Cris

FEEDBACK: Hi Joyce. The presentation of your pitch is very well done. I thought you very effectively utilised images and icons to convey your message. Your use of statistics to support personalised learning is also very powerful. The breakdown of what you would do with the money through a three phase plan was another strong point of your pitch. While your pitch explains personalised learning as similar to the suggestion ads that appear when we visit websites, I did not fully understand how the learning would be personalised for students. How does the software personalise content that the teacher has selected? Furthermore, the images in your pitch were primarily of very young students whereas online or self-directed learning is often targeting towards an older student population who can work more independently. While I do feel the checklist element of students seeing clear progress through a course could be motivating for some students, I am not sold that choosing their topic alone will motivate students to learn. Finally, is the $1200 per year subscription fee per teacher? Per school? Per class? Would you consider a Freemium approach to attract teachers? I like the concept of personalised learning for students, but would need further clarification before considering investing in the venture.

REVIEW: Hey Vibhu. I think you identified a definite pain point for educators. Not only is this an issue for online learning, but I sometimes find it difficult to monitor students’ work habits in my face-to-face 1:1 laptop environment. I often catch students ‘window switching’ as I circle the classroom. I currently use the “DraftBack Chrome Extension to review my students’ work in Google Docs. However, it would be great to be able to view students’ progress on other webpages. This is not always necessary, but would be nice to have as an option if I think a student is regularly off-task. Are the feeds only live? Or can a teacher rewind to a certain point to view what a student was working on? Your idea reminds me of the projection mode on computer lab desktops that allowed me to view any student’s screen on my own monitor or broadcast my screen to my students’ computers simultaneously. I think what was missing from your Venture Pitch were the financials: How much are you looking for from investors? What would the return be? I fear your direct competition would be plugins such as Chrome extensions which are free to teachers. Who would you target in your marketing? Teachers? Schools? Parents? As an EVA, I would be interested in further discussing some of the details of this project as I think the idea is a good one and has growth potential in the online learning sector.

FEEDBACK: I am glad you included an example of how the app works, as I was not able to see the value in the app at first. I think adding a few more examples of recommendations may better help me understand the app’s potential. In your video you mention the premium version would allow users to purchase equipment directly. However, I feel this could be an important revenue stream for the app. Advertisements could be a way to fund the app and has the potential to be mutually beneficial if they are related to the product the app’s healthcare professionals are recommending.

FEEDBACK: Hi Jason. I like the concept of your app but am concerned about the limited market that may be available. You identified your target market as the family members of those with Autism. However, I wonder if governmental agencies would be a place to target? My sister is a public health nurse who works with adults with special needs. She seems to piece together plans and instructions for her clients from various sources as she does not have access to a software like the one you describe. It may be a hard sell to land a contract with a government agency, but I see it as a place where this software could succeed.

FEEDBACK: Hi Andrew. I really appreciate the design and organisation of your lessons - especially the visual course outlines. As an investor, I am unclear how much money you are asking for and what the return would be. I assume the investment is for you to quit your teaching job to pursue this venture full-time? If this is the case, I feel I would need a more substantial proof of concept - I want to know that you have enough lesson ideas to pay back my investment and turn a profit.

FEEDBACK: I think you identified a paint point most educators have likely encountered. However, I believe you are journeying down a difficult road in determining what a “quality” video consist of. Who will be responsible for rating the videos? How will you ensure they are being rated appropriately? What is the criteria for rating videos? Are the ratings done manually? If so, how many raters will be required to rate the millions of videos on YouTube? Would TeacherTube be a direct competitor for your company?

REVIEW: Very authentic elevator pitch! I thought the format was fantastic. I also appreciate that you identified the investor and what they have to bring to the table if they choose to invest. In your venture pitch, I thought the explanation of the app as a sort of digital plaque was an effective way to understand the space AR could fill. This was especially impactful when you discussed how resources could be differentiated to suit the needs of the clientele. Some questions I had: Who would be responsible for populating the app with information? If the onus is on the destination companies, would this deter small companies from utilising the app? If there any form of customer training or help line available? The beta survey results regarding the focus group’s attitudes towards the app’s advertising was crucial for correlating the app idea with the revenue stream. As an avid traveller, I know I am much more likely to purchase a souvenir if I have a connection to the place or story that the item prompts. The connection between engaging visitors in the information about the attraction and purchasing of merchandise has been made clear. It’s a strong selling point that the facilities themselves have an invested interest to encourage visitors to download the app. As an EVA, I would consider investing in this idea. I think I would have been more swayed if you had discussed the future and potential of AR. In Hong Kong, I know this is a booming industry as interacting with AR advertising becoming a daily occurrence for those in the city. Nice job.

I really like the digital magazine program you used - I will definitely look into it for my personal use. I thought you did a good job outlining the paint point. Gamification and a focus on increased student motivation are hot topics right now as outlined in the Horizon Report and various other ed tech trend reports (including Ambient Insight as your report mentions). In addition the providing the amount being ask of investors, your report also outlines the expenses of the company, which is helpful for me as an investor. Also, I appreciate the tagline “Gameful Design Platform” as it succinctly summarises the product. However, I am hesitant about ClassCraft as a direct competitor to your company. You have differentiated yourself from ClassCraft by providing a wider arrange of tools and a more teacher-friendly platform. However, with ClassCraft regularly improving their platform, I feel they would have a head start over your company for making these improvements. They also have the first to market advantage and have established a strong following over the past few years. 3D Hive may be another direct competitor of your company as a software that immerses students in a 3D digital world in which they complete quests and tasks set up by the teacher. My second concern is the price of the software for users. Even with the inflated budgets of international schools, 150US per class is a high cost, especially if teachers teach multiple sections. A ClassCraft subscription is 96USD per year so the interface would need to be well-designed to persuade teachers and school to shell out the money. Have you considered a Freemium business model? This may entice users to try the product. I do believe teachers are looking for accessible ways to gamify learning and would be interested in investing in this product if I had a clearer picture of what makes this software different from those already on the market.

FEEDBACK: Hi Wanyi. The visuals you have created are very well designed and easy to digest. I am definitely going to further explore the platforms you used for my own use. However, I found the pitch lacked a clear explanation of the differentiation the website offers users. With so many ELL resource sites available to teachers, I would need a clearer picture of what makes this site unique. Your pitch provides the pricing information for competitors, but I am not sure how much is needed from an investor and what the return would be.

As an Educational Venture Analyst, I would not invest in IncentivED. A valid pain point has been identified as planning engaging field trips that align to learning outcomes and core competencies is time consuming and difficult for teachers to pull off. However, I question how many educators would be motivated to create resources for the “challenges” posted on the website. Unless a teacher has already created materials for their own students that simply could be uploaded, I find it hard to imagine teachers creating content specifically for IncentivED. The closest competitor, Teachers Pay Teachers enables teachers to earn a few extra dollars on content they have already created, but I find it more difficult to imagine teachers would create content for the sole purpose of selling it on the site. Furthermore, the other competition that exists - and is not mentioned in the pitches - are the museum workers themselves. Many field trip destinations have a person on staff who can assist with coordinating and facilitating learning for students. Also, the content created by teachers would likely be specific to a grade or content area and may not apply to many other teachers. While the venture’s leader does appear to be a passionate and competent classroom teacher, he himself admits he has no business or programming experience that would be needed to get this business started. I also see a flaw in the revenue stream in the paid app that does not seem necessary for teachers to interact with the platform. As an EVA, I feel I would not get back my investment in a timely matter.