Brian Haas

Zain, let me start by saying your elevator pitch was very entertaining. To be honest this was a problem I had no clue existed and I can see how it would benefit everyone involved. It seems to be a great business opportunity. You make clear the pain point right away and you offer what seems to be a simple solution. It makes sense to take the training of these contracted workers away from the hospital and put it back on the those who will do the work. This application of LMS learning seems very appropriate as a solution to the challenges you identified. It took me a little while into your Venture pitch to figure out who your competition was (the big name LMS companies). Maybe on the slide where you identify how you are different form your competitors you could identify who they are and why you are in competition with them. It makes perfect sense to have a company doing what you are trying with a Canadian spin (as you mentioned there are examples of this in the states) because our laws and standards would be very different. You do a great job identifying right away in your Venture Pitch why you are the guy for the job. This leads to investor confidence. I think going to Bill Gates in your elevator pitch is a good idea because he has the capacity to invent lots of money and he is a guy who cares about education and making the world better (which I get from your pitch your company does too). On the money side you make clear why you need what you ask for, but I am a little hesitant about 40% return in just one year, seems a little too optimistic. Would I invest? I think so, not the full amount, at least not right away. But after getting a few contracts with some hospitals it would be easier for me to commit the money. Great idea with great potential. Brian

Review – Hey Robert, I really enjoyed your project. Let me share with you a few of the strengths I saw throughout your presentation. Right away in your elevator pitch you drew upon initial success of App Sheet. Its is always good to use past success to add to your credibility. As an investor who wants to make money, your elevator pitch peaked my interest with the mention of a guaranteed return on investment. When your venture pitch started I liked having an outline of what you were going to present, really sets up expectations and an understanding up front. I think your greatest strength through was a solid description of the financial details of your project. Reviewing App Sheet’s initial financial details and drawing out of that the current educational income was great. Again, the details about how App Sheet scholar will make money and the details about how the guaranteed return with profit sharing will work was persuading to an investor. Where I have questions is in what App Sheet Scholar really is? I am not sure if you really identified clearly what it is. Is it a program to easily make Apps for devices or is an LMS? Or a hybrid between the two ideas? If it is a program to make apps, why do you need to tack an LMS on top of that. Seems complicated and to be honest unnecessary. Connected to this confusion my question is who are your competitors? If its LMS, the competition is huge. I think tightening up your presentation with more details about what App Sheet Scholar is and does will make it an easy sell. Good work. Brian.

Feedback – Hey Jonathan, your elevator pitch is professional quality with great visuals. The problem you identify is a real one worldwide. I know some schools in Newfoundland had been trying using a webcam with streaming software to do exactly what you are proposing here. What I like about your idea is the use of 3d cameras. Would you display content on a TV or would it be fully immersive with VR Tech? I felt that you really hit the investment nail on the head as a not for profit company looking for funds form a combination of government, educational institutions and corporate sponsorship. Also, you did a great job describing what you will do with the money. Brian

Ebru, Thanks for your compliments about my presentation. I figure my teacher side came out in that elevator pitch. I get excited some times as you can see. I appreciate your comment about my ASK. I guess I felt kind of stuck. I didn't need money to move the venture forward as Valve (Steam's parent company) is private and has tons of money. I felt like what I really needed was content and teachers. So I guess it did seem kind of markety, but I assure you, my feeling was this is an investment from them in time and effort. Thanks, Brian

Hey Scott, I loved this question you asked me: " if the success of your company is dependent on the perceived value of the content generated by users, what sort of strategies would you use to ensure that the content is good?" this is the crux of the issue inst it? If I can't get good quality content then the whole site will flop. My idea with the incentivization with stem points is to reward content that gets rated by users as valuable with more points. To potentially certify specific quality posters as maybe "partners" kind of like YouTube partners. I guess that's why when I went for the ASK I thought, I don't need money - I need good content. That I guess was the investment I was looking for. Thanks for the Feedback! Brian

Cassy, don't worry about the typos, the feedback you gave me is valuable regardless. To be honest I was a little nervous about what you would say as this idea kind of fly's in the face of your actually company and at times insults educational games (something I think was used for more dramatic flair then stating my personal beliefs). I appreciate your comment about my lact of funding ask. The reality is, as an educator with 0 business experience I just had no clue what to ask for. I mean I could have picked a random number and said - give us this and we will use it to....... you know..but I didn't feel like I needed it with the direction Valve usually goes. They have lots of money and typically stray away from public investments. But for the sake of this project I see where I should have just added it in. Thanks for your comments! Brian

Thanks Marshall. I totally get the "I've tired game based learning with some minor success". To do it right it actually takes a lot of work on the teacher side and some willingness to change on the side of the students. What I love about this idea is that its aim is to make things easier for the teacher. I think then more teachers would be willing to give it a try. Thanks for your feedback. Brian

Hey Derek, Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I've been on steam a long time and have always thought there has to be away to use this for education. I agree that there were times when it was talking to darn fast. I guess that was the challenge of fitting it into a 8 minute video. Brian

Feedback- Hey Jess, What a great idea. It kind of reminds me of having a nature guide in your pocket. You clearly identified the market potential in your elevator pitch when you pointed out the trends towards more outdoor learning paired with the lack of mobile education development in Canada. Also, your identification of how you were different form the competition is clear. This idea might sound silly, but if stressing the Canadian connection, maybe a partnership with the David Suzuki foundation would lend your company some great credibility in the eyes of Canadians. Great Work! Brian

Feedback - Love addressing the problems of the cultural underpinnings of education. I know your plan is to specifically design training for teachers to teach them have to create learning that is not stuck in the ethnocentric paradigms of the past. Specifically, though you are dealing with the challenges between western teaching in Indigenous settings. My question is, could you move this further and develop ways to help teach online (a method of teaching with no physical boundaries, but plenty of cultural ones) in a way that is open to the cultural differences in learning styles. Maybe this is too big, or a later development for third space learning. Great Work! Brian