Hi Edwin, I think your venture has great potential. Perhaps because this hits a personal cord, but ultimately I think you address many issues that caregivers have. I think that your enthusiasm and expertise on this subject make you a great face to the company, and the examples provided of the app show that this would be easy to use. This is a venture that I would invest in due to the rapid aging population and the stress that is occurring on the resource banks. I look forward to seeing this advance!
FEEDBACK: I am glad you included an example of how the app works, as I was not able to see the value in the app at first. I think adding a few more examples of recommendations may better help me understand the app’s potential. In your video you mention the premium version would allow users to purchase equipment directly. However, I feel this could be an important revenue stream for the app. Advertisements could be a way to fund the app and has the potential to be mutually beneficial if they are related to the product the app’s healthcare professionals are recommending.
Hi Edwin, I liked your videos. You have identified a very interesting pain point and made a good case for why it's important. Your solution seems to be fairly innovative and seems likely to fill a need quite nicely. Your team seems like it should have enough expertise (although it's not clear what kind of a doctor Dr. McMurray is - you mention no clinical experience), and you seem fairly passionate about this venture. The product demo, the presentation of the pricing structure, and identifying your partners really helps make this venture feel like it's close to completion and just needs a quick infusion of cash to finally get it out there. There are, however, a few things about your pitch that could use some work. 1. Your Market Opportunity section seems to be aimed at the wrong audience. You seem to be trying to convince governments or administrators of the importance of this issue and the need to deal with it. It sounds a bit like a sales pitch - it's not a bad one, so save it for later. Your discussion of the "market opportunities" tells potential investors very little about who might be buying your app, and the potential for sales. 2. Your "ask" is very vague. It's not clear how much you need to get your app onto the market, or how soon an investor can expect a return on their investment. Additionally, you make it sound like the success of your product is dependent on government funding (you warn of imminent "drastic healthcare cuts") and may be unintentionally undermining your pitch.
Feedback: This sounds like a product that can only be used once per household. Like a safety assessment via videos instead of getting an actual evaluator to come into the household to make the assessment. For the price that the user will pay for this service, it seems very improbable for the services to be delivered within the timeframe given as the price is quite low so many will want to use the service at the same time and there would be an overload, unless you have many trained employees who can give assessments quickly or if it's automated. If this was to occur, what would your plan be? If each assessment is individualized and catered to the video the users sent it, would the time spent on giving the feedback be equivalent to the price they are paying, or would the costs be much higher. Honestly, if this was an app that charges per room, or one-time service provider that charges much more, I can see the venture being successful. But currently, this venture wouldn't be an investment I would want to put money into as I see labour fees putting the business in the red more than in the green. But good luck.
REVIEW
I would not invest in the product at this time, however I do think your product has a lot of merit and is something that could have a significant impact on families, and maybe even the nation. The recent passing of legendary Canadian singer Leonard Cohen from a fall in his home highlights how serious this problem really is. I have a few suggestions, and they mirror many of the comments made here by the other EVAs.
First, I don’t think you ever gave us a specific “Ask.” I was unsure how much financing you were looking for, or how exactly it might be spent. Some numbers here would be good. Even a rough overview of what you think might be needed would help to give investors an idea of your break-even point and how you might get there. It also gives us an idea of the size of the market, and how portable it might be to other markets (other countries = additional revenue).
This brings us to the revenue stream. Your freemium model includes a 72-hour written feedback assessment. This is great if you want your product to affect as many people as possible, but it really might make a profit stream difficult to achieve. I am unsure how much time would be required for each written assessment, but it might overwhelm your ability to provide feedback and assessments for your paid customers if you have many 72-hour deadlines for your unpaid customers. I also wonder, as the other EVAs did, at how you might achieve profitability with such a low fee for your service.
How much work is involved in a written assessment? That is something that would be critical for any investor to understand. Consultation can have hidden time-traps that suck up a non-renewable commodity (your time) and get in the way of achieving your other goals. Do you have plans to hire other consultants? You might want to map out your new hires to line up with your expected workload, which will follow your growth.
Finally, how do you plan to retain customers? With such a low service fee, you will need to retain customers to be able to build up your monthly revenues. However, I am unclear how they will need your service once they have taken your advice and made the changes you recommend to them in their homes.
I do want to tell you that your venture is very compelling, and I hope that you find the investment you need to make it happen. I believe there is a real need for your service, and you seem to have the vision and experience to make a difference for a lot of people. I wish you the best in the future!
The health care industry is definitely a lucrative one to get into and if your product is of value I could see as a potential investor being able to see a high rate of return. Your pitch sounds very polished and professional and I feel, as an investor, like you know what you are doing. I would invest in your venture as I see a lot of potential in it. It is simple, straight forward, and addresses a need in the community. Very well done.
As an EVA, I would be interested in investing in this venture. Your pitches are to the point and well put together (I particularly appreciated the demo), and you've clearly outlined the pain point and market opportunity. As mentioned by previous EVAs, I am concerned about the low price point not being able to cover the cost of operations. Another concern, also previously mentioned is the lack of understanding that some seniors may have in regards to technology such as smartphones. A suggestion is that a tech support line can be made available for paid versions and maybe a pre-recorded tutorial for the free version. (Not sure if your live video chat was for tech purposes or strictly for the assessment.) I also agree with Joshua about the name. I am also curious if there is any alternative available for seniors without smartphones. Overall, great product. Good luck!
FEEDBACK: It looks like you have built a solid team and your pain point is clear. Initially I thought why can’t you just use a camera and send the video through to the safety assessment personnel but then I saw how you were providing purchases that could be made right in the app which is a great idea. Since your user base are the elderly, this is a fantastic idea since it merges safety with product. My concern is that at your price point, how do you pay for the person who does these assessments? Looking at paying the person who has to do the assessment of the videos, the 15 minute calls, or the live video conference, would be considerable more than the $4.50 for the premium account. Of course this does not factor in the possibility that you may earn a commission from every product sold, but from my point of view the labour intensiveness your app requires will mean high running cost. If you have some kind of government income, such as a grant, it would ease the cost of running the operation. I have to agree with Joshua about the name.
I am interested in investing in this venture, but I have one major concern. I am worried that your target users might have trouble making the videos required for the assessments. I know the landscape is rapidly changing, but many of the seniors I know struggle to use smartphones. That being said, I have a couple of ideas that I think might benefit your company: first, you mention in your venture pitch (during the bathroom video), that the premium version of your app would allow users to order the grab bars with an in-app purchase. I would suggest that you make that function available for every version of the app because it is a potential revenue stream. Presumably, you will be able to take a percentage of that purchase, so why limit your opportunities to make money? Second, the word 'virtually', as an adverb, means 'nearly' or 'almost'. While I realize that you want to put the word 'safe' into a digital context, you might not want to have your fall-prevention company's name be synonymous with 'Nearly Safe' or 'Almost Safe'. If the target user is a senior, it is likely they will be more familiar with the word 'virtually' in that context. Great idea, Edwin!
I would invest in this venture. The most valuable point is the ease of use of the app that I think would make it accessible to caregivers. I also liked the automatic pause in video + guidelines and instructions that the caregiver receives once their home video is submitted through the app. My concern would likely be the privacy of these videos and what is done with videos that have been assessed. In today's uncertain online climate, hacking of files has become a real issue for personal files so perhaps that is something that would hinder potential customers from purchasing the app and therefore affect the success of the venture. The relief of costs off the health care system definitely make it a viable effort.
