I saw this pitch and thought I’d put it in the pool.
Company: Singspiel
Team: Arian Rahbari, Ivan Cheung
Industry: Education technology, music, learning software
Founded: 2012
Elevator pitch: Singspiel is music education software that makes regular music practice more effective by leveraging mobile technology to provide coherent feedback to students.
Vision: Organize the world’s forthcoming products to make them more accessible while quantifying the world’s level of anticipation for them.
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/92193610[/vimeo]
Company Overview – Finances, Team
Yes I would invest in this venture. It seems in the EdTech space that startups are trying to do an end run around the school system and appealing directly to parents and private institutions. This is one example of this strategy.
The pain point is real. Music practice is expensive, often ineffective and boring. In the presentation I saw the pitchers did an effective job of engaging the group by having us remember our own experience with music lessons. Almost everyone could relate to the pain either as a kid or parent. Their product provides an effective way to address the pain point in a simple 4 point approach – pick a song to play, complete activities, receive feedback and track and share progress – with a lot going on under the hood. This product uses interactive digital sheet music and the pitchers already have a deal in place with a large sheet music company to provide the content. As an educator I like the applied analytics – the real-time processing of audio to identify errors and the ability to personalize learning as the program learns how you play and suggests activities to improve. The pitchers talked about expanding beyond piano and I would want to have an in-depth discussion to better understand when and how that will occur.
They have two revenue sources the “sheet” music for the app and a monthly subscription. They explored the market both in terms of app downloads and the music lesson industry and made a good case for the size and stability of the market. They effectively addressed their competition using an x/y chart comparing content/technology and educational value, again making the case for their product in terms of purpose, use and cost. Finally, they showed the versatility of their product market as their app can be used by individual, by music schools/instructors and by schools. They are targeting parents right now recognizing that these other revenue streams, often have a long sales cycles. I think this is a smart move as I think many EdTech startups underestimate how difficult it is to get into a district or to make a big sale to one.
They also have $300,000 raised towards their ½ million goal, which speaks well for their product and a profit beginning in 2016. Overall an exciting and solid pitch that I would at the very least like to know more about.
1. CEO & Team:
CEO Credibility: In the videos the CEO seems rather young (The Neophyte) but meeting him in a live pitch he was competent, passionate, knowledgeable and had a solid sense of what he and his team needed to do in the short and long term to be successful.
Management Team: This was a small team but impressive team. At this stage of a startup they don’t have a management team per say, mainly they have people working on creating the tool and recently a communication person.
Venture Concept: The concept is original. As they say in their pitch there is no Rosetta Stone for music. They have more than an MVP so the product is definitely feasible. The story is compelling and credible. The vast majority of us can see the value in a product that lets you get better at playing an instrument whether you want it personally, are a teacher where schools have reduce or non-existent music programs or as a parent who can’t afford expensive music lessons or wants to supplement them.
3. Marketability:
Opportunity Space: The market size is good based on their initial research and sales but they will need to expand into other musical instruments (beyond piano) if they want to capture and keep their market.
Competitive Edge: Right now the algorithm they use to analyze the music through the iPad’s built in microphone is their competitive edge. Previously it was difficult to do this without expensive microphones and equipment. Now it is essentially plug and play.
4. Venture Plan:
Market Readiness: how long, difficult and realistic is the proposed critical path to success?;
Exit Strategy: I didn’t see an exit strategy in their presentation.
Investor Affinity: This proposition is mid-range risk as I am uncertain how receptive the market is to subscription. Parents seem to be resisting this with the feeling you can get it for free on the internet. I liked both the founders and thought they were both intelligent, passionate and likeable. I like their plan but I think that the SaaS model might be coming to the end of its life.