Workforce Technology Solutions

Your elevator pitch is well put together and clear, however, straight off the bat I think you could have been more clear or specific about where or how WTS could be used, perhaps by giving an example? I was just having a hard time trying to figure out what types of training it would provide and in what sectors, as workforce training could go in many directions. I was hoping to find out more information when I went to your Venture Pitch but there wasn't any examples there of how/where it could be used. Furthermore, I did not see any information about what investment is needed, or the role of the investor. A good start though, there is certainly potential for this venture.

Hi Kamille, Your elevator pitch is clear, straight to the point and quite interesting. Introducing yourself, your background/business and your team would have conveyed more trust. I like how you presented your problem/solution combo, the market potential, and a call for action. However, you might want to consider specifying what makes your product better than competitive substitutes, and how exactly your company would deliver the promise to convince potential investors.

This is a good start. You've identified the need. I would have liked to see you and your qualifications represented in the elevator pitch so that it could lend credibility to your idea. I am not sure that PowToon was the right tool here. I think you yourself have identified my two biggest concerns. I don't see the differentiation here. We have companies that do exactly this here in Nova Scotia and for free. There are also many paid options out there. With a highly specialized workforce like ours, we also don't often value these sorts of training opportunities for our senior employees because, as you state, it is more important to have experts working with other experts rather than taking courses online that our experts could teach. Networking is also an important side benefit of much of the more advanced PD we engage in that would be lost through online learning. Online learning has been used primarily by those upgrading qualifications (in which case it must be offered by the certifying body such as a university or professional association) or for junior staff requiring basic, specific information. In the latter case, we design our own online courses for this purpose already. I don't see a product here that is different enough from what's already available for free and as an investor I'm not sure what you are asking of me or offering me for my investment.

"Venture Point" = "Venture Pitch"! :)

Hi Kamille, your Elevator Pitch did a great job of highlighting the pain point that Workforce Technology Solutions addresses and the music was quite different - I thought it stood out as original. Your Venture Point explores WTS's solution in more depth, demonstrating some need for the product. I was not clear on how WTS differs from the competition, however, and would need more evidence in this area before considering investment. There are several options out there for companies interested in moving their training online - how does WTS set itself apart? I also wanted to know more about the team's expertise, in order to establish credibility. Finally, while you are careful to note that development of the platform will be costly, I am left wondering - how costly? What are you specifically asking from me as an investor, and what can I expect in return? Overall, I thought that this was a solid beginning, but I need some more detail before I can consider investment.

Hi Kamille, Your elevator pitch clearly presents the need and how your company wants to provide a solution. I’m not sure, however, that you make a clear pitch for how you will offer a unique way to provide the service. Are there other providers that already offer this service? If so, how are you different? If not, how can you provide a broad solution to the need without being too general to be helpful? Your venture pitch is pretty brief and doesn’t convince me that I should invest in the company. The questions that I have regarding your elevator pitch are not answered in your venture. I think you do a good job of identifying the high cost of training, but you aren’t clear how your company will meet this need in a unique and profitable way.

Hi Kamille, I enjoyed your elevator pitch and thought that it was captivating, and I actually liked your choice of music. I can see where your venture has a lot of potential. As most of us have focussed on products within the field of education, your venture focusses on small and large businesses. In your paper, you identified some key points. First, you mentioned how costly it is for small and large business to train their workers. I was actually surprised by the numbers and can see why using a less costly and customizable training platform can be a big selling point. Also you mentioned about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which shows potential for backing by the government. I do wonder how easy your product would be to use and how a company might go about setting up a training program, without employees with tech/course development backgrounds. Pooneh

Hi Kamille,

I thought your PowToon video did a good job of explaining Workforce Technology Solutions. My only suggestions for your Elevator Pitch on the content side would have been an initial slide to introduce yourself and one indicating how a potential investor would make money or a little more detail on how it would save the consumer money. Design wise, I would suggest changing the background music or at least having it change to something more upbeat by the 24 second mark when you introduce the solution.

With the Venture Pitch, you presented a good rationale for the products existence but I felt it was lacking in other areas. Your pitch would have been strengthened with the presentation of more information on the current state of the market, competition's areas of weakness, marketing strategies and business plan. In regards to design and if your intent was for the document to be viewed by potential investors, the use of more magazine-style layout would help for readability.

Mark

I thought you did a very good job of presenting the pain point. After watching your elevator pitch it was very clear what your company was trying to do and why it was needed. I did feel that outlining the current competitors to your company would have strengthened your venture pitch. Along these lines I think that your pitch would also have been strengthened by going into more detail about what benefits your online training software offer compared to other online training software. Overall though, I thought that both your elevator and venture pitch were compelling and well put together.

Hello Kamille The elevator pitch was short and to-the-point. It stated clearly your business idea. You explained the problem and solutions effectively. In my opinion, it would have been a much more exciting pitch if you had also added your voice to slide deck. As an investor, I would love to feel how passionate you are about your product. For the venture pitch, you described the problems that you are solving well and the corresponding solutions that you came up with - providing training for small businesses to lower their cost is a very attractive investment. However, I have to agree with Lindsay that I would like to learn more about your team members. As an investor, I would also like to know more about your market strategy for your product, i.e. how your pricing model will generate revenue and how your product roadmap will look in the future. Additionally, including financial information such as Investment and revenue roadmaps would have made your elevator pitch more convincing.