StudySoup

Upon viewing the pitch I wanted to invest. I was definitely impressed with the pitch and felt that the CEO had outlined why StudySoup would be a solid company to invest in. The pitch definitely had a clear pain point and solution -- students can create and sell study notes / guides to sell to other students to help increase efficiency at university. Seems like a brilliant idea that piggybacks on the Colesnotes literary study guides that were popular back in the 90s and early 2000s - the only difference being that students are the curators of their own study guides and ultimately getting paid for their work in a digital database. In addition to the pain point and solution, the CEO does a wonderful job of showcasing the companies incredible growth in a short period of time. It certainly got me excited and led me to believe that the return of a potential investment might be worth my time and money. However, after a quick google search, I found many negative reviews posted by students who utilized the service complaining that the company was a scam and did not pay students for their work. This definitely put a damper on my excitement and ultimately led me swayed me away from investment. So for me, only after a bit more research - this is a 'stay clear' no investment here.

Yes, I would invest in Study Soup, {or at least take the next step and request a Venture pitch}. As an investor, Study Soup is on my radar. Not only does the CEO offer a compelling and authentic pain point with an accompanying solution, he is able to provide substantial marketing data to share his story – a story that clearly highlights the sales and projections of his venture. Although this pitch is nearing two minutes, it is still fairly effective. To shorten its length to the idealistic “closer to a minute” span, both the real-life success story of “Melissa”, along with the forty second “recap” could be saved for the subsequent Venture pitch. The CEO of Study Soup is the presenter, increasing credibility and exuding confidence, passion, and knowledge about the venture. While the rest of his “team” is not highlighted, the pronoun “we” is used within the speech to indicate a team effort, rather than an individualized undertaking. A clear story is provided including the problem, the solution, and the marketing data. It is told solely through visual PowerPoint images and the speaker’s words, not cluttered by text within the presentation. Graphs that indicate an “at-a-glance story” of the venture’s success thus far, as well as its projected success, are easy to comprehend visually and are enhanced through the speaker’s content. The CEO has a realistic view of what success looks like and what is needed to be done to achieve it. The present success, of doubling revenue and user base every single quarter since start-up, is a solid indication that this venture has significant growth potential.

No, I would not invest in this venture. I do agree the presenter clearly and articulately identifies the problem (students spend a lot of time reading and doing assignments) and offers a compelling solution through StudySoup (don't do all the work yourself, rather buy it from another student to help reduce your time spent) and compensate the student who is selling you the notes and summaries. This is where I pause, and ask myself, "Is the time invested in studying and assignments not the whole point of education?" Moral platform aside, while I agree there is always an upside in a product/solution that promises time savings or efficiency, I just can't wrap my head around this one. It's like getting a dog so you can go out walking more often, but then hiring a dog-walker. All this aside, the growth numbers are good (doubling user base and revenues quarter over quarter is astounding (and also concerning !!!)). However, the barriers to market are not identified. I'm thinking the curation of reputable content is critical, and the digital rights management of it would also be tricky -- identifying who might need/want access to it, and also, preventing aggregate distribution of said content. i.e. one student in the class purchases it for $100 but shares it with all other classmates. These are all real concerns. While I acknowledge the success in product development thinking and scaling and growth, I think there may be ethical issues here not fully explored, so I'm out on this one.

Yes, I would invest in this venture. At least, I would invest the time for a venture pitch. Pain point and solution are established, though from the elevator pitch the solution seemed more theoretical than concrete. Screen shots or video capture of the actual website would have been effective. Past financial success and future goals are also clearly established, making it hard for an EVA to pass on learning more about a venture that offers double quarterly returns. While the CEO and his partner provide that presence needed for EVAs to help gauge the credibility of the venture's leaders, there was little in the elevator pitch itself (other than past financial success) to convince me that the venturers have the ability see StudySoup through to its full potential. As well, there was no indication in the elevator pitch as to what type of competition exists in this market. That would be my primary question and concern in the venture pitch, as I seems StudySoup would quickly lose its innovative edge as more businesses try to take advantage of this market. As well, the ask and return would be forefront in my mind if I were to hear more about this venture.

Yes, I would invest my time to get a Venture Pitch from StudySoup. Actually investing is a little early to determine. Doubling revenue and subscription every quarter is very interesting, it shows interest in the product and potential, to get my money back if such growth continued. Questions that I still have are related to the percentage of revenue paid to study guide curators, how often do study guides need to be updated, are study guides for the same textbook well received by students from a different university than the creator of the study guide. I would also like to do my own research on the market place and question them against what I learn of their competitors. I did like how there was reference to saving over 100 hours in the cafeteria. To me, it related the money earned to the realities of being a student. This is a service that I could imagine using as a student (of course I'd be likely to share access among friends, hitting into revenue). In my opinion, it warrants deeper consideration. Great pain point and solution. Differentiation, marketing, competition, the ask, and the return are still unknown. The leader seems competent and seems to understand students. I definitely took the bait from this hook.