A3 – HighlightThis

REVIEW: One of the rare pitches with more Reviews than Feedbacks :) . The concept is extremely new and interesting to me. The Elevator pitch left me asking for more. The visuals are very creative. I especially liked the 3D effect created using the raised hands. The problem is very well articulated and the solution is expressed clearly. You speak professionally yet passionately. There are detailed revenue calculations and growth projections. The pitch also seems to be based on well researched data. The statistics and projections are grounded. Just a few suggestions - Not reading / not understanding casual stuff might not necessarily mean that the kids do not read / understand stuff that matters to them. It would have been great if the pain point would have been supported by data. A human face would have added to the credibility if the product. Also I would have liked the presentation to be a little shorter. Overall, a great pitch, one that I really learned a lot from. Good Luck !

Feedback: Your elevator pitch is well designed! The visuals definitely captured my attention. I would recommend speaking a little slower, but the passion for your product does come through which kept me engaged! However, I would recommend mentioning why it is important for teachers to have this highlighting tool - maybe something that shows (like a stat) that students are not as engaged in online readings. Overall your pitch was great! Also, your product's concept is very interesting and unique!

REVIEW: Very, very interesting concept Heather. It was easy to understand what your service provides for teachers and students. I could certainly see a need and application for this in the real world with is tremendous! The only minor thing I wished for when viewing was to first see an outline of the painpoint/problem that you're service is in a unique position to solve giving it a bit of an imperative. Something like, "In the digital age, learning no longer occurs primarily within the walls of the institution. Students are increasingly doing reading and research online and currently, there's no way for teachers to track, or review students online activities outside of an LMS system. We feel this is an opportunity lost, and our service provides the ability to not only to..." All the ingredients are there and it’s an excellent concept. If you could put a bit more of a spin to the promise and urgency to this, you’d have me sold immediately. I absolutely love it. As far as the longer pitch, the only way I could improve this is to remove the questions and turn them into statements that attest to your knowledge and expertise, rather than calling to my experience as an educator (which I might not have as an investor). Speaking from your own experience and explaining what you’ve seen in the classroom was a great personal connect for me. It shows your passion and interest. Your ask was a little low, don't undervalue yourself! Your finalcial/market plan was excellent though, I learned a great deal from your excellent approach. Great job! :)

REVIEW: This is an excellent idea for an app, and a good pitch as well. I was hooked by your elevator pitch, which was snappy and informative. It did a great job of “highlighting” the merits of your app and hinted at a sound investment opportunity. Your elevator pitch succeeded in grabbing my attention as an educator, and piqued my interest as an investor. Good job! I am big supporter of solutions that make it easier for teachers to gather formative feedback on their students and I would certainly invest in your app based on your venture pitch. Highlightthis appears to solve a real problem teachers have monitoring and assessing student understanding in order to guide teaching, especially with content that is viewed online, rather than in the classroom. The market prospects appear to be solid, as there are similar web highlighting apps enjoying success in the marketplace, and your app’s education focus differentiates itself enough to carve out a significant chunk of the market. Positive feedback from a majority of users and unsolicited requests for access indicates the product resonates with the intended market and is a viable product. It appears that you have the capital to support the company at your projected modest growth rate, however I question your price points. It appears you have priced your product in line with other educational offerings, but I disagree with your assessment of blendspace, symbaloo, and class dojo as competitors, as they offer vastly different products. Your true competitors such as highlighter, diigo and offer cheaper or free solutions for educators. The feedback system and analytics tailored to educators warrants a premium price, however $14 a month feels too steep. This app will no doubt be indispensable for hardcore secondary English teachers with multiple English classes, but the price point may dissuade many potential buyers who would only use the app for an occasional project. I would use this product in my classroom, but I wouldn’t pay $14 a month. Otherwise, I feel your financials, technical direction, and marketing projections are solid. I would invest in your company.

Review: I thought this was an intriguing idea and was interested as to the answer to the questions posed at the beginning of the pitch. This is a good way to hook the viewer. I really like the idea behind the pitch and think that this is something that will be necessary with the increase in online information used in the classroom. It is difficult to judge how students are reading the online information and if they are understanding what they are reading. I like the use of the face icons as a way to indicate the student's grasp of the information. Easy to use and understand. You compare your product to some other education technologies such as Classdojo, but I had difficulty seeing how they connected as these products do not offer the same thing as yours. The cost of the product to the teacher seems to be a little high, I am not sure I would pay that much for an online resource. When you chose the teachers to pilot your product, were they complementary copies? How did you choose which teachers would be part of the pilot project? I think that your product would be useful for any teacher, particularly in the secondary panel, that requires their students to read online information. I think it is a great idea and can definitely see it having some success in the market.

FEEDBACK: Great video. I was wary at first, thinking "this sounds a lot like Diigo" and then you addressed that question! Great presentation and product. I wish that I had thought of an application that combined learning analytics and social bookmarking. As an EVA, I would see the investor benefit, but I wonder if it could have been pointed out a little more clearly.

Review:Hi Helder! Awesome Job! I would definitely invest in this venture. One of your biggest strengths in both of your pitches is that it’s extremely engaging and held my attention well. Another strength to your presentation is that it came from a place of personal experience with describing your expectations of your Grade 8 class and just how HighlightThis would enhance your teaching practice for students. I also think that building around the already avaiably highlighting technology on the web but tailoring it for the classroom is a brilliant idea and something that investors would jump on immediately. Running the beta app creates a strong argument for the possibility of a strong venture as well as the confidence in your team from your descriptions. You really hit it out of the park! Well done! Cheers, Chad :)

REVIEW: Hi Helder, Wonderful idea! I am a heavy highlights and annotation user, and I understand how these learning activities reflect my understanding level. Your venture’s focus is ahead of other competitors, and I will invest on the business idea. The presentation gave me the clear understanding of what you would like to solve and how, that sounds feasible. You presented that you conducted a pilot marketing with the teachers in Canada, and gained the positive feedbacks from them, which is appealing. In the projections you will have 5000 users at the end of year 2. To accomplish this projection, the methods how you acquire the users are the key to success. I would like to know your strategy of the campaign more. Free start will be a primer fro the premium service, and the price setting is reasonable. Your asking funding amount is very small compared to other educational startups, and I wonder how you will cover the costs that you have spent on the development of the system. Overall, your venture pitch covers all the information needed and it is excellent.

Review: Beginning your presentation with a question is an effective way of grabbing the attention of your audience. You had me listening intently at the outset. You have done a superior job of explaining the function and utility of your app. Screenshots and graphics illustrating exactly how your venture works provides a clear picture for investors. You have clearly identified your market gap with solution and provided several examples of similar products while demonstrating how HightlightThis is unique. The diverse backgrounds and expertise of your management team gives your venture greater credibility. It might be effective to add the names of team members along with the graphics. Information about what you require from investors and their forecasted return is clear and compelling. As a potential investor, I would like more information about how you will identify teachers within your market, in particular those educators using the flipped classroom model? Another minor comment is about the yellow slide with the title a web highlighting app for teachers. There was a slight lag before any text appeared on the screen. I’m not sure if it was a one-time event but it did impact the flow of the presentation. Overall, this was a fantastic pitch and I would be willing to invest in this venture. Monique

FEEDBACK: I really liked how you started your elevator pitch with questions. They were a good ‘hook’ that made me interested in the service/produced presented. Many teachers are integrating online resources in their teaching, and the feedback from students regarding particular websites would be valuable for teachers to assess these teaching resources. You ended the elevator pitch with a clear statement of what your product provides – this was a great strategy to strengthen the key feature of the service : ) Tiffany Tseng