A3: SOOCs4Learning

Hi Kendra, I loved your elevator pitch, it looked very professional and covered everything, but it wash´t until about a minute in that I really knew what you were actually trying to promote. Perhaps the facts could have gone a bit more towards the end once you introduced your product a bit more. That being said, I thought your Deck was really well done and provided TONS of great information about the situation and your solution. I found the audio a bit confusing as I personally hate when audio starts automatically, so perhaps you could change that so that it only plays when the user wants it to, otherwise it was a distraction rather than a nice feature. Everything looks good overall so really just a few tweaks to make it a bit more user friendly. Looks like you are on your way to success!

Review: Your venture pitch covers everything that a potential investor would be looking for: pain points, competitive edge, business model, growth opportunity, market analysis, marketing plan and team credibility! Thank you for such a great presentation. I know now where and how I could improve mine. ;) I think what I really appreciated it is how you demonstrated your research. It shows depth and analysis. For example, your competition and challenges section is so detailed that as a potential investor I feel confident that your business is well thought out. What I also learned from your venture is the strength in presenting past successes. That really attracted me and I think that would hook any potential investor. I loved the look and presentation of your venture pitch as well. I only have one minor suggestion: Within most pages of the deck you have an embedded slideshow. I thought it was synchronized with the audio, but then realized it was not. It made it a little confusing because I was trying to read the slides at the same time as being attentive to the audio. I think perhaps if the audio bar wasn't positioned right underneath the slide show viewers would know its not related to the slide show. Other than that, your presentation was fantastic!! :)

Feedback: Excellent elevator pitch! It was polished, engaging, and very well composed. You make a great case for your product, and I was eager to learn more about your SOOC. I actually had no idea what a MOOC or a SOOC was, but your pitch inspired me to find out.  The information in your venture pitch was well laid out easy to read.  It was easy to find the information I was looking for, and I enjoyed the voiceovers.  Your polished pitch inspires confidence in the viability of your product.

REVIEW: Hi Kendra, great job! I thought your pitch clear an to the point. I'm not much of a fan for reading a website presentation, but your addition of voice over and interactivity to your deck was extremely clever an provided the best of both worlds for me as a viewer/investor. It made the site feel rich and made me forget that I wasn't viewing a traditional presentation. You explain the problem/painpoint and solution well, your current involvement, key players. It was nice you talked about the future, communicated the fix clearly, and the offering is certainly something that is needed. I found some of the wording a little catchphrase-ish at times but it was excellent overall. My only feedback is that it would have been nice to know what stage of funding this is, seed? Series A, Series B? It seems like you're past the FF&E stage so this is seed funding? The only other minor suggestion is that as an VC, I would have expected to see the ask amount on the Ask page, rather than on the we're raising funds page. This was actually the first thing I checked for, but had to scroll through slides in order to find. As an investor, I might want to see this near the beginning of the presentation rather than at the end. Spelling out the funding stages in relation to your milestones would have been a good addition also. I really enjoyed it though and would consider investment with a financial plan laid out in future to correspond with the goals you have outlined. Nice work!

Review: Awesome job Kendra! Your pitch definitely draws investors in, and serves the purpose of educating them on the benefits of SOOCs as compared to the tried and tested model of MOOCs. I thought your delivery in terms of presentation was intuitive and clearly laid out, and your articulation of your product offerings were concise. As a person who signed up for a MOOC but never completed it, I definitely see the appeal of having a small supportive community of online learners, who could also keep one another accountable. Your website was very comprehensive, and it was clear that you have a well developed business plan, which has been refined over time. If I had to critique one thing, it would be that I didn't get a clear understanding from the elevator pitch how SOOCs could vastly improve PD as it currently stands. You do an excellent job in explaining the pain points, that PD as it is, is not transformative, and that MOOCs have high drop out rates because people don't buy-in to the product, however I felt that perhaps more of the pitch could have been spent on how SOOCs can change that. From your pitch I inferred how your product was going to address the aforementioned issues, however I felt like it could also be more direct. That's just my two cents. Other than that, everything was exceedingly well presented. Great job!

Feedback: Interesting and engaging video. I really like the iceberg analogy that you used for turning around completion of PD. It was very well put together and seamless in its delivery. It intrigued me enough to find out how SOOCs would be different from the MOOCs you compared it to in the video. I was also interested to see that you have already had success with this in the current market. Good for you. Nicely done!

Feedback: Great work Kendra, your pitch makes a very convincing argument for investing in the professional development market. One of the strongest aspects of your elevator pitch is the fact that you have already had some success as a team. The tidy use of media, and an on-screen narrator, gives your video a personal feeling, and nicely complements the story of your venture. Very effective pitch.

REVIEW: Hi Kendra: I really enjoyed reading and watching your pitches. I thought you did an excellent job with your elevator pitch, especially situating your product against other competitors/technological devices and showcasing its need in the market/education. I think your experience is highlighted in both the website and video. Since you're currently developing this program for school districts I think your ability to know its strengths and weaknesses and how it actually works in an educational setting/school district furthers your credentials and makes you trustworthy and appealing for potential investors. On your website I was particularly drawn to your "the deck" tab. This section is a creative way to cover all your points. I also enjoyed how you employed a variety of mediums to deliver your message - text, audio, visuals, etc. This makes the presentation aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable. One thing that I struggled with as well was keeping the elevator pitch under one minute. It becomes difficult to select which items are the most important to get across as your audience varies between investors.

REVIEW: Hi Kendra, The engaging video with professional visual presentation and narration caught my interests. Your venture pitch gave us a clear rationale of the venture, which is appealing and easy to follow. The business performance you have made and the networks with the school districts are the strongest point of your venture. You would be able to appeal your groups’ experiences in the market more, and tell how you will expand the service by SOOCs. I understand that the pain points you illustrated are all related to the SOOCs’ motivation, but in the venture pitch, they give the impression of being too broad. For example, special education and technology are targeted in your market section, and you can dig up pain points in those areas more? You did not mention much about special education. The business model is described in detail and co-creation of resources and curriculums, having based on the review and evaluation of the clients’ programs seems to be very attractive. The investors and the decision makers in the districts will be interested in the cost saving amount compared to the existing professional development services.

REVIEW: Hi Kendra, Wow! Thank you for the inspiring story, and a very professionally done assignment. First of all, your website is simple, and clearly laid out. I really liked how you highlighted the philosophy and the reason why you started the company. Your spoke clearly in the elevator pitch, and the visuals helped to strengthen your points. You also conveyed a high level of confidence throughout the pitch. It was great that you talked about your team, and mentioned about the districts interested in your service. Your venture pitch was organized into topics, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was narration for each topic. The materials presented on your website were already very good, but the verbal explanations further reinforced the features of your SOOCs. I liked how you started the venture pitch with the problem, and then went on to the solution. It was evident that extensive research had been done. As an EVA, I was especially impressed to see that you had introduced your business model, milestones, growth plan and ‘the ask’ in detail. I would for sure invest in your SOOCs4Learning - it was evident that careful consideration was put into the project, and there is great potential for growth and the actual implementation. Thank you for an excellent venture! Tiffany Tseng