead the idea. I did wonder when you said that there are many apps out there already, but then you went ahead and explained the unique selling point of your app so that was excellent.
I was not exactly clear how the app revenue would be structured – would it be a paid for app or a free download and pay for some of the content? and what price point would it come in at?
Marketing through the Primary Health Care Providers is a great idea and if successful would be a powerful advertising medium, but thought that the social media strategy was very vague.
Your video was great to see and as a result it added validity to your delivery. The sound quality was not great and there were edit jumps but the information being delivered was excellent.
It was a great idea to use slide share as it could bring in some different media types. There was some clipping of content on the slides and one was blocked by the picture but the overall experience was positive.
I would not invest in this app as I believe I would not download it and dont think that enough people would for it to be successful. I would however invest in you and your team as it was a genuine and positive delivery.
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
Thank you for the kind and gentle review. I had some technical difficulty with Slideshare and importing my presentation. In the past it has been a great tool and very user friendly. I have re-posted my presentation and hopefully addressed some of your feedback.
Generating revenue, yes very important for a new venture. I was thinking that a partnership with an existing company that develops and sells apps might be interested in our oral health and health promotion ideas (an area of the market that had not been developed) – the apps would actually promote health and address a societal needs, not just track what I eat or track how often I go to the gym, something more meaningful. The apps would cost money to download, private healthcare industry could buy at a discounted rate as an educational tool they give to clients, or a way for private healthcare to attract and keep customers. There would be some creative selling and billing involved. The idea behind the apps are to promote self screening, early detection of disease and improved prognosis. Oral cancer and oral disease, skin cancer, breast cancer can all be self detected. The apps could educate the person on how to, detect possible abnormal tissue, in turn prompting a visit to a healthcare specialists for a diagnosis.
In terms of social media marketing I was thinking sending it viral, tweeting about the product, Facebook groups.
Catherine
I, also, am impressed by the team, but would not invest in this particular venture. I don’t think that there is enough of a market for this, as I think most people who would be concerned enough with oral health to purchase an app would be getting regular dental/doctor check-ups and may not see the need for this particular service. I also wasn’t sure if the new app quarterly was meant to be an oral health app or just a health and wellness app. I would certainly be interested in hearing more about the other services/apps that your company may provide.
Hi Rebecca, you would be surprised how many Canadians have no or limited access to dental care. Dentistry is private industry and the consumer has to pay for this service, unlike our publicly funded healthcare. The idea is to develop and create apps that will actually help people and promote health and oral health. Every family has some member that has been touched by some type of cancer, they all have a story and in many cases the prognosis would be better if early detection occurred. There are so many health conditions that can be detected by the individual and be prevented if society was aware and educated, such as skin cancer, breast cancer, oral cancer, periodontal disease & HBP. Mobile apps could screen for the symptoms and identify risk factors for these conditions.
Thanks
Catherine
Hi Catherine, I think you might scare some people into downloading the app but I am not sure how many would be willing to put their Iphone in their mouth to scan for this. I don’t assume that it can take an accurate reading of all the areas from outside. I can also see inexperience on the part of the consumer on how to use the app properly which could mean that certain cancers are not detected. I would hate to think of the lawsuit that would happen if someone using it has oral cancer and the app didn’t pick it up. You would need a very tight terms and conditions to avoid litigation. I believe you would be making money on this app by selling a subscription. If this was the case I don’t see many people signing up unless they really don’t have any access to dental services in which case they would have real problems with their teeth. Overall I see this as a worthwhile cause trying to create awareness about the issue and I have learned more about it from your presentation but as a venture I don’t believe it would provide much of a return.
Hi Colin,
The idea is not to put your iPhone in your mouth, it is just to open your mouth or stick out your tongue, the scanner will then scan your oral tissues. The apps is not intended to detect or diagnose cancer, this can only be achieved by a surgical biopsy, There are current tools on the market to scan the oral environment for the presence of abnormal tissue, used in a clinical setting, these are screening tools to alert the person to seek medical attention for early detection. The app would provide the user with instructions on use and an educational component. The best diagnostic testing is not full proof, there are thousand of women who have had mammograms and ultrasounds and their breast cancer was not detected. This is only a preventive screening tool for possible early detection to perhaps save lives. An additional option to generate revenue could be to sell the app to Health Canada and the Cancer Society. I think you will see such apps in the future, not created by me of course but I do think we will see it, think of the innovative glucose measuring devices that are used by individuals with diabetes. Thanks for your feedback.
Catherine 🙂
Hi Catherine,
Unfortunately I had a hard time loading and playing the YouTube videos embedded in Slideshare. From what I was able to see though, I think that you are very knowledgeable on the subject and have a strong team, which gave a lot of confidence in the individuals behind the app. As for the app itself, I too am unsure that I would invest in such a venture because I don’t know how well people would respond to its use and how widespread the interest in downloading it would be.
With that said, like others have mentioned i do appreciate and support the cause you are trying to promote.
Julie
Hi Julie,
Sorry you could not open my links. Thank you for the feedback and confidence in what you did review. I agree the venture idea needs some further work, but I think that was the focus of this learning activity. I do think there is a market out there for healthcare apps. 🙂
Catherine
Thank you Catherine for reminding me to book my next dental appointment.
Your information and expertise were quite apparent, yet your delivery seemed a little choppy and somewhat vague in parts. As a potential investor my focus is on the idea – which seems quite original and in most cases needed by the populous – but also how the idea is presented, which didn’t really hit the mark for me.
I, like some others who have commented, was wondering what the new apps coming out every quarter would look like? What would they do? I must admit I found myself wondering what the original app would do as well. Your information seemed to mainly focus on oral cancer, and not on how your product would actually detect it. Your explanation of the apps features were helpful, but I couldn’t understand your ‘scanning’ technology embedded into the video camera. Perhaps explaining how the ‘science’ behind the app would work could have helped solidify my investment.
Your team seems quite knowledgeable and poised to achieve success, but my recommendation is to demonstrate more clearly the science behind your app, and perhaps provide a few examples/videos/pictures of your service in action.
Kent
Hi Kent,
LOL – glad you will schedule your dental appointment. Thanks for the feedback, explaining the science behind the scanner would be a good idea. The additional apps would also focus on health prevention and have a screening tool component for conditions such as gum disease, bleeding rates, recession detection and monitoring of the condition, self-screening of skin conditions, a very diverse app capturing health risk factors to alert individuals and then education to reduce those who have risk factors, creating a healthier being. There is a large population that is very much into health and disease prevention. Think about the thousands of consumers that visit health food stores, shop on line for health products, use the internet to self diagnose, these apps would provide more reliable health information. Just the beginning of an idea. 🙂
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
I like the fact that you took a different route in your presentation and applied your venture not to a learning technology, but rather the medical sciences. I feel that this sector has a lot of growth potential and similar to education, apps have yet to unleash their full potential. You did an excellent job of displaying other health science apps and relaying their success. Although this venture is undertaking an important issue, I would not invest in it for the following reasons.
1) Very specialized – This is a highly specialized app for oral health care. Most citizens understand that they need to brush their teeth, floss, and mouthwash to promote good oral hygiene. These are preventative methods that people fail to always comply to and I doubt they would add another application to what most already feel takes time out of their day.
2) Lack of awareness – There is simply not enough awareness about this type of cancer and as such, its number of downloads and usage will be limited. In order to get the word out there, you would have to invest a substantial amount in marketing which is difficult as other cancers (breast/lung, etc.) are usually at the forefront of this campaign.
3) Frequency of cases – I have not done my research on this but I would think that the number of deaths related to oral cancer worldwide would be higher in developing nations. The citizens of these countries usually do not or have limited access to mobile devices and the Internet and therefore this product would be of no use where it is needed the most.
I do still like the idea and I think if the technology was available to change it into a breast cancer screening device, it would not only reap amazing revenues, but further our fight with cancer.
Manny
Hi Manny,
Thanks for the feedback, sorry you won’t invest :(.
Oral cancer is raising in prevalence in developed countries and the prognosis is less than that of breast cancer. There is just less awareness but with gaining rates people will begin to see/hear about this type of cancer.
Catherine
Hi Catherine –
It was nice to see a very different use of technology than the other pitches. I think there is a real need for such self-diagnostic tools, and I loved how your idea was very distinct than anything else I’ve ever heard of. I can actually see, with the proper promotion, how this could be a big opportunity. If major dental organizations were to get on board and give a recommendation, I think your product could do very well. Your credibility as a CEO is high – you clearly believe in your product. Technical and production issues aside, one suggestion I’d offer regarding the pitch itself would be to offer your solution much earlier in the pitch – you didn’t really do that, I felt, until very close to the 1 minute mark, near the very end of the pitch. Like you, I didn’t provide enough information about market readiness and marketing, or money aspects – lessons we would have to learn. So thanks for an interesting venture idea. I can’t say as I’d be ready to jump into investing in it, but it did have me intrigued about its possibilities.
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for reviewing my pitch. Yes, I agree it is a unique idea that maybe someone will develop in the future. It needs work I do agree but I think there is a market for as you said self-screening tools, just have to capture it. 🙂
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
Your venture certainly addresses a real problem and need, but I wonder how many people would buy it. I do, however, feel health authorities would and should be interested, as this is preventive medicine. I would wish your average person were interested and took an APP like this seriously; it’s a shame they don’t. Oral cancer is indeed a problem and a very aggressive form of cancer.
I felt your pitch was somewhat fragmented, but feel you do have a strong team and thorough knowledge of what’s needed. I would probably invest if you could polish this up a bit and consider defining your buyer more, e.g. the health services.
It was interesting to watch and informative.
Adriana
Hi Adriana,
Thank you for reviewing my pitch. I agree it needs some work, especially after reviewing many others but have some good ideas. I am pleased you understand the need and market for preventive awareness and health. I was also thinking that Health Canada and the Cancer Society would be prospective buyers of this venture. 🙂
Catherine
Hi,
I think that you have an interesting idea here. You have done a very good job with your pitches and have included several important details. One of your strongest points is the strong team that you have created to help form and run the app. You appear very professional in your video and come across as very passionate and confident.
However, I do not think that I would invest in this venture simply because I am not convinced that there is a moarket for it. I feel as though anyone that is concerned enough about oral hygiene to purchase this app already sees a dentist regularly and would rather have the opinion and advice of a professional than an app.
Jhodi
I am pleased to share my pitch idea for the Virtual online opened learning platform. A full list of video credits and references are available on my ubc blog. A complete transcript of the pitch is also on the blog. I hope you enjoy, and I certainly appreciate any constructive feedback. Elevator Pitch: Full Venture:
Continue reading I am pleased to share my pitch idea for … Posted in: Venture Forum
Hello,
I really liked your Elevator Pitch. The music and graphic visuals caught my attention. The text went a bit fast at the beginning and I had to read quite quickly. Generally though you shared enough information that I wanted to know more. Your venture pitch was outstanding. It covered ALL of the critical tenets needed in pitches. I think your venture is original and addresses a pain point. Your venture plan is well thought out and sound. You clearly demonstrated what you were asking for from investors and stated the sequence of your plan clearly. I liked your idea of a free trial too! I thought you did a terrific job. Thanks for sharing, Jen
I appreciate the supportive feedback Jen. Its great to know that the research that I had done actually managed to come through in my presentaton. I tried my best to generate any of the potential negatives and then address them pro-actively. It would be a neat venture to see fully realized.
PC
I think the elevator pitch was great. Although you may want to consider changing some of the colors so that the white text against the white moving images in the background doesn’t become difficult to read for some viewers.
I do not know much about home schooling but this seems like a venture that is very worthwhile. Good explanation of what v.ool is and what it is not. It made me think about all of the other online technology that home schooled students could take advantage of.
You discussed how this process will enhance the students’ experience, which was great. To gain more interest you could also touch on how the students’ currently work to emphasize what this new concept means for those who otherwise have limited interaction. Although you did mention the research of online courses having a high attrition rate which was a great tie-in to the venture.
You touched on many success factors for an online learning environment including participation, 21st century learning principles and collaboration. Plus your detailed plan for presentations, researched statistics and financial information contributed to a solid pitch.
A demo although I know would not be easy to create, would have been great to see for potential investors to see. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my goodness having access to someone who knows game programming would be amazing. When I first started the project, I thought that I might actually have to come up with something tangible to demonstrate – which would certainly have helped. Albeit fffffaaarrrr outside of my realm of expertise.
Thanks for the feedback.
PC
The elevator was great and the venture was informative. I do wish that some of the pizzaz you applied to the elevator would have been applied to the venture although I don’t think that affects the marketability.
I couldn’t agree more Joel,
Actually – I really toned it down for the venture pitch…. as I tend to be quite a twitchy and loud kinda girl. I wanted to play it subdued and well researched – but maybe I erred on the side of being boring!
Not something I am usually accused of in real life but certainly I can see it when I rewatch the presentation.
PC
Awesome job Patricia. When I was watching your venture pitch, there were a lot of things that I liked. You had good enthusiasm in your voice and you conveyed that this is a good idea that could make money. Your projections seemed reasonable, and you clearly did your homework (or at least sounded like you did) on statistics. If the BC ministry did sign off on it, of course it would be a hit. I guess the I would have liked to hear more about how you were planning to do that part. Overall though, real strong pitch.
Thanks kindly Mike,
I did try my best… even though this was a fictional project…. to include realistic and well researched projections. I’m glad it came through to the objective viewer.
PC
Hi,
I think you did a great job on your pitch. It was informative and engaging.You did a great job of catching my attention and interesting me in your product with your pitch.
I found that your venture analysis covered all the parameters needed in an analysis. You showed excitement in your product which was evident from your facial expressions and your tone of voice. It was apparent that you are knowledgeable about your product and that you have belief in it, which makes viewers feel more drawn to it. Overall, I think you did a great job. The only thing that I would suggest is maybe making the analysis a little bit more interactive or engaging. Although you did a good job of covering all angles related to your project it was hard to stay focused because there were not many visuals. It is hard to concentrate when someone is talking for a longer period of time without some sort of visual component.
Thank for sharing. This is definitely a very good idea and I personally think there is a market for your product. .
Great work
Nureen
Much appreciated Visramn,
I couldn’t help but notice that myself – that there needed to be something a tad more visually stimulating. Not “glitzy” as Dave had pointed out but eye catching. At first I thought about eliminating myself from the equation all together and having a production that was, well… more polished. And then my concern was it would detract from the product and it’s potential rather then add to it. Perhaps a misjudgement on my part?
PC
I think your presence was powerful because of your expressions and body language. Hence, you were right in your decision. After veiwing some more pitches I am think maybe I was wrong in my initial opinion. Sometimes it better to keep it simple because then you are not detracting from the essence of what you are trying to say. Sorry, I am new at this and needed seem more exposure.
Nureen
Hi,
Great elevator pitch. The music and graphic did an excellent job in capturing and holding my attention.
Your venture pitch came across as well researched and this added to the credibility of your venture proposition. You clearly addressed the pain point and your solution in both pitches. The venture pitch did a great job in addressing the marketability and financial feasibility aspects. I would have loved to see more graphical representation of your points but all major points were covered in your presentation. Well done on both pitches.
Sophia
Hi Sophia,
I am really quite aware of the pain point that exists because I work with home schoolers on a regular basis and have seen first hand how they would benefit from something similar to V.ooL. And yes, now that I am looking back on my venture, I can’t help but agree it was a bit dry. I have been told that I tend to be a bit too academic in my productions for the courses, and this would definitely be an area that I should work on.
Research I can do! The marketing is an area that needs to be addressed – if this was the real world I’d probably have to invest big bucks to get a company to do the appropriate polish for me. Ha!
PC
Hi Patricia,
Well done, the elevator pitch was a little busy but cool and in keeping with your theme of gaming and learning. I agree with above, the white text was difficult to read at times but still intrigued me to continue to watch on. Your venture analysis presentation was very comprehensive identifying your target group, the investment details and return on investment. The 30-day free trial is a great idea and your revenue projections seem reasonable. What is the age of your target group, I know you mentioned that it wasn’t age specific but would the older learner be attracted to this platform? Very interesting idea.
Catherine
Nice job on the elevator pitch, PC! 🙂 I know that it can be tough piecing all of that together, especially getting everything you need across in text on a moving video. It was a lot of material for that amount of time (and did go by a bit quickly), but I always say that it’s better to have more info than not enough. After all, that’s what pause is for! You engaged me quickly and left me wanting more, which is the whole point of an elevator, so mission accomplished.
I also agree with Catherine as to the value of a 30 day free trial. It is often hard to get new users on board anything these days without at least some small concession. This is a very fair one which provides just enough of a glimpse into the value of the program to “hook” your users. Great idea.
I would have liked to have seen more graphics in your venture pitch, but I know how hard it can be to incorporate your ideas, yourself and also accommodate for illustrative elements. You presented a wealth of information very well, addressing all of the points of a successful venture pitch. Very well done!
Patricia,
I think you have a potentially great idea.
Because of its novelty, I see your idea more as a R & D project in education tech, require several experiments/iterations.
As such, what you might want to pitch how this idea can create great value for already existing education tech providers and ministries. And present a 1-year plan on how you would go about developing and testing the effectiveness of your program in the next year.
Ideally, you’d have a big sponsor with already established programs that is willing to take a bet on this project in the hope that it might pay off with some direct/indirect results. The advantage of working with them is you’d have access to greater resources and funding for R&D work. The trade-off is the ownership of your project; though if you were instrumental in developing it, you’ll always have status associated with its outcomes and you could earn a good living off of it as long as it is successful. Something to think about it perhaps.
My fictitious venture is for a specially designed educational tablet that is customized for use in schools. This tablet will be geared towards pre-school and elementary school students, as well as for students with special needs. This tablet will have all the capabilities needed to ensure students have access to multiple educational tools that are […]
Continue reading My fictitious venture is for a specially… Posted in: General, Venture Forum
Hi Nureen, your elevator pitch is private so I can’t watch it. I also tried to click the link above the video, still no luck 🙁
Sorry about that. . I am surprised the download didn’t work. That is odd. I have changed the settings. I think it should be ok now.
Nureen
Hi Nureen,
You did such a wonderful job for both of your pitches. You managed to get a lot of info into the 1 minute pitch, good job! Your voice is enthusiastic and very professional too. The graphic and music are also perfect.
Your venture pitch is thorough. Even though you didn’t give much detail about the CEO and the team, somehow I still feel your venture is credible; it could be because you provided a lot of backup research and statistics. I think you covered many important points investors want to know like marketing, future growth plan, and competitors. Especially the detail in how Nabi 2 differs from other tablets which is one of my biggest concern whether to invest or not. You did answered that question. “Nabi 2 tablet school edition is better than the rest because it has the same capabilities as other and also has the best processing speed”
It is a good venture concept and I am very interested in it but because there are so many tablets out there already so I wouldn’t feel confident to invest at this point, sorry. Otherwise a very well presented pitches and I really enjoy watching and reading it.
Thanks Paula. I appreciate the feedback. You are right there are a lot of tablets on the market. That is why I wanted to gear this to the educational market and make this product specifically for educational institutions by equipping it with a build in LMS system and master and slave capabilities.
I was actually drawn to this idea because I see my nephews and other kids around me wanting to play with digital devices and I can’t help but think these kids are going to grow up surrounded by these devices so why not make these devices conducive to their learning. It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for these kids.
Thank you so much for reviewing my work and for your helpful feedback.
Nureen
Hey Nureen, after the elevator pitch I was feeling many things. Due to its speed I was a little bamboozled and panicked, but not really in a bad way, more in a way that I wanted to look for you and just find out more and I felt I needed to do it immediately!!! I think your passion came through on the delivery very much.
With the venture pitch I found it difficult as there was so much information. For me I would not invest in your venture as the market is over saturated already with device offerings but also because it represents a massive investment into one device for school districts. So I don’t think the device route is the way to go.
Saying that I think that your concept is excellent and that there is a gap in the market for a classroom based facility such as the one you describe. I would be more inclined to invest if this was the main focus and you concentrated on the delivery of that by providing the software apps for all the other devices. This means that students could bring their own if the app was on them but also the school board could get a cheaper version of the physical device and purchase your software to fill the gap the market. If it was possible to have different brands of devices talking to each other and the teacher through the one app it would, for me, be a winner.
Just my two cents –
Cheers
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for the feedback. I too think there is a gap in the market for devices/software such as these that can be used in the classroom.
Your idea would be ideal. It would be very beneficial for BYOD supporting school districts.
Nureen
Hi Nureen,
Good job on your elevator and venture pitch. You are obviously passionate about your idea. During your elevator pitch, I found the speed of your delivery too fast. When I was just grasping one idea, you had already moved three points ahead. I liked the idea that you wanted to make a product that would be interactive and provide individualized instruction for pre-school and elementary school students, as well as for students with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Differentiation is a very important aspect in teaching so you had a good idea and solution for that pain point.
In saying that, I have to agree with Stuart. For schools or school districts to buy these devices would be very costly, but if you could produce the software that could be used on many different types of devices, your product could potentially be a marketable item.
Good job!
Lisa
Thanks for your feedback Lisa.
Nureen
Hi Nureen,
Your venture proposal for a personalized tablet specific for children has good intentions but may be too little too late. Your elevator pitch was very fast and it was difficult to discern what the product you are proposing is. The one-minute time limit was definitely the hardest part of this assignment. It seemed as though you attempted to fit everything in within this time frame but you may have been better off just sticking to a few key points and slowing down your narration. For the elevator pitch, we need to remember that less is more. Although I think your product is something moms would buy for their children, I do not see school districts adopting it and would not invest for the following reasons.
1) Production costs – To produce a whole new tablet specific for child use would require an astronomical amount of money.
2) Competitors – The tablet market is highly competitive and there really isn’t much room for newcomers. If this device offered something different than other products it could have a chance. However, it does not offer anything specific that other tablets can’t do already and also restricts other features that mom or dad may want to use.
3) Users – I understand that this product attempts to fill a specific niche within the tablet market. I feel that this niche is very specific and way too small to justify the huge startup costs it would take to get it to market. I do not see high school or post secondary students using this device so it becomes restricted to early childhood years.
On a positive note, it is durable and half the cost of the competitors ($250 price range). I would purchase it for my 3 year old to play with but can’t see it as an investment that would yield substantial returns.
Thanks,
Manny
Hi Nureen,
I found your elevator pitch to be packed full of information! I did however have a hard time collecting all of the information the first time through. Perhaps limiting the amount of information and focusing on the key points in your elevator pitch would have allowed me to retain more information as I was a little bit overwhelmed. That said, this is a good learning experience for me as I have had similar issues in the past as well and sometimes have a hard time with the less is more approach. Overall, this seems like a very good idea and something that I would want to use in my own classroom. I was just having a discussion with my students today about the tablet that I use to teach with and how I would like to be able to have a tablet for each one of them to use that is linked to mine. WIth that said, the tablet market is saturated with devices. I would not invest in you venture because there are too many large company competitors that could easily (and I think probably will shortly) create education-specific tablets. Additionally, although $250 is mid-range, this is a device that I think a lot of schools would hesitate purchasing due to the high quantity that they would need, which would be very expensive.
Overall, I thought that you did a great job of your pitches and that they were both very informative and hit the major points.
Jhodi
Hi Nureen,
Although I can tell you are very enthusiastic about your pitch, I found it impossible to understand what you were saying as it is just too fast for my mind to process. I would need to download your pitch, put it in VLC and then slow down the playback speed to a more human speed. 🙂 I understand that you were trying to maximize your elevator pitch but sometimes less is more and that would be my only real recommendation at this point. I have faith in you but I’m just not sure what you’re pitching.
Hi Nureen,
I thought you did a really good job on your pitches. Especially your elevator pitch. There was a lot of information packed into that minute and although some may find that it is too much to take in a such a great in such in a short time, I thought it was a great idea to make it a fast pitch. People are busy and can’t afford to spend extra time in listening to a pitch that they might not be intersted in, thus wasting a couple of minutes. I think the way you did your quick elevator pitch, really got the information across without wasting time. It was straight business!
Good work
Hi Nureen,
You have a good idea but I too think a little late given the market is saturated with tablets and the implementation of BYOD might also impact the success of this venture. I do appreciate how your tablet with be tailored better to the educational environment but I wonder with all the software programs and learning management platforms can this be addressed. Your elevator pitch address all the components of a pitch but was difficult to follow because you spoke so fast, I am confident a slower version would be exceptional. The prezi presentation was also well done but I believe you could have made your pitch with less information.
Catherine
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
Up2date Learning is a high school e-Textbook company that produces customizable resources designed to align with individual course curriculum that receives annual updates every year, and sends email alerts to teachers giving them options for updating their course throughout the year when events and breakthroughs occur. Here is my elevator pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVXcnQAfn8 Here is my […]
Continue reading Up2date Learning is a high school e-Text… Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Mike,
After watching your presentation, I think venture concept addresses a real need in education and offers a good and viable solution. In particular, I really liked the updates feature and especially the up to the minute updates as I believe it would be a valuable resource to many educators.
One thing I was curious about (and don’t recall being specified in the presentation) is what subjects the e-textbooks would be designed for?
As well, in terms of the presentation itself I felt that it was somewhat difficult to hear you at times in addition to clearly seeing the power point. Thus, I think had the quality and design been given a little more attention it would have made the overall presentation and sell of the venture that much stronger.
Julie
Thanks for the feedback Julie, I agree with you that it didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, and I definitely could have done a little more with the presentation. My idea was trying to mimic doing a pitch in front of people, and then tape that. But when it gets taped and is viewed electronically, it definitely loses some of the effect. After watching some of the other venture pitches, i found myself saying “damn, I wish I had done that” a bunch of times…you live you learn though right?
I may have had to cut the subjects from the presentation, but my main focus was on Social Studies, Business, and Science. Subjects where breakthroughs and events tend to happen that updates would improve the course.
Hello Mike,
Great elevator pitch. It made me want to watch your venture presentation. You have a natural ability to sell.
Your information was good, and had many of the aspects that the assignment was looking for. I like that you demonstrated how your etext would work, and the updates idea is great. I also agree with textbooks being outdated and that this idea can satisfy a need and has validity.
In saying that, however, I found that your venture pitch seemed a little stagnant. The motionless camera fixed on a slideshow made me feel like I was back in highschool trying to stay awake during a lesson. I also found myself wondering about the way we teach – or at least the way we ‘should’ be teaching – these days, and worried that your lecturing style of presenting your textbook based venture didn’t seem very ‘up to date’…even though your final message to us all was that you’re behind the times if youre not ‘being up2date’. Just a thought.
Finally, I’m a bit worried about competition you mentioned. They are huge companies. It seems as though many of these competitors would offer ‘updates’ that link to curricular needs?
Overall, i like the pitch, but it didn’t quite allow me to open up my cheque book.
Kent
Thanks Kent,
Yeah the stand and deliver in hindsight may not have been the best approach. If I could go back, I would have broken that up with graphics, slides from the powerpoint, etc. instead of doing it all at once.
Those big companies are the scary part of the venture idea, might be a better option to patten the update feature and then sell that idea to the big guys.
thanks for your thoughts
MIKE
Mike, I liked the way you prepared the venture pitch – posing in front of the camera and explaining your venture concept, I wish I could have done that too…
I like your venture concept and agree that e-textbooks have lot of potential in terms of making education more affordable and up-to date as you mentioned. This is the reason Amazon, McGraw Hill and other publishers are offering online versions of their books that can easily be accessed on smartphones and tablets. I myself have stopped buying paper copies since I bought my iPad earlier this year.
I however have some questions for you –
1. As an investor, one would like to know who your competition is in this market? Are you planning to compete with Amazon and the likes?
2. How to you plan to market your product?
3. How and when can an investor expect to get a break even and start making profits on the investment? Typically schools have shallow pockets and have faculty have limited PD budget. Is that a correct assumption?
Ranvir
On second thoughts, please disregard question 1 and 2 as you have sufficiently answered them in the venture pitch.
I buy supplemental text for my kids from Amazon although I would appreciate if a company could offer variety of content focused on K-12. I think the market is there and I wish you luck with your venture.
I agree Ranvir, the shallow pockets is a hurdle to overcome. It is hard to say when investors would start to see a return, because the e-textbook market in high schools is in such a early stage. So it might take a year or two to see some return. The idea is that a start up company like this one builds up and then eventually sells out to one of the bigger dogs in the ring, making profit for the investors.
Hi Mike, I agree that having up to date textbooks is a good idea as I still have some textbooks that refer to 2004 as in the future. Though I am trying to understand if you will be writing all the textbooks yourself or whether you will be taking existing textbooks and then just updating the information as needed. I believe right now when you get an e-textbook subscription that you always do get the newest version but a new version could be coming out every few years. My only concern would be having to have textbooks continuously updated and republished could be costly. Also writing a textbook that teachers want to purchase would be an issue as it is a very competitive market. My last issue would have to do with the fact that right now most classrooms don’t have access to laptops or computers to read the e-textbooks. Otherwise good presentation and idea.
Hi Mike,
I quite liked both your elevator and venture pitch. This is a new angle on this emerging market and it addresses a clear need in the educational system. I appreciated the detail with which you explained the product, clearly differentiated it from what is currently out there, identified your market and specifically laid out what you need from your investors and what you plan to do with it.
While this is an innovative product and one that I think warrants further development, my concern as an investor is that you are going against the giants of the publishing industry. If this is an idea that truly revolutionizes this industry, I would be concerned that the ‘big dogs’ will quickly catch up and run you out of the market. While you might have a head start, they have large client bases and very deep pockets for development. As such, you would need to somehow patent this idea.
Another concern is how you will create your ‘base content’ for your e-textbooks. The idea of having up-to-date information that a teacher can customize is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but you still have to provide some sort of ‘base material’. As such, is your team going to write e-texts from scratch? Is that part of the development costs?
Again, I think that you did a great job. Well done!
Hi Mike,
You have a brilliant idea and I could easily see it being used in education. Your pitch reminds me of textbooks we have in our library, some of these books such as “challenge of the west” are the same books I used back in highschool. There are big competitors in this market (Mcgraw-Hill) and I think your ultimate goal would be a buy out from one of the giants mentioned rather than competing with them. Another competitor is the free RSS feed feature that teachers in courses such as social studies can use to stay up to date on current events by creating their own news feeds. Great wrap up and catchy final logo “If you’re not up2date, you’re behind the times!”
Hi Mike,
As said by others, I really like the idea, especiallly with respect to the up2date current content. I am also concerned, just by watching the elevator pitch, about the competition, as I have been using online textbooks for course content already. How is this different? That might be the most important point for me because I think the rest of the idea is an easy sell. Good pitch!
Hi Mike,
I think that you have a great idea here and one that does address a common concern in schools. However, my worry with such a technology is how it would compete with major publishing companies that could use already made textbooks, put them in e-text form, and continuously add to them. I also wonder about the practicality of keeping information ‘up-to-date’. I wonder how many people you would need to employ, how much legislation would need to be passed for each piece of information to be added, and how quickly all of this could be done to give the information to students. It seems like a very large task to keep say a Social Studies textbook up-to-date, whereas a Math textbook may be much easier. I also wonder which classes this would be intended for.
All said, I think that you did a great job. I really like how you presented this information and I liked that you made it personal by putting yourself in front of the camera. I did read your reflection as well and it is too bad that you had to cut part of your video out because maybe that would have answered my questions. I think that with a little more work, this would be a venture that I would be very interested in.
Jhodi
Hi Mike,
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
I loved your pitch. You spoke well, with good stress and intonation, and touched upon just enough detail to create curiosity. I also enjoyed your longer pitch, though I would perhaps make the deck (slides) more graphic and with less text.
I think your idea is great and there is a market; however, as a textbook author myself, I know the competition is fierce because there is a lot at stake; the textbook market is huge and profitable. You would also need a large team of editors and writers making these updates, and there would be issues regarding who gets royalties for what. Nevertheless, you raise a valid point and there is a need, what I don’t know if going it alone without the backing of one of the textbook publishing monsters would be feasible.
Adriana
Hi Mike –
Of all of the pitches I’ve viewed, yours is focused on one of the greatest needs I think, and you’re elevator pitch sold that very well. Loved your enthusiasm – you held my attention as you did a great job of covering the pain point. It was unclear to me, however, in the evevator pitch, if the updates were meant for eTextbooks produced by other publishers (and I had no idea how you would manage that) or if your company would create the textbooks. So I followed up with your venture pitch. While this question was answered, and if I needed to be sold any more on eTexts you continued to do a great job, what conerned me was the potential quality of writing for the eTexts – quality curriculum writers come with a cost, which must be passed along to the consumer. This will make it very difficult to compete with the Big Dogs; I’m concerned about your competitive edge. This will be a huge challenge I think. Other than that, I thought the pitch was well done – you’ve thought out the marketing plan. I had faith in your credibility (but may have omitted your mention of your failure in securities sales).
I am pitching a new software, Instant One-Sheet, which is a cloud-based software that allows the user (film producer or student) to create a high quality and aesthetically polished one-sheet and extended web-based proposal. To learn more, please see my Elevator Pitch Venture Pitch (password: etec522) Thanks and looking forward to your feedback, Eva
Continue reading I am pitching a new software, Instant On… Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Eva,
Both of your pitches are so well done to the point that it felt like I was looking at a real, professional venture pitch instead of a fictional one that was made for an assignment. The CEO is so credible and that definitely helps assure potential investors that there is a real need for this kind of product.
Your venture pitch is very thorough, especially with the details of the Revenue Projections, market strategies and the Ask and Return. It is a good idea that you emphasized these areas because I believe most people — when looking at Instant One Sheet – will be concerned of the narrow market Instant One Sheet has.
Even with your well presented pitches, I’m still not convinced and I still think that the market of Instant One Sheet is quite limited. How often will one user use the product? It takes a while to produce one film so I will say the average client may use Instant One Sheet once or twice a year. In that case, is it worth buying?
I really enjoyed watching and reading your venture! I’m treating it as a real one because it seems extremely realistic and viable.
Hi Eva,
Well, you certainly can tell that you are in the industry! What a well-created elevator pitch. It provided just enough information to hook my interest and make me look forward to navigating the venture.
It is highly evident that you have done your research here. Such a thorough breakdown of investment allocation would put any potential investor’s mind at ease. I thought the use of conservative numbers in your projections only worked to your advantage, not diminishing your ask with a smaller market share, but enhancing it by reiterating the confidence that you believe you will reach more. That section was so very well-worded and presented, which spoke again to the confidence and belief in the product and venture.
Thank you so much for providing thorough descriptions at the very beginning of the pitch in terms that anyone, including those outside the industry, could understand. It seems a simple thing, but many people forget that their potential investors may not be knowledgeable in lingo of a particular industry. This can turn potential interest away.
I also applaud your efforts to provide both student and professional pricing! Students have so many fees and expenses to worry about. Affording them a little extra cushioning can really help. (A little goes a long way…) I think this would also perk up interest from institutes of higher education. Kudos.
I would definitely invest in this venture. Fantastic job.
Hi Eva,
I was truly captivated by your pitch. I honestly feel as though if I had $200,000 sitting around, this would likely be one of the only pitches I would invest in without any hesitation whatsoever. You show a clear path of entry into the market and your plan looks quite sound. There’s a definite potential for entry for a reasonable sized market and your pricing structure shows promise. My only question is in how likely it is that you could secure and keep this market. As has often been the case with online ventures, the first to market is likely not the one to succeed as others will imitate and improve on the existing models. Still, with everything appearing quite ironed out I think it leads to a very plausible venture. Are there any competitive advantages that you can secure to ensure a longer window of opportunity to secure this market segment?
Hello Eva,
I don’t know enough about your industry yet, but this idea seems pragmatic enough.
A few suggestions:
I would not use IOS as an acronym for this venture. Apple will come to your house and they will take everything you have .. they will burn, pillage and destroy all that is precious and meaningful – did you see what they did to the house of the guy who found one of their phones pre-release?
That aside, your main issue is the weaknesses you mentioned: namely, replication is easy, but the price is high.
This is a show stopper. You can have one or the other, but not both.
If you think your product cannot be replicated, then you can charge prices.
My preference would be the other way around, to get this product into people’s hands as much as you (free 3-month trials etc), and explore other ways to make revenues from your software: getting content providers to pay you for advertising them etc.. I would look into different ways software is making money now, most people just don’t like paying for software, and there are different options to explore.
GL!
Hi All,
Thank you so very much for your comments and feedback. I truly appreciate your words of encouragement, first and foremost. As I am sure you agree, this assignment was very challenging and since I am not a business type (at least I realized I was not after doing this assignment), I am so very pleased that my idea and pitch came across. I found all of your suggests very valid and interesting. I am going to put these comments into my revision for another version. I will follow up on your comments individually.
Thank you again,
Eva
Hi Eva,
Very good job on your elevator pitch. You were very comfortable in front of the camera and you had a good pace when you spoke. As well, your venture pitch was very organized. Your background spoke lots to your interest in “Instant 1 Sheet” and as a competent CEO. Although you seemed very knowledge about your product, I wasn’t quite sure what pitch material was (until I looked at your venture pitch) or why “Instant 1 Sheet” was better (while watching your elevator pitch). Additionally, I don’t know how big the market would be for “Instant 1 Sheet”. For those reasons, I wouldn’t invest in this product.
Lisa
Hi Eva,
Sorry for writing Instant 1 Sheet instead of Instant One-Sheet. That was my mistake.
Lisa
Hi Eva,
Your elevator pitch was well done and your presentation was exceptional. I don’t have very much knowledge in the film and media industry but your presentation provided an excellent introduction, it was very much real life, well researched and presented. Your have demonstrated your experience in the industry and your venture idea sounds like it would be successful as you presented a very comprehensive revenue plan and marketing strategy. My only thought, not really having a high level of understanding this industry is would this be a sustainable market and will it be limited?
Catherine
Fantastic job Eva, I wish I had contracted you out to direct and film my pitches. Great Work!
I thought that instant 1 sheet is a solid idea that many people within the industry would be smart to take advantage of. You had a reasonable pricing structure and well thought out marketing strategy. Also, the confidence you display gives faith for a potential investor. Excellent work
MIKE
Elevator Pitch Venture Pitch Personal Reflections: I was surprised by how much fun I had thinking creatively as an entrepreneur. Initially I had a lot of ideas and then I narrowed them done by products I would like to see in the market. E-Portfolio programs are something I believe we need more of […]
Continue reading Evernote FOLIO Posted in: Venture Forum
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. It reminded me of the pitches that we watched at the beginning of the course. Sometimes a face talking into the camera can have the most impact. Very interesting that you had the same concept as another student. You guys must be on to something.
Great work Jen!
I thought your elevator pitch was great, you were enthusiastic and camera friendly. I liked the idea you had of launching off an existing company, I felt lame in that respect when I was pitching me, myself and I…gives your idea more credibility. I think maybe a little more explanation in the venture pitch of what an e-portfolio is could have been helpful to someone who is hearing that word for the first time. I loved the upbeat music and images you used to compliment the presentation. good work!
Hi Jen,
A very well presented pitches (both), it is natural and very professionally done. I didn’t realize that you went through so much problems filming your elevator pitch until I read your behind the scene. I enjoy reading you reflection and it made me want to go back and revise mine a bit.
I think you pitches covered all of the important points that investors want to know and I found that by emphasizing the team early on, it highlight the expertise and knowledge of the product. Well done.
However, as an investor I don’t think I will invest in your venture 🙁 It is a good idea that Evernote’s clients will not have to pay more to have this add on folio feature. But I also think that there’re probably not many new clients who want to pay for Evernote just to get the folio feature since there are many websites with excellent folio platforms available for free of charge. So I think the folio feature won’t attract more clients to Evernote.
Otherwise, this is a very strong presentation, congratulations 🙂
Hi Jen,
Beautiful presentations.
The material was well laid out and well organized. I could see how your team and Evernote could champion the product.
I was not sure exactly what amount of investment you wanted and what the percentage return might be.
It seems to me that the Pain Point is more of an internal one in your case: Folio could make Evernote a more complete and comprehensive product that is less likely to be dropped by its customers as a result.
Also, the competitive economic forces that you talked about seem to apply more to Evernote’s long-term sustainability than the client’s need to be competitive per se.
I would suggest that you further discuss the competitive market Evernote finds itself in, who its key competitors are and how Folio would allow Evernote to expand its suite and maintain its competitive advantage in that regard – that competitive advantage being the network externality gains clients make by being able to rely on Evernote on a set of related needs (note taking, store documents, record a document, capture a photograph etc.) and bring these all together, while being able to connect and share them with others on a common platform.
PS. Most investors would be fine to see their money also go into marketing that gets their investment increased sales/profits. And there are many target markets in which I could see Evernote expanding and solidifying its hold. In this case, first mover advantage is an important one, and I would not overlook this.
Just sayin. Good Luck 🙂
Beautifully done Jen! You are a very confident and informative presenter. Your clean graphics and smooth transitions make me cry for my Mac! You created a visually pleasing (never jarring) and excellently produced and edited final product for both your elevator and venture pitches. They could both be rolled out tomorrow, they appear so professional.
One thing that stuck out to me in your presentation was the importance of retaining existing clients. I think a lot of companies/products forget that in the initial excitement of starting a new venture. Pitches often become very new user driver. The fact that you have considered existing users and their importance in the venture speaks volumes to your pitch.
I also found it impressive that you covered such a breadth of user. You moved beyond the educational field into the professional world, broadening your scope ten fold. By adding a personal element to it, such as the digital scrapbook lure, you have hit almost every target market out there.
By adding info graphics such as registered users, both though graph and photo analogies, you have placed a better visualization into the audience’s head. Specifics on the team behind the project as well as a projected launch date really took this to a new level. Well done.
Hi Jen,
This is another great venture pitch that I had the pleasure to view. Your presentation was captivating and oozed confidence and passion lending credibility to the venture. The venture concept is interesting and appears feasible and in line with a product feature I would expect from Evernote. It would even likely increase their number of premium users are more users would have the potential to reach the quota limit encouraging them to upgrade to premium status. My only qualms with the pitch are with regards to the competitive edge as well as the exit strategy. Although with the pre-established user base from Evernote, this alone may be sufficient to counter any comparable product that could launch to market. So realistically, there’s just a question of how and when do I make my money back? Perhaps I missed this point?
Hi Jen,
Well done, an excellent elevator pitch and the venture presentation was clear, concise, interesting, high quality and very comprehensive. Your audio, graphics and theme was very professional. I think you have a very viable venture, you have identified the current users, growth, marketing strategy, revenue capabilities and your company has a proven track record. E-portfolios are up and coming in both education and industry as you have mentioned, we already know that the mobile device market is exploding and that millions are downloading apps hourly.
I would invest in your venture. 🙂
Catherine
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
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.
I have an assignment three venture pitch for a new photo app that I’m rather excited about, but I’m not quite interested in sharing a public link to my pitch at the moment! If you are seriously interested in hearing about my idea, please send an email message to scott underscore tammik at mac dot […]
Continue reading Photo App Elevator and Venture Pitch Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Scott,
Your elevator and venture pitch and product were awesome!!! You looked very comfortable in front of a camera and you did a good job with the background setting (including pictures as your backdrop – very strategic). Your presentation was very polished and I think you hit most or all the criteria for a venture pitch. You included a pain point and solution, you did a great job differentiating between your product and the others you compared it to, and you included the challenges for your product. You even stated how your app was going to make money. It was a nice touch to add quotes to the presentation.
One area that you could have touched upon a little more was what you wanted from the investors. I know in your elevator pitch you stated that you were looking for investors to fund your initial development of your photo app and to market it worldwide, but then never mentioned it again. As well, what was the return the investors would receive? You did a good job stating how much you could sell this product as an app or per/month, but what would the investors get out of this?
All in all, great job! I would invest in the venture.
Lisa
Thanks for your positive feedback Lisa.
Indeed, beyond speculating on the cost of the app and service, I don’t have much expertise on the finance side of app development, so I steered clear of the numbers aspect to my pitch and just concentrated on the concept – which I’m glad you enjoyed!
Hi Scott,
Loved the comprehensive delivery method of your venture. I definitely enjoy your passion and enthusiasm for the idea.
As an idea itself I think you are onto something that is great and would be loved by the niche market that you are going after.
Would I invest – unfortunately not.
But this is not because of the concept but I see the biggest flaw is that it is only using the phones camera and the screen. I dont think this will satisfy the market that you are going after. I think that for them having increased on screen functionality is not enough, they want to go back to the tradition of having something physical to adjust to have some control and to give them options.
If you were to include something like http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/blog/iphone/photojojo-produce-specialised-camera-lenses-for-iphone#.ULief-OTsVg or http://www.olloclip.com/ in the offering I would have no problem investing in you and your venture as I feel this would satisfy your potential clients rather than just the app itself.
But nicely put together and extremely well delivered – very impressed overall.
Thanks
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
Thank you for all your well informed comments.
I quite agree with you, that what I and many others are really after, is really something like the new Fuji X-E1 or as you suggest, physical manual controls including those iPhone extensions you noted.
However, these cost more money and in some ways take away from the pocket-ability of smartphone cameras. In my school for example, we never seem to have enough money for more cameras, or darkroom supplies, but I think we could scrap together $100 per class each semester, to provide an app for the smartphones the kids already have. Phone accessories also need to be designed to fit to each phone design, which could be an issue.
In any event, thanks again for making me stop to reconsider a very important aspect of my pitch.
Cheers,
Scott.
Hi Scott,
Your Slowography venture proposal is very well done and sounds like something that is ready for design. Your elevator pitch was excellent in communicating the void in the market place when comparing point and shoot digital photography to traditional manual methods. You have clearly conducted a lot of research in this area and presented statistics on app purchases relevant to your pitch. The website is very nicely laid out and you come through as an honest, reputable, entrepreneur who knows what he’s talking about. I would give you an A+ on your presentation and my concerns as an investor are listed below.
1) Name – Slowography comes off as something that consumers may not want to look into in further detail.
2) Competitors – There are a lot of them! You have done a good job of dissecting the differences between them and the features that your app will integrate. However, this is a market that is saturated with photography apps and a simple update to one of the more popular apps could easily put you out of business.
3) Users – This app is great for the typical point and shoot users who have limited experience with photography. The true enthusiasts will probably still be skeptical and stick to traditional methods of photography.
These reservations are very minor and do not take away from what a great idea this is. I am currently teaching a visual and media arts class and try to teach students the practical skills that they can do on their own after graduation. Not all of them can afford an SLR camera and this app is definitely something I would not invest in, but also use in my classroom. Great work Scott!
Hi Manny,
I’ve always respected and appreciated your thoughts in our discussions.
The name is not something I’m 100% on either, it just seemed like a novel take on ‘photography’ and the .com domain was available, so I took it. You are quite right, that an update could threaten the apps relevance, which is why I thought about creating a whole ‘ecosystem’ and community around the idea, to give it value beyond the app – especially for classroom teachers and students. As I mentioned to Stuart, true enthusiasts will likely still opt for expensive cameras from Leica or a Fuji, but what about those times when all you have is your camera or you can’t afford a Leica. I think the old saying goes something like, “the best camera to have, is the one you’ve got”!
Thanks for your comments and nod of support.
Scott.
I made a typo in my last line, I meant to say this app is something I would not only invest in, but also use in my classroom.
Hi Scott,
I found your elevator pitch and venture pitch to be very informative and professionally driven. In terms of the team’s qualifications, there is no doubt in my mind that you demonstrate passion and commitment to drive this venture forward. It is unclear in your pitch whether there are other members to your team so I’ll assume it is just you. As for the venture concept, I consider it quite original and you do appear to have done a fair bit of research in the area to demonstrate some feasibility. I’m unclear as to what portion of the market would be looking for apps that slow them down when tackling photography but there does appear to be growth in the market segment. My only real qualm with the proposal is with regards to the investment dollars. There isn’t really any indication as to what you’ll do with the investment nor is there any indication on how I could make money or get my money back. All in all, I would like some of these questions answered before I chose to invest but your credibility and professionalism does lend itself to a positive experience and hope for a successful venture. I wish you best of luck in launching this venture if you do go forward with it!
I’m pleased to know my enthusiasm for the idea came through clearly – thanks for that positive feedback Patrick.
Indeed as I mentioned to Lisa as well, beyond speculating on the cost of the app and service, I don’t have much expertise on the finance side of app development, so I steered clear of the numbers aspect to my pitch and just concentrated on the concept.
Hi Scott –
Great work! As soon as I started watching the elevator pitch I was hooked. You exuded credibility by your passion and quality of work and that drew me in, despite my initial reluctance as to why anyone would want to go back to the pre-instant-results days of photography. So the venture concept was foreign to me, but was further addressed in your venture concept. For me there is also a disconnect between what I think of as a traditional SLR camera – simply the heft & feel & shape of the camera vs a slim smartphone. But that’s maybe just me.
The opportunity space – competition – may be a problem in this market. You’ve given some good though to your marketing plan as well as to additional revenue sources.If you can assemble the team you’re looking for – I think you’ve got a shot.
All great points for me to consider Peggy, thank you.
I am realizing now, from your feedback and from others, that I need to make clearer the idea that I don’t intend for the app to replace traditional cameras, but rather to provide an alternative to the way we use camera phones, for both photographers and students/educators alike.
The entire experience of this assignment and the feedback its generated, have been very helpful to me 🙂
Here is my elevator pitch describing forEvernote (please click beside the yellow arrows for audio!) and my forEvernote venture pitch. forEvernote is a new vision for and extension of the popular Evernote program to allow teachers to create portfolios that follow students though their education from kindergarten to grade 12. I hope that you enjoy! […]
Continue reading forEvernote perpetual portfolios Posted in: Venture Forum
John ~ Not sure if you saw my fictional venture but it is very similar. Maybe this speaks to the market need, eh?
Hi Jen,
I just saw yours and, yes, I do think that the market is speaking! There are a few others who are also pitching portfolio-related ventures as well. Funny how that happened!
John
Hi John,
I liked your Elevator Pitch. I felt it caught my attention and I was interested to hear more. I might suggest taking out the statement “Who cares?’ and instead write something more positive like “the key to best assessment”. You Venture pitch covered most of the crucial tenets of a pitch. I felt you could have expanded on the credibility and championship of the CEO and team. In terms of Marketing I don’t think you would need “buy-in” from every teacher. I think each teacher, school or district could choose to use the program and then their thoughts would spread whether or not it was worthy to use. I was unsure of your plan. What were you specifically asking of the investors? Money or ? I liked how you said why they should invest but what would they get in return. Overall, a great venture concept. Thanks for sharing, Jen
cunnian,
Your elevator pitch did a great job of suggesting that we leverage existing technology for an educationally sound reason. I think there is a lot of potential in your proposal.
I really like the presentation that you used in Prezi. In fact, some of my students use it for their portfolio’s because of the unique way the visuals are presented.
The venture was complete and informative as well. It felt well thought out. Good work.
John –
Love the idea of extending an existing idea and turning it into something more. You hit the nail on the head in your “Why Invest In Us” section by mentioning that Evernote already has a large user base and could benefit from this idea moving forward. Great venture concept — and well presented in both your Prezi and your webpage. You should bring this one forward. I’m starting to like the idea of portfolios more and more…
— Jonathan
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 gone through the elevator pitch, including the formal venture pitch used to introduce forEvernote, I am confident of the CEO, based upon his ability to effectively and efficiently convey the overall and specific ideas of this venture. As for the rest of the management team, there is not specific information regarding individuals or positions tied to this venture. Without this information, it is hard to determine, beyond the CEO, if this product will be successfully launched, or if key elements/positions have been overlooked, dooming this interesting product to failure.
Venture Concept:
The overall concept of forEvernote is not an original idea, but a natural extension of educational theories and Internet applications, a product that attempts to positively merge each to create a meaningful assessment tool for todays modern classroom. Furthermore, it is clear that the CEO for this venture, clearly researched and understands the need of this product. Especially considering the fact that this tool, like all other tools, are only as effective as the person who wields it. As evidenced in recent research focusing on ePortfolios:
If students do not accept the e-portfolio as a holistic means with which to document their learning in different contexts and more importantly, agree or wish to use the e-portfolio as an integral part of their educational experience, then the potential impact the e-portfolio will have on learning will not be realised. (http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/97)
An issue that forEvernote overcomes with the recognition that professional development is necessary for this tool to become successful. Overall, I find this venture interesting and would pursue further research into this area.
Marketability:
The actual marketability of this venture was not provided, leaving potential investors wondering about this ventures true market size, potential share, and overall need within the K-12 educational system. Secondly, from the information provided, forEvernote will be applying an innovative approach to the market, which if found successful, they will have a momentary lead on their competitors, however over the long run, these innovations will be easily duplicated, reducing their market share and revenue. Especially considering the fact that Evernote themselves are exploring this reality themselves, as evidenced here: http://evernotefolios.wordpress.com/
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, which will influence greatly their overall market share. Secondly, it is important to note that Evernote follows a freemium model to generate revenue to keep the company running, however, at this time, forEvernote has not provided any information regarding their companies economic model, a key piece of information that would need to be looked into at a later date.
Overall though, this venture shows promise, and should be further reviewed.
Hello,
Great idea. There is definitely a Market for this product. I think you made good use of the means you used for presenting your ideas. They were both visually and aesthetic. I also really like the titles you used in your Prezi. this product is to be used with kids. Hence, the terminology you used was reflective of your market.. Good strategy.
I have used Evernote and am a fan. I felt that your extension to this product was portrayed well and that it is a good idea. I thought you could have expanded a but on the actual market and how you envision this product being introduced into the marker. Other than that, you did well.
Thank you for sharing.
Nureen
Hi John,
Great idea to expand on a current product. Your problem and solution were clearly outlined. I would have liked to see more/some information on marketing, the specific ask in monetary terms and investor returns. Overall a good presentation of your idea.
Sophia
Your pitches were quite an eye opener for me. I wish I had an extended portfolio of my years at school from k-12 to the tertiary level.
Great idea.
Patason
Interesting idea. I feel that there is a market for this in some format. I have found that the e-portfolios that many MET courses have been much more meaningful for me than the boring hard version I have on my shelf. I am interested to know how teachers would respond to this format. I know that at the high school level we groan when the middle school portfolios make their way to our school. As you mentioned, this is not necessarily the best method to monitor growth and view the collection of work a student has accomplished.
Your prezis was well laid out. You moved the viewer along nicely. The audio was a little low, but was a good addition over the basic text. The website, was informative and easy to navigate. I might not be ready to invest, but know Evernote and the need for a portfolio solution I would want to sit and have another meeting with you.
Hi John,
Overall I think it’s a great idea, professional presentation and I love evernote as a tool. I agree and echo like many others in the courses that student portfolio’s can easily add authenticity to education for students.
However as an EVA I am not sure I would invest in this venture for the following reasons. I do not get an idea of how this is different to other products on the market (if they exist?). Nor do I understand who or how this solution is going to be implemented/created. And finally as an investor I am not sure what you are not asking for nor what returns I might expect to receive for it.
Thanks
Melissa
Hi John,
I liked your Prezi, ominous clouds notwithstanding 😉
I think where as Jen’s presentation focused on Evernote’s competitive needs, yours did a good job at showing how a portfolio would be a good and natural need of students in today and in the future. Good paper link by TomWhyte1 about the perception and network externality dimensions of this venture idea. I think you have a good target market with students and if they become too difficult to reach (school /provincial resistance etc), you can market it to other groups still and be successful. I think you have something good here, merge with Jen et al. and more importantly, go for it!
John your pitch is fine work. As I reviewed your website, which is among the preferred mediums I find for venture pitches, each of the questions I had in mind, such as the all important issue of privacy, were all answered. I even found myself filling in other concerns you noted, for example in many cases the camera phones most students have in their pocket would lessen the need for in school scanners.
Your choice of Prezi for the elevator was sound in my opinion, though from a purely design point of view, I found some of the colored type challenging to read and I felt the background did not serve the topic well – in the end these are minor tweaks which could be accomplished in minutes.
As we move to ever technology infused classrooms and schools with BYOD programs, I think you have a very valid concept here which is certainly worth perusing.
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
My fictional venture is ExamScan, a security system for online assessment that incorporates Iris Scanning technology. In some ways I feel that this type of venture is ahead of its time, however as biometric security systems become more commonplace, it could have a significant use for education provided proper security assurances for students […]
Continue reading ExamScan Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Coral,
I liked your Elevator Pitch. Your venture is Interesting and original and I believe there is a market. Your Venture Pitch was excellent. You included all of the necessary facets and your use of text and visual graphics such as graphs were attractive, easy to read and understanding. My only suggestion would be to add a bit more information about you CEO teams background which would give more credibility to them being able to champion such a venture. Thanks for sharing your pitches. Best, Jen
Hi Coral,
This is a brilliant, if big brotherly, idea. Great venture and elevator!
Hi Coral,
I’m not one of your reviewers but curious to see what your venture is all about. I absolutly agree with Joel ‘s comment above that your venture is briilaint, and it is quite innovative. As online learning is becoming more and more accepted these days and everywhere too, not just North America , I’m very sure that there will be a market for your venture. Good thinking, well done!
I felt your elevator pitch was very concise and covered all of the important aspects of a successful pitch – well done!
I also really enjoyed your prezi presentation and I am not a huge fan of prezi but yours was clear, concise and well laid out. I really don’t have any suggestions for improving your venture pitch except maybe showing pictures of the team?
As an EVA currently enrolled in an online Masters program, one of my concerns was the fact that I live in Calgary and would have to fly to Vancouver to have an Iris Scan done, this would be a deterrent for me especially if this would be the case for all online courses that I take through different institutions. I would consider investing in this venture after a careful read through a detailed business plan.
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:
From the provided elevator pitch, the CEO for ExamScan exudes confidence in their venture. However, specific information regarding the overall teams abilities to manage a start-up company and deal with obstacles that will occur, especially considering privacy and legal rights, is hard to determine at this time. Therefore, before pursuing formal investment, further investigation in this area would need to occur.
Venture Concept:
Based upon a quick search, it appears that this is a unique and innovative approach for the use of biometrics, and that institutions and agencies are currently using various devices, including handheld technology to do iris scans (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/20/us-crime-identification-iris-idUSTRE76J4A120110720), making this venture not only possible but feasible. Furthermore, significant research has been conducted, which not only demonstrates the possibility of this product working, but the potential need for it within distance education courses. Lastly, the recognition of cheating in various educational environments has been on the rise recently, and it is possible that ExamScan could deter this from occurring.
Marketability:
ExamScan did a good job providing information regarding the potential market that could access this service. However more information regarding the number of schools that still utilize traditional assessment (multiple choice, T/F/, etc), instead of constructivist exercises would also be needed, as other forms of assessment would also greatly reduce potential cheating, as these other assessment strategies are very time consuming and require a strong knowledge of the material to develop any meaningful artifact. Regardless, if ExamScan can show proof of concept, those schools still utilizing traditional approaches could still represent a significant share of the market making this service potential viable. In terms of innovative advantage, ExamScan is on the cutting edge of biometric utilization within a distance education environment. It is important that one realize though, being the leader in this market may ensure increased market share and potential revenue, it means more risks in an unproven market place, an issue that may scare away potential investors.
Venture Plan:
Based upon the provided information, ExamScan has been in operation since 2011, however no specific implementation of services was provided. Therefore, it would be essential to know where in the process ExamScan is? Is the biometric software still in beta testing, or have they begun developing partnerships with industry distance education leaders? Information that would need to be provided, before investing occured.
Lastly, as was mentioned in the presentation, the legal issues surrounding the collection, storage, and use of Iris prints is a major hurdle to overcome. ExamScan has done a decent job, providing information as to where and how this data will be stored, which does alleviate some of the concerns. However, if this venture is successful, more data centers will exist, and potentially cross international borders, where data comes under different laws, and then different problems. Lastly, some students partake in online courses who are under the age of 18, would the inclusion of this technology limit them from partaking in these courses, and therefore limit the potential market for ExamScan?
I guess you would need an initial, in-person scan when registering in the program in order for this to work. Or, you could have authorized, scanning centers where a person could have their iris scan registered with their identity. This is a little creepy, but I can see the potential marketability. The idea sells itself. This is one of those things that the fear of people cheating is all that it takes. You don’t even need the statistics, (although they were a nice addition) because many people will assume that if it is possible to cheat, people will.
(Incidentally, Google introduced a facial recognition feature that could be used to unlock your cell phone and it was very easy to hack because people could use a picture of you in place of the real you. They improved that recently. Now, it looks to see that your eyes are blinking in a way that is hard to replicate. i don’t know if a video of your face would work, but Google is pretty confident…)
I would have liked to know a little more about the people behind the venture. And it was cute that you included the number of active users and 3-year return on your money but before I would give you a million dollars, I would want to see evidence. If you are going to include numbers at all, I would think you would need to back them up a bit. It’s tough in this role-play situation to know how much to include in this regard.
I also think it would have benefited from a few more visuals. For example, in your elevator pitch, you could have been sitting next to a computer and turned, looked into the webcam for a moment, then turned back and said, “The scanning process only takes seconds…” which would have been much more powerful. Similarly, the Prezi had a lot of words. A few more pictures would have made it more convincing.
Hi,
Brilliant idea and very well posed. I think this is a great venture and I think you did a great job of portraying the need for it. You used pertinent data and graphs to show that education is definitely moving more and more towards online delivery and that there is a need for this type of tool. I think you covered all parameters needed and did a very good job of drawing in your audience and convincing them that your product is a necessity. You were confident, knowledgeable and had confidence in your voice. This had a great impact. Both your pitch and your Prezi were set up with good information.
Excellent job. Thanks for sharing.
Nureen
Hi Coral:
Great presentation in the elevator pitch and the venture pitch. I agree with Ben, a quick turn to a web cam to get scanned to show how easy it is would have capped it off.
You have also nailed a wonderful opportunity that is needed and for all the reasons you identified. This gives me confidence that the CEO knows what she is talking about! I have very little else to offer for a critique because you have caught my attention as an investor. If we were going to take this to the next step I would say – lets talk!
Doug.
Hi Coral,
Your idea is very practical and timely with the growth of online learning. You venture pitch showed that you did your homework but am of the opinion that it will be applicable to institutions that do traditional testing as the name suggests. I also suspect the temptation to cheat will be higher for exams such as SAT. For programs that do project based assessment the likelihood of cheating will be lower. Since most Schools still do exams you have a large possible market. At the end of the day it will boil down to how far these schools are willing to go to t curtail cheating. Right now I have not heard of any institutions such as Sylvan taking this kind of measures for this kind of cheating. Most institutions seem to be preoccupied with plagiarism instead.
Despite my concerns you did a good.
Cheers
Patason
Hi Coral,
Thanks for an interesting elevator pitch. It grabbed my attention as an investor.
Here is my analysis on your venture pitch using the guidelines found in section 2.7 of our course blog – Deconstructing a pitch:
ExamScan: The Content
Pain Point: Your pain point is supported by research. The numbers would be more relevant if they specified how many ‘online’ students cheat.
Solution:
Questions:
What would happen if the actual test-taking student scans his/her iris, and then as soon as the exam begins a more capable other takes over and completes the exam; or if a student does not have the required hardware; or that the camera has a very low resolution; or if technical difficulties arise and the iris cannot be scanned? The plan would be viable if it addresses these potential challenges.
To me, the only possible way for this product to work is for the technology to continue recording the student while s/he takes the test from beginning to end. This leads me to think of the money that needs to go into perfecting the security around the software, which might cause potential investors to walk away from the investment.
Differentiation: From your venture pitch, I was unable to locate information on how your product differs from existing security features implemented during online testing situations.
Marketing: I was unable to locate information about what your venture will be doing to establish itself on the market other than information on what the investment money will be used for. The target market is not identified.
Championship: I did not find information on the competency of the venture’s leaders and advisers (you) in your pitch.
Competition: Information about the venture’s competitors and partners could not be located in the venture pitch.
The Ask & Return: A provision of how these numbers came about would increase the credibility of your pitch. If you do not know the numbers, perhaps a formula about how the return on investment is calculated will suffice. An exit strategy would also increase the viability of the investment.
Hope that helps! And thanks for a well-presented pitch.
James
Hi Cora,
Funny, I was just watching the CBC documentary that you cited last week as I had some plagiarism issues in my class to deal with. It made a compelling argument for the need for strict security measures as the cheating schemes are getting more and more sophisticated.
Your elevator pitch was excellent as you speak with confidence and passion about this product. I liked the Prezi format for the venture and you walk potential investors through your pitch in a clear and logical manner. As far as I can tell, you’ve identified all of the requisite information for a good pitch, including details on the investment that you need and what your potential market is.
One question that I have is how you obtain the initial iris scan. It seems that this could be faked as well. Yes, your product will keep a user from creating multiple accounts, but will it prevent a user from using someone else to do the actual work of the course?
Regardless, this product has the potential to greatly improve the security of online courses. Well done!
Hi Coral,
Congrats on 2 great pitches – both were very clear and informative and contained ample information.
Interesting venture idea and great way to introduce a new(ish) technology into the classroom. You have clearly identification a pain point and a solution, as well as growing market trends and what you need as an investment.
Many thanks
Melissa
Hi Coral,
Great job on your elevator pitch. You clearly described your product, problem and your solution.
I love your use of Prezi to present your venture pitch. I actually like that it was text heavy as I was able to go back and peruse at my leisure. The following is my feedback:
Product: interesting use of current technology as a solution to a problem within the education industry.
Pain Point and Solution: was real, clearly stated and one with which many educators relate.
Differentiation/Competition: the pitch was weakened by a lack of information on the market in terms of competition, positioning, barriers/ease of entry.
Market/marketing: the target was clearly identified and the opportunity seems possible. Statistics and facts helped in increase the credibility of the proposition. However, the absence of a marketing strategy is noted.
Ask and Return: were clearly stated.
The Team: Investors are interested in the skill set and abilities of the CEO and team to drive a start-up business to success. Insufficient information was presented to aid in my decision.
I think your proposition is full of possibilities. I would be interested in your proposal once your pitch is strengthened.
Sophia
My fictitious venture is for an integrated system to easily capture & manage portfolio evidence for early learning classrooms and generate portfolios of student development. As I’ve described in my relections section, I’d love to see this actual product. The elevator pitch is below, and you can find both it and my website venture […]
Continue reading Early Learning Portfolios Posted in: General, Venture Forum
Hi Peggy ~ I have a genuine interest in this area as well – as evidenced by my venture pitches. Your elevator pitch was great and has me hooked. I am going to follow the link now to your venture pitch. Best, Jen
Peggy, I really liked the elevator pitch and supplemental information on your website. Like Jen, I would be interested in knowing more about this initiative if this were to be pursued seriously. Fictitiously, I would be interested to invest although I wonder how much investment is required… Did you come up with any investment figures and how could investors re-coup their investment?
Thanks Ranvir. I am definitely not a money person, and was very happy when David posted his comment that we could forgo concerns about the $$ aspect. Completely mandatory for a real venture pitch I know, but for me I simply would not have have the tme, or knowledge, to do anything better than make up numbers. But for the sake of making this more of a real simulation, I can see how even pretend numbers would have been a good addition. Thanks for the suggestion!
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.
I think the problem your venture solves gets a bit lost. It’s a valid and real problem, which if emphasized, I’m sure would capture investors attention.
2. Solution: the new product or service that resolves the pain. Excellent and well presented
3. Differentiation: the reason someone will buy or use this new product or service, versus the alternatives.
It is very clear why people would buy it, but not so much how it is different from what is out there; probably because there isn’t anything else out there like this, but then this is worth mentioning.
4. Marketing: where and how buyers/users will be reached.
This is not as clear. An important thing to keep in mind here is that the person who perhaps needs this product the most and will be the end user, the teacher, won’t be the buyer; the buyers are the school boards and its they who have to be convinced that there’s a need for this product.
5. Championship: the competency of the venture’s leaders and advisors.
Excellent
6. Competition: an overview of competitors and partners;
Not mentioned
7. The Ask: how much money, etc, is required to take the next step
Not asked
8. The Return: how much and how soon will an investor be recompensed.
Not mentioned
9. The Message – clear and to the point
Overall a very well presented venture and one I feel could interest investors. Excellent work. Well done Peggy.
Thanks for the feedback adelpaso. You’re right about the missing points. Some of these I touched on in my reflections of strengths and weaknesses, found by following the link to the subpage found at the bottom of the website home page. I think the absense of marketing is a real weakness here. I had some marketing plans in my head, but didn’t get them down into the plan.
I appreciate the time you took to go through the venture. I found it a tough project – a way of thinking quite different from what I’m used to!
CEO & Team:
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.
After viewing the Elevator Pitch, and reading through the venture pitch for EL Portfolios, it is clear that the CEO is not only confident in their product, understands the market and the role this product will play within it, but appears to be high capable and passionate to take this project from start-up to essential classroom resource. As a potential investor, I would want more information focussing on the overall team, to ensure my money was going to be properly used. Regardless of this slight concern, I believe this CEO would only surround themselves with the best.
Venture Concept:
Even though the idea of portfolios, and even electronic portfolios is not a new idea, that is beyond the point, as EL Portfolio’s has not only taken an existing idea and made it feasible for today’s classrooms and technology, but has made an easy to use assessment tool, that enhances learning for students, teachers and even parents. This venture is further strengthened by the solid research that has been completed to not only understand the market, but capitalize on the areas of weakness currently recognized within the educational system. Overall, this venture pitch not only does a good job of telling a story, but does a great job of wanting this product to exist… now!
Marketability:
The actual marketability of this venture was not provided at this time, leaving potential investors wondering about this ventures true market size, potential share, and overall need within the current educational system, making this venture a more than moderate risk. As for innovative advantages, EL Portfolio’s does a great job of maximizing the current capabilities of technology to provide video/picture/audio artifacts for a students assessment, which is combined with rubrics to utilize and potentially linked to specific learner outcomes. While no information is provided about intellectual property rights or copyrights, this would need to explored to ensure that market share this company gathers would not be eroded by copycat competitors.
Venture Plan:
At this time, no specific information has been provided about potential timelines, or product readiness, information that is essential to ensure that this market can be capitalized on quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, EL Portfolios, have done a more than professional job at examining and understanding the potential legal issues with this approach, and have created solutions for each, a situation that allows investors to focus on the product, not the potential lawsuits.
Thanks for the thorough analysis Tom. You’re right about those missing pieces. Were I to move forward, those would definitely have to get put into place. As a new experience – preparing pitches – there really is a learning curve. Even when you know in advance what all should be present, it seemed all to easy for me to miss assembling everything together. I appreciate your well-written analysis and suggestions.
I think your idea is absolutely sound. There are a lot of similar products out there for purely social media purposes but I haven’t seen anything quite like this. As someone who is pretty familiar with the technologies involved, I can easily imagine how it would work and what would be required to get it off the ground. I’m afraid though that I may be filling in a lot of the blanks on my own. The way that I am imagining it is something like a Facebook or Instagram or even Delicious app. You take a picture or record a bit of video or audio, then as you tag it, it gets added to that student’s blog automatically. Allowing us to see what the portfolio (probably like a timeline) would look like would have been a powerful addition.
But as an early childhood educator, I would want to know more about this product and if what I am picturing in my head is right, I would be very likely buy into it if the price was right.
I want to add that doing this as a website was a good match for the product. For every potential buyer or investor, there may be just as many different reasons to be attracted to the product or the company. It’s good that we can come back to it and work through the material as we like.
Hi,
I think you did a great job on both your pitch an analysis. I found it a little hard to hear what your were saying in the pitch because the music was slightly distracting. I would suggest reducing the volume of the music slightly. I found that your enthusiasm, knowledge about the product and belief in the product was an asset to your project. I was drawn in just by watching the pitch and was interest in going on to read more about it. I think you could have addressed the market a little bit more but other than that this is a very sound venture.
Thanks for all your hard work and work sharing you idea. There is definitely a need for this is the in market.
Nureen
Hi Peggy:
I loved your elevator pitch with your enthusiasm, facts and background music. This got me excited and interested in the product as a buyer, however maybe not so interested as an investor…. But it did catch my interest to look further.
The venture pitch concept is brilliant; structured like an e-portfolio, the product of interest. I like the tabs set up relating to the product and investment. I wonder with this structure if it could be reorganized by the four areas that EVA’s care about: CEO and Team, Venture Concept, Marketability and venture plan.
As you mentioned the $ side is hard to create without a background in this area. If you had created some numbers and used them without meaning then this might generate questions that you really could not answer.
As an investor, I am interested as e-portfolios are an interest of mine and I see great potential here. So if we were going to take this further then I would say – lets talk!
Doug.
Hi Peggy,
Your elevator pitch has a good hook.
Here is my analysis on your venture pitch using the guidelines found in section 2.7 of our course blog – Deconstructing a pitch:
Early Learning Portfolios: The Content
Pain Point:
Good research information here. I would suggest including Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory in this section to explain why the “early” aspect of your product is important, and use this information to differentiate your product from its competitors.
Solution:
Questions: What would the implementation of the product look like? What is the role of the teacher? Would the teacher be spending most of her time documenting student progress with a mobile device while students do their work as opposed to providing support to help students overcome their challenges? Can the product allow students to document their own progress using their own devices as opposed to the teacher being the one doing the documentation? Where would the documented information be stored? How would student privacy be addressed? How will you be partnering with NAEYC to provide you with the rubric for your product?
The addition of learning analytics technology such as Knewton’s Adaptive Learning Platform would enhance your product’s applicability in education.
Differentiation: I was unable to locate information on your website about how your product differs from its competitors such as WordPress, Moodle, etc.
Marketing: I was unable to find the information which identifies the target market. Will your customers be the teachers or school districts? What will you do so that your product reaches the customers? The inclusion of these information would redirect your pitch to the investors as opposed to the customers.
Championship: The “About us” page is well-written. The provision of positions that need to be filled to satisfactorily put your product on the market would enhance the viability of your pitch.
Competition: I was unable to locate information about the competition and the necessary partners (other than NAEYC) on your website.
The Ask & Return: These are not identified in the pitch.
Thanks for a well-presented pitch!
James
Hi Peggy,
Well done on both the elevator and venture pitch. Funny that we both were thinking portfolios for this assignment! Your pitch was engaging and I could envision how I would use your product in the classroom, which as a potential investor I feel is important. You did well to speak to the need of having a system which is easy for teachers to use and portfolios can be fairly burdensome. Content tagging and automatic cataloging are great features to build in! You also did a good job of explaining your background and credibility.
As others have mentioned, you have not fully addressed who your market is (neither did I ;)), which investors would want to know about. Aside from this, it appears to me to be a very solid venture and I would be interested in investing.
Hi Peggy,
I love you elevator pitch! It is great, totally engaging and identifies a pain point and solution and made me curious to go learn some more about your venture via the venture pitch. In fact to be honest I think I was even sold on the product without having to go to the second pitch (website).
I think I too (like Ben mentions above) understand a bit how this could be created and have skipped ahead and filled in some of the missing gaps other have already pointed out you have for marketing and investments etc.
You are a credible, knowledgeable and passionate founder and president who seems to have a great grasp of the product you want to create and have done the research to back it up. I believe you present a very marketable product (especially going by class feedback on the idea of ePortfolios in general over the course of ETEC522). As an EVA investor I would want to do some basic market research and competitor analysis before making an investment decision. However, I am sure this is on the right track and that this venture would be a great potential investment opportunity.
Thanks
Melissa
Hi Peggy,
You have a great elevator pitch and a professional looking website. Some more information on the marketing would have made this complete.
Cheers
Patason
Hi Peggy,
Great elevator pitch. Your presentation came across as professional and you came across as a passionate champion that identified your product, problem and solution. Your website was very clean. I found that it appealed to me more as a user – teacher – than as an investor. I found that:
Pain Point and Solution: These was real, clearly stated and one with which many educators relate.
Differentiation/Competition: The venture proposition was weakened by a lack of information on the market in terms of competition, positioning, barriers/ease of entry.
Market/marketing: The target was clearly identified but there was an absence of a marketing plan/strategies.
Ask and Return: These were not clearly stated.
The Team: Investors are interested in the skill set and abilities of the CEO and team to drive a start-up business to success. The information on the CEO revealed a very qualified visionary and champion. I would have loved to see information on other members of the team.
Overall a good presentation.
Sophia
Thank you all for your excellent suggestions. I’ve gone back to drawing board and made some changes to the venture pitch, based on your suggestions, most importantly adding information on my marketing strategy and a smaller section on “The Ask” (on the “Why Invest” page). I believe I did read in some course instructions somewhere that we were encouraged to take your suggestions into consideration for our final version?
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!
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!
My elevator and venture pitches outline an innovative device that help ESL speakers all over the world reduce their accents without years of practice and training. Although the pitches make it out to be a real enterprise, it is fictional. Before watching my elevator pitch, I would like to make it clear that I’m not […]
Continue reading REDUCTO (Instant accent reduction device) Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Paula –
I thought you did an excellent job with both the elevator and venture pitch. I thought your production values were very good for both, very professional and polished which are important for making that subliminal message of competence. The venture pitch did a very good job I felt of laying out all key points – pain points and the solution, competition, market, future direction, and you did a good job of focusing on the high points (pain point & solution) with your elevator pitch. I can see how, in todays increasingly global market, that there were be plenty of buyers for such a simple solution, but was interested in your growth plans as well. I’d have to say that as an EVA, I would invest!
Peggy
HI Paula,
I have to say I really enjoyed watching your elevator pitch because it not only addressed a real problem (one that I have encountered myself on the phone with others) but it was clear, professional and entertaining.
As for the venture pitch, I felt that you did a great job in illustrating the problem and demonstrating how it will help provide a solution. I think that the market and usability for such a product is high and I would definitely invest in it.
Julie
I laughed out loud. It’s a hilarious idea but it does in fact address a need. It seems to me though that the target is the companies that employ people with strong accents and not the people themselves. The pitch could have been a bit clearer with its intent. But it was a slick and well-produced little piece. Well done.
I can’t add too much to Ben’s comments, as I share his opinions. Targeting companies like telemarketers or any phone based public relations business would really be beneficial in terms of revenue. Granted, your software (as Colin States) would need to be flawless and, like any voice application, would need to work out mis-pronouncing vital words and phrases.
A wonderful idea, and a really professional polished pitch. I’m in, but would need assurances of the software.
Well done!
Kent
I really liked the humor that you put into the elevator pitch and I think a product like this would be very marketable. I am not sure how the software would work as there are so many different kinds of accents and some of them are so strong. Overall though I liked your pitch and product idea and I think it would be worthwhile to invest in as long as the software worked really well.
Very professional looking elevator pitch! You clearly demonstrate how your product works and the advantages that it affords. The humorous clip that you use to introduce the pain point was creative and hooks in potential investors.
You have written a solid venture pitch and make a strong case for this product, which is strengthened by the research that you include. I was impressed by the screenshots of how the program works – very creative! You also clearly articulate your own credibility in this area. One question that I had was whether your target market would want to purchase this product being that they would have to invest in a headset and the software for each operator. This represents a huge overhead and may, at least in part, negate the ‘advantage’ that you refer to of using call centres in India. Some market research would need to be done in order to determine if the call centers would bear the cost of this product in order to refine the language skills of their employees.
On the whole, very well done. It was a pleasure evaluating your venture proposal!
You have done an excellent job with both the elevator pitch and the venture pitch. I found myself highly engaged by the elevator pitch and wanting to learn more about the product. I thought that your elevator pitch was very professional, included enough of the key information, but did not overwhelm me with too much information so I was able to retain and process what I needed to.
Your venture pitch hit all of the key points. This addresses a legitimate issue for many ESL speakers. This device is clearly differentiated from others on the market and provides an appropriate solution to the problem. You have clearly indicated why your company provides a solid backing for the technology and how you intend to move forward as an innovative technology. As an ‘investor’ I appreciated that you specified how much you would like to have invested, what you were going to do with my investment, and how I would get a return on my investment. Overall, I think that your venture plan and marketability is great! Your product could be launched immediately with high demand and great success. Therefore, I would invest in your venture!
Hi Paula,
Sorry for the late post. I have had sleepless nights completing other assignments. I do apologize and mean no disrespect.
I really enjoyed watching your elevator pitch and feel it was very well made and presented, as was your PDF document. You have a clear idea of your market and were clear with investors. I also feel the interested buyers would invest in something like this because they are losing sales by not doing so.
Great job!
Adriana
Paula,
Your presentation is great, although I think that less time could have been spent on the reasons behind your product, as I feel that these are fairly clear. One area that I would be interested in knowing more about would be how will you advertise your product and get it out to the large market that is available. The ask, reasons for the money and return are all clearly laid out which investors would appreciate and I think that you are correct, that there would be a huge market for this. With the money that companies save with outsourcing they could easily purchase this product, particularly as it addresses one of the major complaints that customers using phone services identify. You have clearly done your research and are competent and passionate about the product. This is a great product and I would be willing to invest in it.
Doorpodz is a venture proposition for an online community connecting people looking at changing career paths (known as career movers) to industry advisors using online profiles, instant messaging and live chat. I am really excited about my venture proposition and would like to take the opportunity to share it with you. Only have a minute? […]
Continue reading Doorpodz Posted in: Venture Forum
I liked how your elevator pitch was geared towards investors and not necessarily end users of the product. You seemed very engaged in the pitch as well.
Hi Jenny,
Your elevator pitch is professionally done. The video is of good quality with the logo and perfect lighting. Your tone, pitch and excitement in your voice make it all very interesting to watch! Your elevator pitch is clear in which you started with the pain point and then you moved on to the solution.
The idea of Doorpods is innovative and I feel excited to listen to you. You are also very clear on how Doorpodz will make the money. However, I think since there are already some free social networking sites out there that provide similar concepts: people can blog, post questions, chats , and many times they can get advice online for free, so I don’t think most people would want to pay to use Doorpodz, unless they are very serious or desperate, then they may sign up and pay for chat and advice from the professional.
Overall both of your pitches are very engaging. Even though you didn’t have much visual in your venture pitch, your passion, your excitement, and the words you chose kept me engaged the whole 7:17 minutes. Well done!
Hey Jenny, great job on your pitches. I thought the most intriguing part of how doorpodz would make money was the idea that industry advisors could have the option of answering to create their own supply and demand within your site. A good advisor could charge more based on his or her chats (after they are rated)…if you want 5 star quality, maybe they choose to charge more per minute. It could create a space for people looking to move career paths a new outlook.
One of the drawbacks of the idea is that I don’t think the numbers of people out there looking to change career paths are that high, so it is a relatively small market, but if you did corner that niche, with the right marketing perhaps it could be profitable.
thanks
MIKE
Thanks everyone. I would agree that I am a bit concerned as to if people would pay to chat or not but there are some models out there that are working. Mike, I wondered about the need as well, how often do people fully change careers? I did mean to find some stats about this, but time ran out, I just knew it was something I was going through and have a few friends going through as well. I thought that it could also be a starting point for people to have some inside info on a company they are interested in so maybe not a total career shift but inside scoop on a different position. Thanks for the feedback.
Jenny —
Really interesting idea! I like it. I enjoyed both the short and the longer versions of your presentations. As an EVA, I would probably like the shift to change to more of a marketing site for jobs (I think..). Like Mike, I am worried bout the market for people wanting to change jobs and how you would be able to maintain users. I see it as a great recruiting tool, but then the question for the industry leaders or managers with jobs is how could they sift through the piles of applicants. It seems like a good extension to something like Linked In possibly?
I am interested in the pay to chat to an executive feature though for sure. Thanks for the pitch!
— Jonathan
I totally agree Jonathan,
It would be perfect to pitch as an extension to LinkedIn. Not sure if anyone else has thought about it yet.
Hi Jenny,
After watching your videos and reading your disclaimers it seems as though you have thought of just about everything. Both the elevator pitch and the venture pitch were easy to view and your message was clear. You did a nice job in the elevator pitch piquing the viewer’s interest to watch the second video. In the venture pitch you progressed your ideas nicely and moved a good pace. Your confidence and enthusiasm for the venture showed through out. Nicely done. I think the venture idea is a good one. I think there are a lot of people that do actually change jobs/career paths now compared to just one generation back. I can tell you that 3 people in my immediate family have done this. I don’t know if they would have tried a service like this or not. I think with how comfortable people have become with social networks that it is a real possibility. Great job.
Ken
Hi Jenny!
First off, KUDOS for getting through a whole venture pitch in one go! (You didn’t even edit, did you?!) Outstanding.
I worked in the software field for a company called Cluen that created contact database management systems for executive recruiters. Doorpods would have been an extremely natural add-on to our program! I am intrigued by the concept of being able to chat with Industry Advisors, and do believe that there are good people out there that would be more than willing to take part.
While watching both the elevator pitch and the longer venture pitch, I did have some questions arise… but as soon as I was writing them down, you answered them! I think that is definitely a sign of a good pitch. Get the audience thinking and engaging just enough to ask questions which you end up answering before the pitch is over. Excellent work there.
I am not sure if I would invest in Doorpods only for the fact that I’m not sure there is currently a market of users willing to pay for such a service. The idea is stellar, but unfortunately, the economy is still not. That said, you provided a sound presentation of a good idea. Well done.
Thanks Jennifer. I took a lot of takes (at least ten – it was a long Friday night) and was reading off the computer screen using a PowerPoint presentation and clicking through as I went. I did mess up three words so I did very slight editing. I am glad to see that there might be interest for the product, but yes I think how to make the product make money needs to be re-evaluated.
Hi Jenny,
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch and thought long and hard in terms of its feasibility. I think this is the point that I struggle with most as I’m not sure if a need exists for this service or whether it would be viable. If anything, I could see this type of service tied in with LinkedIn rather than a standalone product. With the established user base of LinkedIn, there would likely be a greater incentive for recruiters to pursue this type of recruiting approach. Still, you propose an interesting venture and although I wouldn’t invest in it personally, there might be some hope for it if your market research showed promise.
Nice work.
I’m on a similar page as Patrick on this.
Certainly, there is a need for services that cater to people who are going through a career transition. Whether Doorpodz has identified the specific painpoint most people are willing to pay for to overcome, I’m not sure.
There is already ample information about various careers online and if you’re interested, it’s not that difficult to get an information interview with people in areas you’re interested in exploring. Networking is not that hard in the age of social media.
As far as helping employers/recruiters, most people hire people whom they know, because we make people decisions based on how we feel about them, not data on page. I say this having been one of the few who got a job in the government, without having had a connection. I was the exception.
The rule was and still is that someone has to know you and vouch for you, and this is truer the higher up the proverbial ladder you go.
Perhaps something to think about going forward with your venture. GL!
Jenny, I found both your pitches well constructed and executed, resulting in a high likely hood that I might invest in your venture. Your relaxed and sincere delivery backed by in depth knowledge of your venture concept, make you a natural choice for CEO of DoorPodz. As noted by several of my colleagues, the venture concept has a great deal of strength and I particularly appreciate the details you were able to provide concerning the marketability and multiple revenue structures you outlined.
I small part of me is left wondering however, the degree to which your concept aligns specifically the with education market? This is an entirely irrelevant concern for your idea general, however considering we were to have our “EVA hats on” during this evaluation process, were I true to this criteria, I feel that your concept might fit better in the context of an employment business venture.
A second minor critique, relates to your ability to connect to the viewer, with respect to eye contact. I’m being nit-picky here, but since your pitches are already at such a high level and improving upon them is challenging, it’s worth mentioning that any future versions of your video pitches would benefit from the addition of an improved form of tele-prompting to aid in maintaining eye contact with the camera lens. Nearly everyone in our course faced this same challenge when recording their video pictures and your approach of reading from PowerPoint slides was was likely the most common solution. Simply finding a way to move your computer screen even closer to the camera lens, might help to solve this issue.
In the end, I am left feeling most impressed with your venture concept and your ability to communicate your ideas.
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!
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
Rather than being a Venture Capitalist, I need you to imagine being a member of Deans’ Council of a Post-secondary institute. The two are really much the same as Dean’s, along with Vice Presidents are accountable for spending Tax Payers’ dollars wisely. The friend with $1 million to invest in this scenario therefore is Deans’ […]
Continue reading Hey There Business Pro Posted in: Venture Forum
Hi Doug. I tried to watch your Venture Pitch video but the youtube video is private. You will need to adjust the privacy settings.
Ken
Thanks Ken. Should be go to go now.
Doug.
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. If I were an executive I would support this proposal as the more an administrative assistant can do the better. It seems like this program will ensure the development of skills that are necessary to keep up with the ever changing work environment and be attractive to recruiters in the industry. Coming from a union environment though, I am curious if higher level tasks may affect the job descriptions of the employees. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Doug,
I found both your elevator and venture pitch caught my attention. I think you have proven a pain point and solution for the market. Overall I felt your Venture Pitch was well research and thoughtful. You passion for the venture was evident. My only suggestion might be to further detail the background of the CEO (which I assume is you) and your executive team so that we can feel confident that you have what it takes to make this program successful. Overall, excellent pitches. Thanks for sharing!
Best, Jen
Hi Doug,
I enjoyed your elevator pitch as well and share the concerns of above with regards to outsourcing existing jobs by allowing the admin assistants to multitask. Good work.
Hey Doug —
That was an exciting pitch to watch. You have clearly highlighted an area of concern that is unique to the market (at least you convinced me of that!). This looks like a very sound proposal that you are submitting. I’d definitely be interested in the idea if I were part of the Dean Council.
Thanks for this one!
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 pitch and read the venture proposal, I feel the CEO of this venture does appear credible, in that he is able to confidently discuss the issue and the approach in which they will take to solve the concern. As for the team provided to accomplish this task, I am less clear, as the proposal states the School of Business will be responsible for the development of the required elements to make this venture a success. I assume, that members of this faculty are credible, but would want to view credentials before moving forward.
Venture Concept:
Based upon the information provided, this venture does appear to be innovating while other similar institutions are cutting back, which may either mean this is a highly innovative approach, or else in the long run there are limiting factors which will reduce the effectiveness or viability of this venture, that at this time we are unaware of. Regardless, the “story” was very effective, which left me wanting to know more about the company and their approach.
Marketability:
The actual marketability of this venture was not provided, yet it was eluded to that enrollment for initial years would be lower, as requirements would be higher, but over time, more qualified graduates would emerge, leveling out this implementation dip. Regardless, not knowing this ventures true market size, potential share, and revenue makes this a risky proposition, therefore more specific research into this area is required. Secondly, from the information provided, the venture will be applying an innovative approach, if this is found successful, they will have a momentary lead on their competitors, however over the long run, these innovations will be easily duplicated, reducing their market share and revenue.
Venture Plan:
From the information provided, this venture feels that they would be operational within 2-3 years, which after that time, a full 2 year degree program (with practicum) would be made available for potential clients. As with any new program, there most likely will be tinkering after those three years to deal with unexpected issues, or advances in methodology or technology to enhance the delivery of the venture.
Overall though, this venture plane knows what success looks like, and what overall steps need to be completed. As well, before investing, specific information on the type of venture, not-for-profit, for-profit, or social enterprise would need to be provided to ensure the right type of investor is exploring this venture.
Great comments and points from everyone so far, thank you. The fact that interest was generated and more information is needed indicates several Deans would be interested in moving forward with this proposal. As this would be presented live at Deans’ Council then the questions could be answered on the spot.
There is one assumption that I forgot to mention around the credibility of the CEO and the team. As this is a small to medium post-secondary institution, and everyone knows each other on a first name basis, I felt there was no need to expand on introducing myself in the video and the Dean of Business in the preamble. However point well taken as it would have been easy to quickly provide some info on the team for credibility sake.
Doug.
Hi Doug,
I really enjoyed your elevator pitch. You came across as passionate and credible. Your pain point is very real – I would love to have an Administrative Assistant who could “to drive the work and provide solutions to your business problems.” I agree with the other post that more information on the CEO and team would improve the credibility factor. As an investor I would want to learn more
Sophia
Excellent work. Your passion is evident and makes this a strong pitch. I was definitely drawn to this product and would be very interested as a venture. As others have highlighted, more information on the CEO would strengthen your venture.
Thank you for sharing. You did an excellent job.
Nureen
As a former clinic business manager who was not trained in basic administrative skills but luckily got by on ingenuity, I would have loved to have attended such a program! I feel that all too often, administrative assistants are expected to have general office knowledge but are not pushed to do more. In many cases, those who work in the field may have ideas of their own to bring to the table (without training) but feel it is out of the scope of their position to present such ideas to those in higher ranking positions. Navigating those waters would be a great integral piece to your proposed program.
I like that you have taken what seems to be an ordinary position and developed it further, redefining positions and titles. I do feel that people function much better in their profession when given respect, authority and drive to do more and to BE more. I think it is definitely a worthwhile venture and as a Dean (in any one of the departments you listed above), would surely give my stamp of approval.
What do we have here.. a private Joker 😉
Doug, I liked how you played with this, and yet, brought it back to something you have much exposure with from an academic and professional setting.
Certainly, I think most business leaders would want to have assistants with better critical thinking and business technology skills – we don’t have to pay them more do we? No? Okay, great!
My main recommendation is that you not entirely focus this program on the established needs of big organizations and corporations. If I am right – economists are NOT usually right – then the world of the future will be more bottom up driven, with smaller units that connect together in networks that allow them to remain innovative and nimble, instead of the safety and stability centered leviathan institutions of the past.
These units will need their business solutions technologists to be exactly that; to provide real support to business and technology issues of the future, and I’m guessing here, but those challenges may not center primarily of another aging dinosaur platform, that of of Microsoft Office.
Just a thought.
Good luck with the Deans!
Hi Doug,
You have a great elevator pitch and I think I got spoiled to it so I had a hard time switching from it to read the venture pitch. I never would have thought of an academic program as venture and this makes your venture special for me. Ideas like this would certainly keep education up to date with the times.
Cheers
Patason
Kudos to you Doug, for taking such a creative interpretation of the assignment to best fit the challenges and opportunities present in your field of work. Though I have no background in business training or post secondary educational programming, in general the premise of your concept makes good sense to me, thanks to your clear pitch and presentation of the idea.
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Lisa Nevoral 1:21 am on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Manny,
Your elevator and venture pitch state that “this video is private”. Just thought I’d let you know.
Lisa
manny 11:25 am on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Lisa,
I will change the settings right away.
Doug Connery 10:46 pm on November 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny:
Great project, you have identified a gap in the market based on the costing structure alone. This type of venture is not in my interest area, however if it was then I would look closer at it.
Good luck.
Doug.
Colin 10:20 pm on November 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny, good job on the presentation and I do agree that the price they are presently charging is too high to be considered by an educational institution. Especially if they have to spend this for every single Ipad that they have. I also agree that the number of downloads would go up as a result of making it free. However, I don’t know if the app would make enough money by just using advertising as this often doesn’t produce much money. I have ran some websites based on advertising revenue but the statistic is one click for 0.09 for every 100 people. I am not familiar with the app advertising market but I don’t think it is that much better. Also you are faced with the problem of making your app annoying to people by placing large ads everywhere or reduce your revenue by only having smaller ads. The idea of a lite and deluxe version is more of a possibility with advertising on the lite version and limited features. I like the idea of the app but I don’t see it as a money maker. In addition I just went on Google and 33% of developers use the advertising model and their average revenue is $1498.00. You would really have to look at selling many different kinds of apps to create a good monthly return.
http://www.fiercedeveloper.com/story/vision-mobile-average-mobile-app-revenue-under-4k/2012-06-25
Cheers, Colin
manny 1:45 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Colin,
I clearly need to conduct more research within the revenue capabilities of in app advertising. Ultimately, simple supply/demand economics would indicate that revenues are directly proportional to the popularity of an app. If I was to make this app a paid app, the pricing would be tricky to determine because if its too high, then no one will purchase it. Thanks for your feedback, it opened my eyes to both revenue options.
teacherben 7:11 pm on November 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny. I enjoyed watching both videos. I applaud you for being ambitious and using the green screen. You showcased your technical skills. The CEO comes off as likeable which should not be underestimated. If you are a fun and friendly guy, put yourself front and center. If I have to work with you and trust you with my money, it’s easier if I can get along with you.
I am always cautious of products that target the education industry but rely on advertising to generate revenue. Many educators are uncomfortable with this and I think in general, would prefer paying for a useful app to ensure that students are not exposed to advertising in the classroom.
While I think it’s important to let people know upfront about the competition, you may have gone over the top a bit. The elevator pitch dedicates almost a third of it’s one minute to discussing the competition. You could have used some of that time to give us a little more. Also, in your venture pitch, you point out that Apple missed an opportunity to include this useful feature into iOS 6. This is dangerous ground for you to tread. For example, with the release of iOS 6, Apple introduced emoticons into the system. Then, they booted all the 3rd party emoticon apps out of the app store. If Apple chooses to include this feature in their next update, they could do the same to you.
You did a lot of useful research about the app markets in general and I enjoyed watching that and learned quite a bit about app development. But I think you needed to be a bit more focused on your specific product, what will differentiate it, the market need, the target user etc…
So, while I would agree that this is a good idea and that there is good reason to consider taking it further, I don’t think I would invest in this venture at the present time.
Incidentally, if you do believe in this idea and want to get it off the ground, you could get it done for you fairly cheaply by checking on odesk and contracting out the job. There are lots of great programmers in less affluent parts of the world that will do your programming for you for under 5 bucks an hour. I bet you could get this to market for a few hundred bucks. Hire one person to do the programming and hire someone else to do the artwork and you are good to go. Apple provides a lot of resources to get your app into the app store and make it very easy to enable in-app advertisements.
Good luck!
manny 1:39 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ben,
Thank you for the recommendations that you have made, it is difficult to argue against them. The hardest part of this assignment was the elevator pitch and I was worried that I may have spent too much time on competitors. Your comments have validated that and in retrospect, I should have focused more specifically on my product. The 1 minute limit made this part of the assignment very difficult to portray the main ideas clearly and concisely.
Manny
jameschen 3:58 pm on November 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny,
I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. Your explanation of the differences between paid and ad-based apps is very informative. I had not realized that Jing was not available on the iPad, so there is definitely a need for free screen capturing apps on the iPad. Then I wondered how advertisements would pan out when the images/videos are captured. Would there be ads on the captured images/videos? As an investor, I would be interested to find out more about the product through your venture pitch if there was a product that has already been built (fictional or not), because from an investor’s perspective to invest in something that is still in the development stage is risky since the market has not yet been tested.
Thanks for a good presentation.
James
cunnian 12:08 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny,
Good job on the elevator pitch. Much of your time was spent explaining how your product is different from others. I think that this was time well spent as it is critical to the success of this pitch. The venture pitch itself elaborated on these differences and nicely informed potential investors of how the different revenue streams work in the app world.
While you’ve made a convincing argument about how in-app advertising would provide revenue, as an investor I am wondering where this advertising would be found. If you are doing screen capturing, clearly the ads will not be on the screen while you are recording. Being that users will be spending most of their time in the app recording, they won’t see the ads.
You speak very confidently and you’ve done your homework on how to make your money, but I think that there’s still work to be done on the product itself.
Thanks for the great pitches!
manny 5:51 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I was thinking that the ads would be in the actual app when you open it. The way display recording works is that it doesn’t record the actual app but rather what you do on your display. Therefore there would be no ads in your final recording, they would only be seen in the background when editing the video. Now that I think about it, advertising is perhaps a bad way to go about this when pitching to investors because it really depends on the popularity of the app. It is a big risk to take but also can yield big rewards.
melissaayers 1:36 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You really aimed these pitches at EVAs great work Manny.
Great idea and identification of a market opportunity. You identified the pain point (price) and gave detailed coverage of other apps currently on the market. You clearly describe how you are going to provide a product that has a value proposition (free vs 9.95) and how you are going to achieve this. Definitely an example elevator pitch which made me continue to your venture pitch to learn more.
However, after the research I did for my own venture pitch I discovered how hard it is to market an app in the current online marketplaces. How difficultl it is to get an app featured and the generally huge cost in marketing required to get apps in the top listed. For this reason I probably would not invest in your venture despite your excellent pitches sorry (neither would I invest in my own for similar reasons in the end I think).
Thanks
Melissa
manny 7:04 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Considering my projects/papers thus far in the MET program, this venture assignment was the most challenging and yet fun activity I have completed. Upon reflecting on both my elevator and pitch proposals, it was evident that they contained many strengths and weaknesses. Upon completing the two pitches, I did have a few reservations in mind; these were then validated through the feedback that was provided by my peers.
Elevator Pitch
The elevator pitch production by far was the most difficult section of this assignment. The one-minute time limit became the enemy and really made me think about what it is that I want to convey. Given the circumstances, one needs to sift out specific details and get to the point in a clear and concise manner. I think a strength within my pitch is that I identified a void within the current marketplace. Unfortunately, I may have spent too much of the allocated time discussing the competitors when I should have regained the focus back to the product. I also had lighting issues when using the green screen function that took up valuable time and numerous takes. Overall, I am happy with the content of my elevator pitch as I felt that I left it all out there and in this scenario, it is the most important thing you can do.
Venture Pitch
This production also required critical thinking in how to best tell a story about your product that makes sense and would convince an investor to part with their money. I think the visuals that I provided throughout the pitch helped in keeping the potential investors engaged with the idea. I tried to come off as confident as possible as I really do believe that such a product could really take off. Upon submission, I was a little skeptical of whether I had explained the revenue structure thoroughly enough. My main focus was on introducing an ad-supported app that would raise revenue through advertising versus one-time user pay apps. I think I should have done more research in this area and presented actual figures rather than trends.
In conclusion, if I were to go back and do it again, I would tweak the weaknesses mentioned above. What I have realized is that regardless of the pitch that is proposed, one will always have regrets. There really is no such thing as the perfect pitch and it is a phenomenon that is dynamic and can easily change with the audience. It was exciting to step into a venture capitalists shoes and this assignment allowed me to gain an appreciation of a world I am not too familiar with.
adi 10:41 pm on November 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
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
– There is a market and not many options out there.
2. Solution: the new product or service that resolves the pain
– Offers a free APP and 2 versions (light or Pro), depending on whether the buyer wants advertising or not.
3. Differentiation: the reason someone will buy or use this new product or service, versus the alternatives
– Yes, a difference in price and what the APP can do.
3. Marketing: where and how buyers/users will be reached
– Has very good knowledge of both the Android and IPad market, and how it is changing.
4. Championship: the competency of the venture’s leaders and advisors
Does not mention them, but he comes across as knowing his market and product well
5. Competition: an overview of competitors and partners
– Good overview
6. The Ask: how much money, etc, is required to take the next step
Yes, it’s clear; through advertising
7. The Return: how much and how soon will an investor be recompensed
– Not in detail
8. The Message
– Well presented, with confidence and showing thorough knowledge of the market and product.
This was a very well researched and presented venture that I would invest in. My only worry is the fact that the next generation of phones will no doubt soon offer this as a feature. However, you appear to be ahead of the market, so should that happen, I am sure you will find a new App to offer. Well done Manny! Great work!
rebeccaharrison 6:02 pm on December 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Manny,
I apologize for the late post as well.
I agree that this is an awesome idea, and I am very interested in it, but was on the fence about whether or not I would invest. I appreciate that you clearly laid out your position in the elevator pitch, and were explicitly gearing your information towards investors. I decided against investing, purely based on the fact that it seems difficult to create the revenue. I believe that the app would be widely used, however, I’m not sure that there would be much return. Great work on both videos!