Assignment 3: Venture Pitch for MyStory App

Hi Jason, I think that this is a great idea! This is a venture that I would invest in. It can reach a great amount of people, and also enters into a realm that does not have much competition yet. I think this could even be taken one step further for english language learners. Many english sayings do not translate nicely, and do not make sense in other languages (e.g. top of the morning). I think that this app could be beneficial to many people and areas. Looking forward to seeing this!

FEEDBACK: Hi Jason. I like the concept of your app but am concerned about the limited market that may be available. You identified your target market as the family members of those with Autism. However, I wonder if governmental agencies would be a place to target? My sister is a public health nurse who works with adults with special needs. She seems to piece together plans and instructions for her clients from various sources as she does not have access to a software like the one you describe. It may be a hard sell to land a contract with a government agency, but I see it as a place where this software could succeed.

Hi Jason,

Wow! What a fantastic idea!

I enjoyed your venture pitch. The pain point was well defined and your solution seemed to be well thought-out. Additionally, you presented yourself as a credible and capable CEO.

While the venture concept isn't too original - there is already a similar app out there - you seemed to differentiate your product well from the alternatives. Yes, such stories could also be created by anyone with a wordprocessor, but it's clear that your product would be a more preferable option for many.

Your projected revenues seem reasonable based on the market size numbers you quoted (and those were only for Canada and US - imagine your market if you manage to get a few translations done!). The fact that you already have this product, tested but in a different format, makes the venture much closer to being ready for "prime-time." It truly does seem like an investor, who could lend you some expertise with launching apps on multiple platforms, could find this a very compelling opportunity to gain a decent return while also supporting a very beneficial project.

Hi Jason, I really enjoyed watching your pitches. It is clear that you have a passion for this issue and can see a real need for the product. You also made a very complying case of why I would want to invest in this product. I really like the idea of the parents/caregivers being able to add their own images to the story and change the name and characteristics. You might also want to include audio that can be turned off or on, so that the child can read the story on their own. Maybe even a feature that allows the caregiver/parent or possibly the child themselves to record their own voice. My question is for caregivers, doctors or teachers who are dealing with more than one child, would they be able to save several versions of the story or would they need to adapt it each time they used with a different child? You might want to include an upgrade of the app that allows them to save more than one story. I see a lot of potential for this product outside of using it with autistic children. With the right app developer and marketing manager, I see a lot of success!

As an EVA, I would invest in this venture. Excellently executed videos and great pitches in general. I appreciate your identification of a niche market, but I think the numbers you provide shows that despite the seemingly small 2% of the population, in the grand scheme of things, this 2% translate to a large number of people who can make use of this product. I like that the character can be superimposed into the user's environment. However, when it comes to the video, would it simply flipped back to the originally illustrated story? If not, how would you determine where things are in this new scene? (i.e. every user's bathroom may have their shower in a different location, or the public bathrooms may have different numbers of urinals). Great job, Jason. I wish you every success with your venture.

This venture is focused and delivers a product that is needed. Your knowledge and background make me confident that you would see this venture through to success. I am interested in seeing your long-term plans for making this viable as the fast-changing world of app design would present a constant challenge. If this is to be profitable this would need to be addressed. Ultimately I would invest in this venture because I believe in it and I think it would be important to get it on the market for individuals who need it.

I would invest in this venture. However, if I was on your team, I might suggest a different marketing/customer payment structure. I think it might be more effective to target service providers, like local health authorities or school districts to sell them licenses in bulk. Then they could give out login credentials to their designated students so both parents and teachers could use the app with their ASD students. I think this would be a powerful way to create a collaborative approach between home and school, since issues like hygiene, public/private spaces, personal space, etc are relevant in both spaces. It would also mean you were marketing to fewer people, making it easier to target your resources, and those people would be making larger purchases. Best of luck, Jason!

This is a great idea and I think you have the knowledge about the subject. It's clear that you are solving a clear problem and are serving a real market that needs service. I like the testimonials, it sounds great. I think the investment isn't too expensive either. The one concern that I have is the long term viability of the business and profits going forward. Because you are focusing on a small population market, you'll eventually have to focus on intensification of sales to customers who find your app. At 250,000 per year minus overhead and pay for development, I'm not sure you'll be able to make a profit that will return on the investment at a rate high enough. I would invest, but I would want this to get ironed out a little more and possibly see about how to change the model up a little.

What a great idea Jason. Your experience in working with people with autism gives you the expertise to confidently lead this venture. Your request for investment was well thought out and you detailed what you would use the funds for by bringing in expertise needed to develop the app further. Your target market as well as the return on investment was also very detailed and demonstrated to the investors that although the market is small you would be able to earn back the dollars they invested if only a few in the market became customers. I agree with Vibhu however, regarding the price per story. The customer would likely need more than one story, depending on their needs so a bundling option may be more competitive and leave you less vulnerable to competition.

I would invest in this venture. Although the market is small, there is value in MyStory in its effort to help children with autism or downsyndrome live better and fulfilled lives. Jason also did a fantastic job running the numbers on return of investment. The key feature of the MyStory app that I feel will bring customers is the personalizing the story to the child's environment and personal details. I'm curious whether one business plan is to consider packaging stories in bundles? Once bought, a story could only be used so many times before the child needs to move on to another topic. So buying a story every time at $2.75 may hinder some customers from continually buying stories.