NIBBLEBYTE: Seed Crowdfunding for Women Technologists

Hi Henna, I really enjoyed the 12 slides of the Venture Pitch and how it was presented. The images you used were creative and easy on the eyes. Your statement in the beginning that women are, "under-represented and underfunded" is eye opening. It's a true fact but many of the times it is ignored or forgotten. I think the Elevator Pitch was slightly longer than the others, which made it harder for me to stay engaged. However, having you as the face for the Elevator Pitch, made it more convincing and it was powerful than if you had used animation.

Henna what a great solution to a bias that as you say even women have just gone along with. I think in today #metoo climate the spotlight on women's role and place in the world is shining brightly. This crowdfunding initiative would be a great start to equity of venture capital and gender in business. I wonder how the male dominated market would take to being a part of this initiative? I think you make an extremely compelling argument and I like the personal insertion into the project. The graphics in the venture pitch are really a great example of elevation of an idea through visuals. I think the scrolling bar in your elevator pitch was good in some places but got distracting in others, perhaps a more measured approach to its use would make it more effective. Over all this is great idea and you are very persuasive.

Henna, I found your elevator pitch to be interesting and I really had to question my own bias. I enjoyed the fact that you weren't asking me for any money with the Crowd sourcing platform, and that you are trying to solve an issue that presently exists with women representation in the Tech Sector. I think if we are trying to empower women and look at giving money solely to women in tech with your crowdfunding, then perhaps the money should be only provided by women? I think the social enterprise of NibbleByte being for women by women would create additional value. Additionally, from a VC standpoint, would you care what gender is behind the product/service, as long as you have a solid business plan and a product that is going to be feasible? As a Dragon's Den fan, and after watching your pitch, I did more research on the show's Canadian female Tech savy capitalist- Michelle Romanow. It would be interesting to hear her take as a female who has had to go through the corporate world and tech world as a female. Does she care more about the balance of gender in Tech and business? Or more about a good idea, growing an idea, and making money? I think business is hard and can be ruthless for any gender and we do need to make a better effort to increase your provided statistic of "5% of Canadian tech companies have a female founder". But I would argue we need to do more early on with young females in tech education and business education so we can increase those numbers.

FEEDBACK - Good presentation and pitch Henna. Your elevator pitch clearly articulated a problem and solution. I would agree that it might need to be a little more concise to have maximum impact. I agree that the crowdfunding model has been hugely successful so far (kickstarter, indigogo) to name a couple and I think it is particularly effective for social-enterprises and are attractive for those who want to see change in the world. Great work!

Hi Henna, I really enjoyed your pitch and your product. While the elevator pitch was a bit lengthy, I really enjoyed the statistics and how clearly they identified the problem. Personally, I was quite shocked and immediately after had a "I need to invest in this" moment. Possibly due to the fact that I could relate as a female technologist but also due to your knowledge and clearly having done your research. I do agree with Molly that a bit more information on your differentiation from the competitors would add more value, but I thought your pitch was well done overall.

Henna, I was very impressed with your pitch! Thanks for addressing such an important issue and coming up with a potentially viable way forward. I disagree with Ryan about the length of the elevator pitch being an issue. I think the whole idea of your venture is that women need to be seen, heard and finally occupy some space, and I feel your elevator pitch served that purpose while being informative and engaging. You come across as having the skills, experience and passion to be an ideal founder for this venture. I found the slide deck accessible and well organized. I think it would be helpful to provide more info about the competitors and further differentiate your venture.

Hi Hanna. I really like the idea in your pitch. Overall my impression is that you've created a really convincing and polished assignment. I think your elevator pitch would benefit from editing. It's almost 3x the length of what it should be and it loses a lot of the impact and excitement that a quick high energy elevator pitch is supposed to generate. I was really mad at myself after reviewing your assignment because I regret not using more visuals. I know this will sound superficial but graphs/charts/diagrams just make things look more professional. They visuals are high-impact and communicate quickly. They make your ideas stand out in a crowd full of long videos and text heavy presentations. I think a little extra elaboration however would be helpful explaining some of your slides. I wonder if you had chopped down your elevator pitch video to one minute if that content would have fit better embedded throughout the venture pitch?