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ETEC 522 – Ventures in Learning Technologies
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GloballyRED

By laila on November 28, 2016

Hi Everyone,

The name of my venture is called GloballyRED, which is a peer-editing service initially aimed at post-graduate students.  This venture connects students to other enrolled students on a global level to offer peer-editing and feedback.  GloballyRED can be implemented with any existing learning management system.

Take a look at my elevator pitch.  It is meant to be simple in design, focusing on the goals and services that can be provided.

https://youtu.be/xUnYC1kO3pE

You can also find my venture attached to this post.  The venture is meant to be easily sent as a memo in an e-mail file. globallyred-laila-andreucci

Looking forward to reviewing many of these exciting ventures!

-Laila

 

Reflection:

I have been thinking about this assignment since I have submitted it, and I think I faced similar problems with this one as I did for A3. As opposed to focusing on this as a venture, I more focused on this as a sales pitch for a specific product as opposed to securing funding to advance the current state of the product/company. I am noticing that I still have difficulty trying to move away from the idea of selling one product to a potential consumer.   Looking at this in hindsight, and after thinking about this a few times a day I can see areas that would need great improvement.

While this is a shell to start, I could explain and advance the ways that GloballyRED can be implemented and used on a larger scale, and discuss how increased funding can increase the network of partner schools, increase the amount of jobs available, and train specialists to go into the locations to train on site experts. I could explain further how additional funding could increase international interest and bring connections to developing nations. With increased support, a non-profit side can be established to help break down barriers to education and aid in the global spread of education.

I keep thinking about what I should change, and how I can augment it to more fit the lines of a conventional venture, as opposed to the product that I was selling. I think the idea of having access to a global peer review system can be beneficial, but also I am acknowledging the drawbacks – there is no accountability in the way that people reviewing can be “punished” for providing wrong or incorrect information, and also there is the fear of plagiarism. Students at many elite universities, and depending on the program are competitive and sharing ideas is not the most easily welcomed event. For me, this is a type of service/product that I would find increasingly valuable but in the real world, I am not sure if this would work on a large scale. I think it might provide some novelty during the first few months of implementation but maybe not long term. Most new additions are great in the short term, but will need extensive marketing and support from instructors and users.

If I could do this over, I would try and think of ways to ask for funding to change and expand the product, not just funding to implement the product. As I mentioned above, I keep falling back into the trap of trying to tell one item as opposed to advancing, changing, augmenting.

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4 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Hi Laila, Very creative idea. I appreciate the simplicity of the format and that it is easy to share/distribute. Overall I think your idea has potential. There are a number of post-graduate students out there and peer-review and feedback is very important in the learning process. With the said I think you may have limited your audience. Most post-graduate students are working on a thesis or dissertation which is very length and sometimes proprietary. It would be challenging to find someone willing to review such a large piece of work/ that you trust with your work product. I think targeting undergraduate students would likely me more successful, since there is a very large user base there and papers are smaller and less valuable. As an investor I'm not sure how profitable this venture would be. Institutions are only paying $2000 per year and many students are on a tight budget as will likely be unwilling to pay for submissions. For that reason I would not invest in this venture.

4 Dec
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Colleen Huck @cmhuck

Hi Laila, Very creative idea. I appreciate the simplicity of the format and that it is easy to share/distribute. Overall I think your idea has potential. There are a number of post-graduate students out there and peer-review and feedback is very important in the learning process. With the said I think you may have limited your audience. Most post-graduate students are working on a thesis or dissertation which is very length and sometimes proprietary. It would be challenging to find someone willing to review such a large piece of work/ that you trust with your work product. I think targeting undergraduate students would likely me more successful, since there is a very large user base there and papers are smaller and less valuable. As an investor I'm not sure how profitable this venture would be. Institutions are only paying $2000 per year and many students are on a tight budget as will likely be unwilling to pay for submissions. For that reason I would not invest in this venture.

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4 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Hi Laila,

While I think what you propose could be a useful tool, as an EVA, I'm not sure if there would be enough return to warrant an investment.

In terms of CEO and team, we're all in the "same boat" in this course, so I can't really criticize that aspect of your proposal.  I'm sure that as the originator of the proposal, you would make a good and motivated champion for this venture.

Overall, I do like some aspects of your venture concept, but there some things that I think could improve your pitch:

  • I'd like to see the "pain point" presented in a way that makes it sound like a more pressing issue - something that is in serious need of a solution.
  • I would also like to see more income potential.  $2000 per institution seems very low, especially at the start of your venture - you would need many institutions to sign up with your service to even pay one annual salary (presumably you would like to be paid for your efforts).  You might consider going directly to the people who would use this service (but I know your main competitor is already doing that).
  • Targeting undergraduates might actually be a better idea - much larger pool of students.  The problem with this service for graduate students is that many of them, at least in the sciences, are working on things that might be proprietary, or are "competing" with other labs to publish their findings first.
    • I've seen a PhD student in my lab get "scooped" by another lab -  they were studying the same molecule and published their findings first.  On that day, about a year or more of his work suddenly became a "wasted effort" - he would now have to continue and do further work (that he would have to publish first) to be able to make a "substantial, novel contribution to his field" and graduate.  Students like this would not want to use your service because they wouldn't want to let their "competition" know what they were doing until they had an article submitted for publication.


In terms of marketability, there are a lot of universities in the world, but you're not going to get your product into all of them (especially at the beginning).  You've selected the Canadian market for "expansion" from your original base in the UK, but I wonder if it wouldn't be better to focus on the larger market to the south.  It seems like a more obvious choice, so I would have liked to see a rationale for not going into the States early.

I did like the fact that you highlighted easy integration into common LMS portals - I think it would be a big advantage for your product when talking to institutions. But you still would need to attract students to your product - if you have no users, your venture won't live long.  I would like to see how you would attract users to your system and how you plan to differentiate yourself from Rubriq in the minds of the students.  If I was the CEO of Rubriq, I would roll out the argument that "you get what you pay for," so price probably shouldn't be your main selling point.

Your venture plan could also be improved by assuming that there may be some resistance and potential problems involved in getting your product into universities - a $5000 budget per institution seems unrealistic.  You will need to travel back and forth, you will likely need multiple trips to close a few deals - flights, hotels, meals, car rentals will eat into that budget very quickly.  If you want to sign up 10 institutions every 6 months, this will mean a lot of travel for what would likely be a team of a few individuals (an IT expert to deal with the software/tech support side, a sales specialist and a trainer).

As an investor, I am happy that you're trying not to ask for ridiculous amounts or money, but I feel like $50000 may not be enough to successfully get your venture off the ground in Canada.  So, I worry about whether your plan is realistic.

4 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
R. Stefan @rusyniak

Hi Laila,

While I think what you propose could be a useful tool, as an EVA, I'm not sure if there would be enough return to warrant an investment.

In terms of CEO and team, we're all in the "same boat" in this course, so I can't really criticize that aspect of your proposal.  I'm sure that as the originator of the proposal, you would make a good and motivated champion for this venture.

Overall, I do like some aspects of your venture concept, but there some things that I think could improve your pitch:

  • I'd like to see the "pain point" presented in a way that makes it sound like a more pressing issue - something that is in serious need of a solution.
  • I would also like to see more income potential.  $2000 per institution seems very low, especially at the start of your venture - you would need many institutions to sign up with your service to even pay one annual salary (presumably you would like to be paid for your efforts).  You might consider going directly to the people who would use this service (but I know your main competitor is already doing that).
  • Targeting undergraduates might actually be a better idea - much larger pool of students.  The problem with this service for graduate students is that many of them, at least in the sciences, are working on things that might be proprietary, or are "competing" with other labs to publish their findings first.
    • I've seen a PhD student in my lab get "scooped" by another lab -  they were studying the same molecule and published their findings first.  On that day, about a year or more of his work suddenly became a "wasted effort" - he would now have to continue and do further work (that he would have to publish first) to be able to make a "substantial, novel contribution to his field" and graduate.  Students like this would not want to use your service because they wouldn't want to let their "competition" know what they were doing until they had an article submitted for publication.


In terms of marketability, there are a lot of universities in the world, but you're not going to get your product into all of them (especially at the beginning).  You've selected the Canadian market for "expansion" from your original base in the UK, but I wonder if it wouldn't be better to focus on the larger market to the south.  It seems like a more obvious choice, so I would have liked to see a rationale for not going into the States early.

I did like the fact that you highlighted easy integration into common LMS portals - I think it would be a big advantage for your product when talking to institutions. But you still would need to attract students to your product - if you have no users, your venture won't live long.  I would like to see how you would attract users to your system and how you plan to differentiate yourself from Rubriq in the minds of the students.  If I was the CEO of Rubriq, I would roll out the argument that "you get what you pay for," so price probably shouldn't be your main selling point.

Your venture plan could also be improved by assuming that there may be some resistance and potential problems involved in getting your product into universities - a $5000 budget per institution seems unrealistic.  You will need to travel back and forth, you will likely need multiple trips to close a few deals - flights, hotels, meals, car rentals will eat into that budget very quickly.  If you want to sign up 10 institutions every 6 months, this will mean a lot of travel for what would likely be a team of a few individuals (an IT expert to deal with the software/tech support side, a sales specialist and a trainer).

As an investor, I am happy that you're trying not to ask for ridiculous amounts or money, but I feel like $50000 may not be enough to successfully get your venture off the ground in Canada.  So, I worry about whether your plan is realistic.

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3 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Hi Laila, I agree with everyone else, you have thought of a great name. I also agree with the fact that the market is very small, which makes me hesitant to invest. It might be beneficial to open this program to undergraduates as well, but ensure that there is a definite filtering of the students level and subject. To ensure that the quality of the peer reviews are high, you might want to consider building in a reporting system that students could share with their instructors as part of their grade or perhaps providing instructors the ability to set up classes and track their students usage of this tool. It could be marketed as taking advantage of the Triad Approach to assessment, where there is a self-reflection, peer-review and teacher-feedback. Having it integrate into a LMS would be even more useful. The current peer-review tool in Blackboard or Canvas don't have a global audience like yours does. Student are only able to review students in their own class. As well, the Blackboard tool is very clunky causing it be underutilized. These are things can that differentiate your product from others. It would also allow you to market the tool to LMS providers and not just educational institutions.

3 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
Sarah @sarahkw

Hi Laila, I agree with everyone else, you have thought of a great name. I also agree with the fact that the market is very small, which makes me hesitant to invest. It might be beneficial to open this program to undergraduates as well, but ensure that there is a definite filtering of the students level and subject. To ensure that the quality of the peer reviews are high, you might want to consider building in a reporting system that students could share with their instructors as part of their grade or perhaps providing instructors the ability to set up classes and track their students usage of this tool. It could be marketed as taking advantage of the Triad Approach to assessment, where there is a self-reflection, peer-review and teacher-feedback. Having it integrate into a LMS would be even more useful. The current peer-review tool in Blackboard or Canvas don't have a global audience like yours does. Student are only able to review students in their own class. As well, the Blackboard tool is very clunky causing it be underutilized. These are things can that differentiate your product from others. It would also allow you to market the tool to LMS providers and not just educational institutions.

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2 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

I love the name of your venture and meaning behind it, so well-thought! You definitely should have a real venture with this name! The idea of peer-editing is also attractive for me, as an educator. However, I would not invest. As some peers mentioned, I am concerned about a small market, free riders, quality of peer review and the fact that the venture has not been established yet.

2 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
Galina Culpechina @gculpech

I love the name of your venture and meaning behind it, so well-thought! You definitely should have a real venture with this name! The idea of peer-editing is also attractive for me, as an educator. However, I would not invest. As some peers mentioned, I am concerned about a small market, free riders, quality of peer review and the fact that the venture has not been established yet.

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2 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

GloballyRED is a service that provides peer reviews prior to submitting assignments whose target market is post-graduate students. The name you chose for this venture is very clever. I like that the cost goes to the LMS provider rather than the student in contrast to the Rubriq competitor but I’m not sure why the institutions would invest. Could they not set up a sharing blog of their own in their on-line class and allow students to share? Would it be because it takes the administrative work away from their internal technological experts? Also, how would you ensure a student who has reaped the benefits of two “free” peer edited papers will review others in return? Will there be a monitor of the quality of feedback offered? I like the selling point you make that participation like this will improve the quality of papers emerging from the institution thus increasing their reputation. Some statistics confirming this would help sell the product. If a solid reputation for quality is built and the institutions and the students realize a benefit to using GloballyRED you could make a go of it. As an investor I would like to have the answer to the above questions before I decide to hand over any money. Thanks Laila.

2 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
brenda spehar @speharb

GloballyRED is a service that provides peer reviews prior to submitting assignments whose target market is post-graduate students. The name you chose for this venture is very clever. I like that the cost goes to the LMS provider rather than the student in contrast to the Rubriq competitor but I’m not sure why the institutions would invest. Could they not set up a sharing blog of their own in their on-line class and allow students to share? Would it be because it takes the administrative work away from their internal technological experts? Also, how would you ensure a student who has reaped the benefits of two “free” peer edited papers will review others in return? Will there be a monitor of the quality of feedback offered? I like the selling point you make that participation like this will improve the quality of papers emerging from the institution thus increasing their reputation. Some statistics confirming this would help sell the product. If a solid reputation for quality is built and the institutions and the students realize a benefit to using GloballyRED you could make a go of it. As an investor I would like to have the answer to the above questions before I decide to hand over any money. Thanks Laila.

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2 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

As an EVA, I am hesitant to invest in this venture but not opposed. I like the company name and think the materials you have put together are worthy of a further look into the prospects of the company. I wonder if the market is too small and structured for this type of investment. I am unsure at this point how it differs from peer-reviewed journals and existing communities of practice within programs and Universities. I do appreciate the global spin on this but with more and more graduate programs (such as the MET) becoming an international program, I am apprehensive to invest as I am not sure how many graduate students would utilize this service on top of their many commitments. As an individual investor with no business experience within the constraints of University, I would have the decline. I will mention that I think as a larger company this could be a worthwhile investment over time.

2 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
bhanson @bhanson

As an EVA, I am hesitant to invest in this venture but not opposed. I like the company name and think the materials you have put together are worthy of a further look into the prospects of the company. I wonder if the market is too small and structured for this type of investment. I am unsure at this point how it differs from peer-reviewed journals and existing communities of practice within programs and Universities. I do appreciate the global spin on this but with more and more graduate programs (such as the MET) becoming an international program, I am apprehensive to invest as I am not sure how many graduate students would utilize this service on top of their many commitments. As an individual investor with no business experience within the constraints of University, I would have the decline. I will mention that I think as a larger company this could be a worthwhile investment over time.

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1 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Great name and very interesting market to cater to. Clearly graduate students are not getting things made for them and are an underserved market. That said, it's a small market with very high turn-over. (A small stable market would be okay.) Moreover, planning to work with universities as institutions can be a slow process of negotiation and accommodation. It's quite costly to work with universities and get partnerships. (Top Hat tossed $15,000 contracts with universities because it cost them too much to make and totally reinvented their model.) The other side of this is joining a community of reviewers who, don't have obligations before evaluating two papers. There may be an issue of the free-rider problem where people take on a short term basis from the community. So I have too many concerns and would not invest.

1 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
Bryan Thompson @thompsbw

Great name and very interesting market to cater to. Clearly graduate students are not getting things made for them and are an underserved market. That said, it's a small market with very high turn-over. (A small stable market would be okay.) Moreover, planning to work with universities as institutions can be a slow process of negotiation and accommodation. It's quite costly to work with universities and get partnerships. (Top Hat tossed $15,000 contracts with universities because it cost them too much to make and totally reinvented their model.) The other side of this is joining a community of reviewers who, don't have obligations before evaluating two papers. There may be an issue of the free-rider problem where people take on a short term basis from the community. So I have too many concerns and would not invest.

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1 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Hats off to such a creative name of the venture! It is a great idea to help the graduate student community accomplish the task of editing. That being said, the market size appears too small for me to invest in. Perhaps if the program includes grade school students as well, the market could be expanded. All the best!

1 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
Vibhu Vashisht @umvashis

Hats off to such a creative name of the venture! It is a great idea to help the graduate student community accomplish the task of editing. That being said, the market size appears too small for me to invest in. Perhaps if the program includes grade school students as well, the market could be expanded. All the best!

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1 Dec Posted on GloballyRED

Hello Laila, The premise of GloballyRed is a good one. The name itself is particularly clever and works as a hook. Peer editing certainly is a critical part of the academic and scholarly process across multiple fields and it should be as well in universities. I do wonder how much it would be utilized and by how many students. Often, many students are working right up until the deadline of any given assignment only to pass it in with only hours to spare. These are most likely not the best and the brightest but they may well be the majority. Ultimately I do not think I would invest in this venture because I am concerned about the 5-10-year projection for returns. This, of course, is me as a small individual investor. If I were investing in something that long term I would want to know that it was already solidly established.

1 Dec
0 Thumbs Up!
Andrew @niallmac

Hello Laila, The premise of GloballyRed is a good one. The name itself is particularly clever and works as a hook. Peer editing certainly is a critical part of the academic and scholarly process across multiple fields and it should be as well in universities. I do wonder how much it would be utilized and by how many students. Often, many students are working right up until the deadline of any given assignment only to pass it in with only hours to spare. These are most likely not the best and the brightest but they may well be the majority. Ultimately I do not think I would invest in this venture because I am concerned about the 5-10-year projection for returns. This, of course, is me as a small individual investor. If I were investing in something that long term I would want to know that it was already solidly established.

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