ETEC 522 – A1: Analyst Report

My reasoning for choosing GoGuardian for my analysis was because of my own experience using it in an education setting. My school was given the ability to try GoGuardian for a year without a subscription fee (and they let us use GoGuardian Beacon for a while longer). GoGuardian made it simple for me to monitor a class of Grade Seven students while they used Chromebooks to complete assignments. It did an excellent job of ensuring student safety and security through blacklisted websites, and it was incredibly easy to monitor exactly what students were doing on their Chromebooks. Although other educators and I never believed in simply taking control of students Chromebooks and micromanaging their use, it was beneficial to see the though processes of students through search history. It was also beneficial for the single time we received a notification thanks to GoGuardian Beacon relating to a student’s search. This allowed for us to quickly notify parents and ensure that everything was ok (which thankfully it was).

I decided to look at this assignment through the lens of an investor who was looking to be the fifth investor of the company. As my bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration with an Accounting major, I felt at home during this assignment. I knew that the most important aspect of any investor’s decision would be the financial health of the company and their growth metrics. For this reason, I decided to showcase these options first. I would personally prefer more financial information before deciding to ensure I am fully informed (looking at the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows). However, since GoGuardian is not publicly traded, they do not need to publicly publish these documents.

Next, my reasoning for showing direct competitors in the industry is to be transparent and show their offerings. I also believe it is important to acknowledge just how competitive and difficult the educational technology industry is. The industry is constantly evolving, and companies are dethroned frequently due to new innovations. Research and development costs can pile up quickly, which means it overall is a very expensive industry to be in. By being as transparent as I could be throughout the analysis (just as an educational venture analyst should be) I would hope to provide a clear picture for a potential investor to use to make an informed decision.

I have a lot of faith in the GoGuardian team and will be interested to see how they adapt to the future of education. As VR, AR, and MR devices make their way into the classroom, educators will want ways to push scenes and images to students while also being able to monitor what students are viewing. GoGuardian has a large opportunity here, and I hope to see them succeed.