5 thoughts on “SchoolManager”

  1. tsteffen says:

    NO, I would not support this venture for the reasons given below:

    – Pain Point – Included – Info flow gap between administration functions and the classroom resulting in time waste and duplication of data.
    – Solution – Included – Proposed solution is an integrated Learning Management System (LMS) and School Management System (SMS).
    – Differentiation – No differentiation was shared to distinguish this product from its close competitors.
    – Marketing No information regarding how users/buyers will be reached.
    – Championship – No information provided.
    – The Ask – Not present in this pitch.
    – The Return – Stated as: “Cash flow positive and profitable in its first year of operation. Revenue of $120,000 in first year.”
    – CEO & Team – Unclear – The founder is introduced and there is no way of knowing if this person is also the current CEO. Statement regarding experience of the founder is very value.
    – Venture Concept – There isn’t enough detail provided to evaluate.
    – Marketability – Partial information provided. While a large opportunity is identified and quantified, a competitive edge is not stated.
    – Venture Plan – Partial information provided. While an end goal is stated, the path to reach this goal is very vague.
    – Gut feeling: The presentation of this pitch was less than enthusiastic and the individual (founder?) presenting didn’t appear to be energized by their product. This is a good example of where a face to go with the pitch could have been helpful. Overall, outside of the potential market identified, this pitch was uninspiring.

  2. Succinct analysis – @tsteffen has hit all the points and linked the analysis directly to the points outlined in pitch we all viewed.

    This is a tough market to break into. Right here in BC, the government invested $93M in a previous student information system for the province, and is now doing it again about 5 years later. The revenue potential for this type of business is huge when you factor in government contracts and school district purchases across North America. But, you can imagine the complexity of building and managing such systems on an enterprise level, not to mention the privacy and liability issues associated with them.

    The huge missing link in this pitch for me is about the CEO & Team, as well as the supporting players who would be needed to substantiate the viability of this type of enterprise system.

  3. tsteffen says:

    I agree the LMS market is incredibly difficult for all of the reasons mentioned above.. Another aspect to consider is support for these complex systems and the content that they serve. Corporations can host solutions and provide support to their users however sometimes companies want to purchase SCORM-compliant eLearning for their own in-house LMS. Configuration headaches can result in these instances. Who pays for the ongoing support, for how long e.t.c.? Investors need to understand exactly how support will be handled.

  4. Rocky Lam says:

    I really didn’t understand what the product was about. There were a lot of nice figures at the end – with the amount of experience that the founder has and the potential revenue that it could generate – but overall I felt lackluster about the potentials of SchoolManager

  5. David Jackson says:

    It seems to me that you don’t need to provide a lot of detail in a pitch like this, because any institution planning to invest in such a system will probably go to the source for all the additional input needed. What is required is a brief overview and focus on how your system stands out from what others have to offer.

    I recall that in a major SD where I was employed the SIS could not be easily adapted to local needs, so any application that will allow imports and exports to other applications would be a major bonus.

    This presentation promotes the integration of both the management system and the Learning Management System that could be attractive in terms of functionality but might also be a concern to administrators as a security risk.

    I would not invest in this venture without a further detailed review of the assumptions and capabilities.

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