A3: Second Language Innovations

Hi Wani, Your presentation was beautiful and very easy to navigate. I think you have a great idea here, but what is lacking is what makes this different from other online language learning websites and services? With ELL I find that the market is saturated with many products and companies already. At this time, I would not invest but I would be interested in seeing what arises in the future after some time is spent in the early stages of implementation!

FEEDBACK: Hi Wanyi. The visuals you have created are very well designed and easy to digest. I am definitely going to further explore the platforms you used for my own use. However, I found the pitch lacked a clear explanation of the differentiation the website offers users. With so many ELL resource sites available to teachers, I would need a clearer picture of what makes this site unique. Your pitch provides the pricing information for competitors, but I am not sure how much is needed from an investor and what the return would be.

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.

As many of the EVAs mentioned, your venture pitch was beautifully constructed. I too like the interactive nature of a flipping book, and I find it easy to navigate around in the document to find the elements that I want to examine again or in greater detail. I think this was a good choice for presentation platform.

I do feel that you left some of the necessary details out of your pitch, and that would be necessary to move any investor. Considering the number of well established competitors, you would need to point out in greater detail the differentiation of your product from those that already enjoy strong support from the community of educators you want to attract.

Hi Wanyi, Your presentations are visually beautiful, but I don't think they contain enough to get an EVA interested in your venture. I didn't get the feeling that your elevator pitch was aimed at investors - it seemed more like a commercial for your service targeting end-users. Similarly, your venture pitch seemed more like a sales brochure - a venture capitalist probably doesn't need to see that many inspirational quotes. In terms of the venture pitch, you seem to have a strong interest in this area, are qualified to do this, and will likely make a very passionate champion for your venture. So, I have no problems with the people who will be running this venture. Unfortunately, I can't see much originality or innovation in the actual product you propose. That's not to say that your idea lacks these things, it's just not clearly identified for a potential EVA - ie. someone who is not familiar with the tools you currently have available (the pain point) and thus doesn't know that they are inadequate. It sounds like you have been giving this a significant amount of thought and might be considering pursuing this further, so I'll just point out a few things that I think might improve your pitch: Firstly, as an EVA, I would need to see a compelling pain point. The "pain" might be quite apparent to you, but an investor will not have the same level of knowledge of this market as you, so you need to make it very clear. Secondly, make more of an effort to differentiate your solution from the competition. In your venture pitch, you point to three potential competitors but you don't clearly identify how your venture is different and better than what is already on the market. Why would anyone want to use your site instead of the others? Thirdly, considering that there are already other providers of similar products, is there room for you to enter the market? More importantly, how much room? What sort of income would you expect and how soon? Lastly: Do you want my money? Your pitch didn't actually have one of the important components of a pitch - "the ask."

I think your venture is quite interesting. Certainly language is a critical area that needs innovative and adaptable support. I think your goal to have hands-on activities and role playing scenarios is a good one. I do not know much about this area of education and I am basically going on the information you have provided me with here. By and large I would tend to invest in venture where I have some background knowledge so that I would feel comfortable and well informed. Good luck with your venture.

I would not invest in this venture. That is not to say it is not worth pursuing - only that, as an investor, I am unlikely to see a large ROI. If you make a product that is the best on the market and promote your company well, you could be very successful, but the venture lacks a disruptive technology or idea that would give you an unfair advantage. Since the only thing differentiating your company from others in the ELL space is making a high quality product, I fear your competition will be stiff. Best of luck!

Both your elevator and venture pitch were attractive, but I am unable to invest in this venture. I did not get a strong sense of how your product were different from your competitors. Second language learning is a very competitive field and I would be concerned as to the viability of this venture compared to all the second language learning options that already exist.

FEEDBACK: For the elevator pitch, I feel a voice over would have been able to deliver more information. The elevator pitch was selling me on the product but not selling me on why I should invest. On the venture itself, I fail to recognize how you will differentiate SLI from the other products that are on the market. There are so many resources that teach language, how does this product compare to what is out there already? I would not invest.

Your elevator pitch and platform for the venture pitch were both eye-catching and engaging – I loved the baby picture! I liked your marketing idea of allowing potential buyers to test out to product by buying credits per use and then opting for a membership if they would like to. The sharing of content is a growing market and the idea of using an e-store is a good one. The expertise you and your partners have in the area of ELL makes you very competent to carry out this venture. I myself do not have the expertise to responsibly invest in your venture but wish you the best as you go forward.

I am afraid I am unable to invest in this venture. After spending two years in Japan and picking up some Japanese; spending time in Quebec in the Explore program to learn French: I am fully convinced on the golden standard of complete immersion for learning a second language. Moreover, as web 2.0 tools are getting more common place in the education industry, the ability of paper and print material to compete with apps like Duolingo or websites like Lingq is in fact diminishing. I also was unable to see how Second Language Innovations (SLI) is really different than the competition they have presented. I feel there needs be an idea that is something more, something that would compel learners to be customers, and thus help the success of the venture and its investors.