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Mobility Venture Pitch

By minji xu on July 23, 2016

Venture Pitch

My venture pitch is Mobility, an ecosystem to support people for career changing. Mobility combines the existing resources of MOOC courses, professional network and staffing platforms. The business model of Mobility is innovative – people pay deposit before the journey and get refund when completing the career switch plan.

The Mobility Venture Pitch website elaborates the concept, from problem, product and pitch aspects. The short pitch deck is under the pitch deck section of website.

Reflection

Taking the venture in learning technology course is an interesting experience for me to combine my background in business and in education. There are many takeaways from taking this course and doing the assignments including this one.

On philosophical level
The most important question I kept on contemplating is that if education and business is compatible? In the situation where these two contradict, which one triumph?

I felt that for any ventures in education, the founder should really think this through. The core belief of the founder and the company will influence where the venture goes, how key decisions will be made and how resources will be allocated.

For example, for my Mobility venture pitch I need to think through the ultimate mission of creating such venture. Who is my real customer? People who want to change careers, companies who are looking for talents? Experienced mentors who want to coach others? I did identify the target customer as people who want to switch their careers. The next question is that why Mobility wants to serve these people and how to measure the success of Mobility. Should it be measured by dollar value or change of people’s lives?

On education level
One of the most fruitful experiences from this course for me is to listen to educators’ point of view. This is especially true for the weekly opportunity forecast for various emerging technologies that can be applied in educational context. Many times I started looking at the technology purely from product point of view. After reading comments from others (most are elementary or secondary school teachers or administrators), I came to learn that there are many other factors to impact the adoption of product, such as size of school, previous experience with product, training companied with the product.

Therefore I recognized that although Mobility is a fine product in theory, it would most likely face many obstacles in its implementation. I also made a conscious decision to target consumers instead of formal teaching organizations. I learnt to see the product of educational technology in its whole ecosystem, rather than an isolated item for someone’s life. That is why I am proposing setting up a new ecosystem. It will take long time but it takes a holistic view about education.

On business level
In preparing this venture pitch I borrowed the pitch deck structure of Airbnb in 2008 to a large extent. I want Mobility to make money; even this might not be its only and first goal.

The business model still needs proof of concept.

Most people (middle class) do have annual travel budget so Airbnb is addressing a market that exists. However people do not necessarily setup a budge for annual learning. Asking people to pay deposit and refund the deposit when they complete the career-changing journey is also a bold and new model that needs further validation.

The revenue model is not conventional. People fret about the low completion rate of MOOC courses and that creates challenges for monetisation. Not enough people complete the course and even less purchase statements. I created Mobility with a reverse model – as a user, you pay when you don’t complete.

Instead of a greenfield approach, I proposed a brownfield approach. For me, it is more sensible to integrate what people have already created (Coursera, LinkedIn, Elance, etc.) and construct an ecosystem. This, however, is usually easier said than done. Business integration is difficult and that constitutes another level of complexity and uncertainty of my venture pitch.

Overall, I enjoyed this experience of visioning a new system to fill the gap between education and career for lifelong learers. I look forward to this happening.

Rating
Average: 3.3/5 Stars
 
 
 
 
 
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7 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

Hi Minji, As others have noted, you've come up with a very unique idea to bring together all of the existing career-focused services and products into a single ecosystem. While bold and obviously a very marketable product to those looking to change their career paths, I too would be very apprehensive as an EVA to be jumping into a venture with so many already very established companies. Each would come to the table with demands and expectations that, I imagine, would make it difficult for Mobility to get off the ground. I definitely think Mobility has some potential, but with so many variables beyond your control, there are still some kinks that need to be worked through before I've be willing to invest.

7 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
Claudia Marchessault @cmarches

Hi Minji, As others have noted, you've come up with a very unique idea to bring together all of the existing career-focused services and products into a single ecosystem. While bold and obviously a very marketable product to those looking to change their career paths, I too would be very apprehensive as an EVA to be jumping into a venture with so many already very established companies. Each would come to the table with demands and expectations that, I imagine, would make it difficult for Mobility to get off the ground. I definitely think Mobility has some potential, but with so many variables beyond your control, there are still some kinks that need to be worked through before I've be willing to invest.

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7 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

FEEDBACK: Hi Minji, This is a very unique venture concept – well done on your creativity! I believe you would have your work cut out for you with this venture, as it would be no small task to implement a project that relies on so many other existing companies/factors. As an EVA I would be nervous about your proposal, given the lack of control you would have over these other companies.

7 Aug
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Lisa D @lmd13

FEEDBACK: Hi Minji, This is a very unique venture concept – well done on your creativity! I believe you would have your work cut out for you with this venture, as it would be no small task to implement a project that relies on so many other existing companies/factors. As an EVA I would be nervous about your proposal, given the lack of control you would have over these other companies.

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5 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

Review - As mentioned by a few other peers in the discussion, this would be a challenging endeavours because there are already a lot of players in the market. Also, trying to get them all to play under the same app might be a challenge. I do like the concept and your idea might make MOOCs a bit easier to connect too. As an EVA I don't think I'd invest because of some of the challenges that were mention in my post and this discussion.

5 Aug
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gudaniel @gudaniel

Review - As mentioned by a few other peers in the discussion, this would be a challenging endeavours because there are already a lot of players in the market. Also, trying to get them all to play under the same app might be a challenge. I do like the concept and your idea might make MOOCs a bit easier to connect too. As an EVA I don't think I'd invest because of some of the challenges that were mention in my post and this discussion.

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3 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

This is a really 'revolutionary' type of product. You're looking at amalgamating an enormous number of existing services and bringing them together (sometimes direct competitors!) to collaborate on one goal: getting people meaningful work. I think that the gap you identified exists, in that sense this pitch is a success, because we know that learners and workers want to shift direction, and that they need support. Your platform really offers a holistic opportunity for learners to gain that support. The issue I see is that there is little impetus for the collaborators mentioned to participate. Why would EdX want to work with Coursera in direct competition? Why would LinkedIn want to work with Elance? Why would employers spend the time seeking people with unofficial credentials when my experience of hiring has been that we frequently have far too many qualified (on paper, with excess formalized education) already applying. I think that this product would have hooked me more meaningfully if you had directed the audience more specifically: perhaps services to the unemployed or underemployed, and working with a provincial or federal department for formalized retraining. I think a service like this would work best when there is incentive for employers to hire people trained in this manner. As an EVA, these concerns are large enough that I would not choose to invest in this venture.

3 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
erinmenzies @erinmenzies

This is a really 'revolutionary' type of product. You're looking at amalgamating an enormous number of existing services and bringing them together (sometimes direct competitors!) to collaborate on one goal: getting people meaningful work. I think that the gap you identified exists, in that sense this pitch is a success, because we know that learners and workers want to shift direction, and that they need support. Your platform really offers a holistic opportunity for learners to gain that support. The issue I see is that there is little impetus for the collaborators mentioned to participate. Why would EdX want to work with Coursera in direct competition? Why would LinkedIn want to work with Elance? Why would employers spend the time seeking people with unofficial credentials when my experience of hiring has been that we frequently have far too many qualified (on paper, with excess formalized education) already applying. I think that this product would have hooked me more meaningfully if you had directed the audience more specifically: perhaps services to the unemployed or underemployed, and working with a provincial or federal department for formalized retraining. I think a service like this would work best when there is incentive for employers to hire people trained in this manner. As an EVA, these concerns are large enough that I would not choose to invest in this venture.

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3 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

Yowser, a blend like this one could be very potent. It combines many services into a catch all. I would be very wary of connecting so many major applications to one another under one ecosystem, particularly since each of these have found successful (well, in some cases) ways to monetize their existing strategy. The pain point in these ideas is a really interesting one, and one which has lead me into education (from Marine Biology) and more immediately through the MET program. It would be great to not have to jump through so many hoops though. I do like how Mobility would allow for people to practice their skills immediately, and allow them to showcase their abilities without having recognition from an institution. However, the scope of the project is so large it would be hard for me to even consider investing in such a venture.

3 Aug
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Noan @noan

Yowser, a blend like this one could be very potent. It combines many services into a catch all. I would be very wary of connecting so many major applications to one another under one ecosystem, particularly since each of these have found successful (well, in some cases) ways to monetize their existing strategy. The pain point in these ideas is a really interesting one, and one which has lead me into education (from Marine Biology) and more immediately through the MET program. It would be great to not have to jump through so many hoops though. I do like how Mobility would allow for people to practice their skills immediately, and allow them to showcase their abilities without having recognition from an institution. However, the scope of the project is so large it would be hard for me to even consider investing in such a venture.

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2 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

Feedback: This is an audacious idea that appears to hinge on the reworking of massive buyouts and agreements between corporations. Lots of thought went into the plan to unify several big ideas and while I admire the boldness and the vision trying to turn those corporate ships around would be well beyond my risk tolerance as an investor. There were some notes that I found interesting. For instance, the cynic in me wonders if the revenue model is based on the low completion rate of MOOC's ensuring a steady income stream. I also like the idea of the capstone project pool that companies could use to get some project work done on the cheap.

2 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
JO @oswald4

Feedback: This is an audacious idea that appears to hinge on the reworking of massive buyouts and agreements between corporations. Lots of thought went into the plan to unify several big ideas and while I admire the boldness and the vision trying to turn those corporate ships around would be well beyond my risk tolerance as an investor. There were some notes that I found interesting. For instance, the cynic in me wonders if the revenue model is based on the low completion rate of MOOC's ensuring a steady income stream. I also like the idea of the capstone project pool that companies could use to get some project work done on the cheap.

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2 Aug Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

This is a fabulous idea with a limitless market since supposedly most people in this day and age will have 10-14 different jobs and change careers 3-5 times. The elevator pitch really captured by attention. For the venture pitch, I personally find it annoying that each section of the website opens in a new tab. There are a few spelling/grammatical errors as well. Is it true that Mobility does not make money unless you do? That is risky. How will you find out if someone has been successful using your product? It reminds me of setting up a case with a personal injury lawyer because they don’t get paid unless you win! The business model, as you say, still needs proof of concept. Nice work!

2 Aug
0 Thumbs Up!
claychri @claychri

This is a fabulous idea with a limitless market since supposedly most people in this day and age will have 10-14 different jobs and change careers 3-5 times. The elevator pitch really captured by attention. For the venture pitch, I personally find it annoying that each section of the website opens in a new tab. There are a few spelling/grammatical errors as well. Is it true that Mobility does not make money unless you do? That is risky. How will you find out if someone has been successful using your product? It reminds me of setting up a case with a personal injury lawyer because they don’t get paid unless you win! The business model, as you say, still needs proof of concept. Nice work!

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31 Jul Posted on Mobility Venture Pitch

Hi Minji! This is certainly a noble cause and one that is dear to my heart as I changed jobs about 4 years ago. I admire your boldness as getting multinational corporations to break contracts with other multinational corporations would be very challenging. As well, after hearing your pitch, a company like LinkedIn could just take a part of it and modify it for their own needs. For instance, LinkedIn could create an option for Professionals to volunteer to become a mentor with a set fee. Then LinkedIn would take a cut based on the amount of time was shared between the Mentor/Mentee, sort of an Uber for mentorship.

31 Jul
1 Thumbs Up!
Gordon Chiu @gkchiu

Hi Minji! This is certainly a noble cause and one that is dear to my heart as I changed jobs about 4 years ago. I admire your boldness as getting multinational corporations to break contracts with other multinational corporations would be very challenging. As well, after hearing your pitch, a company like LinkedIn could just take a part of it and modify it for their own needs. For instance, LinkedIn could create an option for Professionals to volunteer to become a mentor with a set fee. Then LinkedIn would take a cut based on the amount of time was shared between the Mentor/Mentee, sort of an Uber for mentorship.

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