Walk With Us Project: An Indiegogo Campaign

Hi Melissa, I really enjoyed listening to your elevator pitch and reading through your venture pitch. I think that one of the interesting parts of your pitch was how you appealed to the listeners to share your idea via social media, even if they weren't able to help financially. I thought that this was an interesting idea and would likely appeal to most people who would watch your video- sharing on Twitter is pretty easy to do! Your passion for your project is also obvious and comes through- one small suggestion, I think that maybe you were reading off of a cue card for your video- perhaps consider putting the cue cards behind the camera so that you are looking up more. I found it a little distracting when you kept looking down. Other than that, I think that your pain point and rationale for your project were superb. I will certainly be sharing it on social media! Sarah

HI Melissa, great venture pitch. I really like your idea of helping the northern communities get on the map! I had not realized that even in Canada, these small communities have been left out of something so ubiquitous as googles maps, something I use every day of my life. Your venture pitch I feel is a little slow paced but is clear and to the point as to what you want and need. I like the figures you have to back up you pitch and I really like the how you can invest any amount of money as something as little as just sharing the pitch with friends. Great work.

Hello Melissa, Thank you for sharing your story with us. You gave me the impression that you are very commented to this venture. Your pro experience shows that you know what you are talking about and makes is even more credible when you explain to the viewer the issues you had and how solved it. Maybe you could have added a specific location where there were now views of that place and how it is presented now after you worked with your students. The walk with us is an actual project that needs to be continued, so it would even be more credible if you provided so examples of the work you did with your students. I wish this could be done everywhere in the world.

Hi Melissa! Thank you for sharing your venture with us. It was nice to see that this is something you have prior experience in, as that really adds to your credibility and speaks to your experience running such campaigns. Including links to the previous campaigns also gives potential investors a clearer idea of how the initiative would be received. You identified a clear pain point, and a way to meet demand while building skills in students. In regards to the investors; are you just looking for financial support through the kickstarter campaign, or also investment firms, tech trainers to join you at the workshops, sponsors, etc. ? I think it was great of you to show how the cost of the initiative is calculated (nice transparency!), but the math was a bit confusing. You counted two tripods and cameras, but the net price was that of one of each unit? Additionally, in the FAQ section, there is some inconsistency in terms of ‘I’ and ‘we’—are you taking on this venture alone or with a team? Overall, I think your reliability and thoroughness would make potential investors genuinely consider investing in your idea. Personally, I hope to see this spread to indigenous communities outside of Canada in the future! Thanks again!

FEEDBACK: Hi Melissa, it is so evident from your pitch your commitment and passion for this venture. The story is inspiring and showcases what we can do to move towards reconciliation. To make your pitch even more appealing, I would have loved to see an example of the work your students are doing with story telling. I think the focus is not so much to make the northern regions of Ontario visible on street view, but to connect those regions with authentic stories. I found myself digging around your site looking for such a video where as I navigate through the northern regions, I get audio on the history of the land. Perhaps you have a link to such a thing and I have missed it! What a wonderful idea you have here and I can't wait to see it grow more!

Hello Melissa, Your idea is very well thought out and it looks like others have already supported you based on your preliminary presentations and efforts. I hope that this course has helped you to refine your pitch and idea so that even more people get excited and invest in this very important work you and your students are doing. From a business point of view, I can’t help but think about how this project and Marc Tavares’s NeighbourhoodAR idea could support each other. I wonder if there is a way to take what your students are doing and turn it into something that other students could do in other regions of the country so that they could share stories and connect with each other in an innovative way? Let me know when you launch and I would love to support the project both financially and through social media. It is apparent that you believe in and are passionate about the cause and that quality is hard to ignore when investing in a venture.

Hi Melissa, awesome idea to get students engaged with technology and in a way that is meaningful and authentic to their own experiences. It also encourages these students to become "prosumers" of content rather than being simple consumers. I enjoyed that this is a project you've already had previous experience working with, and are continuing to pursue (as well as a detailed cost breakdown, as yours is one of the only projects I've seen with such a detailed breakdown!)

Such a fantastic idea. And so viable in the educatinal market in Canada. First Peoples' perspectives are built into curricula across the country, so having an opportunity to do something like this rather than another project on a First Nation would be a welcome change. And just from a production standpoint, the connection you have to the material really comes off and lends a great deal of credibility to your pitch. Sarahs everywhere would be into it. And so would I.

Hey Melissa - great venture both in terms of the presentation and the idea. The story reminds me of the William Gibson quote: "The future is already here - it's just not very evenly distributed." I'd imagine that not showing up on street view maps would increase a sense of isolation - which is contrary to the idea that the internet and social networks bring us together. I look forward to seeing the official campaign on Indiegogo.