ETEC 522: Elevator & Venture Pitch – Content Connections

This seems like a really great venture, but some areas are slightly unclear to me. While this is centred around online math learning, what role does the classroom teacher play? Does the classroom teacher play a role? With many online learning courses there is still a form of lead or instruction - is this led by the school boards or does your company provide the leadership? While I think it is fantastic that this company is growing and expanding at such a fast rate, at this time I would not invest in this company. I am seeing many schools and school boards developing their own online course offerings without the help of outside sources.

FEEDBACK

An interesting presentation. I am not looking to invest in this kind of venture at this time, however, so I will only offer some feedback on your presentation.

It seems like your venture is already on its way to being successful. Expanding into new markets, like English and science is smart. Leverage the success you have had with your math offering and you should find a ready market. That BCLN already offers your product seems like a benefit, even though you list them as a competitor. Perhaps there is a greater opportunity for synergy with them in the future. Good luck!

Hi Britt,

Since you are writing about an already existing enterprise, I suppose your pitch is going to be a bit different. But, I will comment on your pitch using the same criteria that I've used for all the other pitches I've gone through thus far.

I like the fact that you're presenting a product that is at or near completion - it makes it easier for investors to understand what they're investing in. But, I think because of that, you focused your pitch on the product with the assumption that the pain point is clearly apparent. In fact, it's really difficult to find any real discussion of the problem your venture is trying to address, and thus it's hard to know how much demand there might be for your product.

While your pitch does go into some detail about your market situation, there are few hard numbers to give an investor any idea of the size of the market that can be tapped. Additionally, I would have liked to have seen a closer comparison between your venture and BCLN (your closest competitor). BCLN claims to offer 60+ online courses (substantially more than your venture), so they probably shouldn't be dismissed because "their math curriculum is not as robust or reliable in transfer to various LMS platforms." This is something that could be potentially remedied in the near future, and then your stated competitive advantage would vanish. This would be a worry for a potential investor. It may be worthwhile for you to identify some other points of differentiation, to make your venture more appealing.

One of the strengths of your pitch also comes from the fact that it's an established venture. You are able to provide details of a licensing and remuneration structure that you already know works. I think this might be something that would count in your favour - it means you've already identified what your customers (and contributors) are willing to accept as a fair amount. So, there won't be any experimentation and false-starts.

Overall, the venture seems to be sound, but I don't think I would be willing to invest without knowing more about the size of the market and potential for growth. 10% of overall sales may sound good, but only if there are lots of sales.

A Correction:
On slide 15, you say: "In 2015, we sold 17, 500 licenses...", but the graph on slide 17 shows that you have actually sold 17,500 licenses over the past 10 years. Assuming the graph is right, the statement on slide 15 might give potential investors unrealistic expectations of growth.

I like your elevator pitch, attractive and easy to understand. I don't see many Math e-learning ventures that work well so I'd be interested in investing at the right amount and the price you are asking is a little high because if that 100,000 amount is what you are asking for from each investor, won't that be a lot of money? Unless you are only looking for one investor or two. There are also some really useful and good Math aid sites like IXL already unless you have a unique selling point like a lesson delivery method that is very efficient this venture might not get far. Because I know some high school students who take Math and Science course online through distance education, and they need to get a tutor on the side as well. Overall, I wouldn't invest.

I like the idea of your venture as it is an area in education that I think needs to be addressed today. The team you have assembled is strong and this bodes well for your educational venture. As a potential investor this is encouraging. As an educator who is interested in learning more about the online world of education I am interested in more than just investing but also about the design of the courses themselves. I would invest in this company. I'm also curious about the development of Social Studies courses, in particular history, when you would be developing these and who might be designing them. Excellent work!

As an EVA, I would not invest in this venture. From a personal standpoint, I am unfamiliar with the BC and AB curricula, as well, with a background in Arts and Humanities, I feel that I am ill-suited to provide Content Connection with any meaningful support or connections as an EVA. From the product standpoint, I feel that this product is quite narrow in its focus. On the other hand, expanding into liberal arts subjects such as English and history may also not be ideal. Deeper learning experiences for these subjects often thrive on discussion and I would need to better understand how students are able to engage in the social aspect of learning with Content Connections. Who does the student contact if they have further questions and what is the response time? I think that this tool would be most suitable for students who have professional careers (i.e. athletes or actors) or have health issues where a normal school schedule is not possible.

I would not invest in this venture, though I think it is worth pursuing as a lifestyle business. As an investor, I would be wary that the market is too limited to realize a profit. Content Connection's main 'unfair advantage' is that it has lessons specifically tailored to BC and Alberta curricula. Once we look beyond these two provinces at the prospect of designing and aligning content with other provinces (or countries), Content Connections is exposed to much more competition. Meeting students where and when they can learn is definitely part of the new landscape of education. However, with creative tools like powtoon becoming easier to use, and many teachers are making instructional videos themselves. I think it would be a good idea to showcase one of the Content Creation lessons or units i your pitch so we would have an idea of what sets your company apart from things like Khan Academy, or some of the emerging microlearning platforms. Good luck!

I would invest in this venture. Britt has shown the positive growth and potential the company has had so far and in order to offer more courses and expand, the company is asking for investors. The model of putting courses together appears valuable as well using video lessons, assignments, and tests. I would be curious to know how the video lessons are generated, using which web tools and whether videos are interactive with embedded questions or not. The return on investment appears reasonable as well. The team is comprised of educators and a marketing expert, all members crucial for its success.