Marcia

I think ssiebold has done a fantastic job of outlining some feedback for the course! I too wondered about the use of "likes" and the potential they might have in alienating students. I think a discussion around their use would be quite valuable. Regarding the "feedback opportunity" that ssiebold mentions: I absolutely agree. I found it somewhat difficult to ascertain what was expected for the OER and felt like it took quite a while to wrap my head around what it would/should look like. I think some general comments on the strengths and common pitfalls of past OERs would clarify the expectations and, as a result, "enhance the learning". I spent time looking at the previous OERs and trying to develop an understanding of what worked well and what didn't. I found that exercise highly useful, but believe my understanding would have been further developed through some instructor guidance. Overall, however, I thought the course was very well structured and it really challenged me. I now feel equipped with the skills and knowledge to consider venture in ed tech as an actual possibility, which is not something I could have said 3 months ago. Thanks, David!

P.S. I sympathize with getting your head around all of the awesome presentation tools available at the moment. There are SO many! I hope you at least enjoyed the experience of trying them out and getting a feel for them! :)

Hi A'londu, I like your idea! I have been thinking about how to set up my own ePortfolio for a while now, so this idea hit close to home. After working through your pitch, I am not entirely convinced that you have clearly articulated the market pain point and how Dig eSpace offers a novel solution, however. I would like a bit more detail on your client base, the size of the market, and Dig eSpace's market differentiation. Your Venture Pitch was well organized and the strength of the team is apparent - nice work! I believe in their expertise and ability to meet Dig eSpace's goals. I need a bit more detail about the investment ask, however. You are asking for a substantial amount considering that this venture has been in operation for 7 years. How is the $500,000 going to be spent? Overall, I think this was a good start but I have a few questions that would need to be answered before I'd consider investing.

"Venture Point" = "Venture Pitch"! :)

Hi Kamille, your Elevator Pitch did a great job of highlighting the pain point that Workforce Technology Solutions addresses and the music was quite different - I thought it stood out as original. Your Venture Point explores WTS's solution in more depth, demonstrating some need for the product. I was not clear on how WTS differs from the competition, however, and would need more evidence in this area before considering investment. There are several options out there for companies interested in moving their training online - how does WTS set itself apart? I also wanted to know more about the team's expertise, in order to establish credibility. Finally, while you are careful to note that development of the platform will be costly, I am left wondering - how costly? What are you specifically asking from me as an investor, and what can I expect in return? Overall, I thought that this was a solid beginning, but I need some more detail before I can consider investment.

Hi Christian, First and foremost - great work! I loved the "story" concept you employed in your Elevator Pitch. It really highlighted the pain point and made it easy to see why peerScholar is an appropriate solution. After watching, I was very eager to learn more. Your Venture Pitch was very detailed and well researched. I see potential for versatile applications beyond higher ed (which you mentioned in your pitch), so am certainly interested in the product and your company. In terms of constructive feedback, I felt like one area in particular required more depth: the team. I wanted to know more about each member (particularly you) and your expertise in order to establish credibility. I am wondering if perhaps you felt that this did not need to be examined in depth, considering that peerScholar is already active? I also would have liked some visual demonstration of the product in action, so I could develop a sense first-hand for how it works and "feels". Overall, I thought that this was VERY well done!

Hi mikemo44, what an interesting idea! Your pitch certainly taught me some new facts about video game addiction. I have previous experience building online CBT modules for youth with anxiety, so I personally found this very interesting. Your Elevator Pitch was engaging and I wanted to learn more about First Life after viewing. I was a bit unsure about the specifics of the service, however, and had to watch it twice in an attempt to determine if the "triangle of support" was offered entirely online, or through a blended format. I think that being explicit about that would strengthen the initial pitch. I like your narration in the Venture Pitch and felt that you did a very good job of highlighting the pain point. Some thoughts for improvement include: some more depth on the size of the market - you presented statistics about gaming, but I didn't get a great sense for how many people need this service; and some explanation of projected revenue or return on investment. Additionally, I would like to see some rationale for the decision to offer this particular service online, given the prospective client base. Lastly, I wondered - since you are marketing yourself as an experienced Drupal developer - maybe building the pitch in Drupal would be a way to explicitly demonstrate your expertise? Overall, I would be very interested in seeing a service like this come to market, but would need a bit more detail before I'd be willing to invest.

Hi Kari, Nice work! I am a real word cloud fan, so I really like this idea. I certainly see potential application in K-12, but also in higher ed and corporate. You mention this briefly in your Venture Pitch - I would have loved a bit more depth in that area. Your Elevator Pitch was clear and to the point; after viewing I was very interested in learning more about Cloudle. My only suggestion there would be to perhaps limit the on-screen text even more, particularly because your narration wholly covers the content. This may help to reduce cognitive load for the viewer. I thought your Venture Pitch was both detailed and well researched - well done! A real selling point was the strength of the team. The one area I felt needed a bit more depth was the projected sales. You state "projected sales based on market demand for year one are approximately 500" - I thought it was great that you included a projection, but it was a bit unclear to me where this number came from. As a potential investor, I would be looking for a bit more detail in this area. Otherwise, I think Cloudle sounds like a very worthy investment.

Hi Ariane, first and foremost - I really like this idea! When you explained that most goal setting is done once a year and then not looked at again, I immediately thought about when I was teaching in the K-12 school system. My faculty heads weren't equipped with the skills needed to assist me in developing SMART training goals, resulting in poor execution overall. I see potential for ProDev Planner in both the business and education sectors; you do a good job of highlighting the vast size of the market. I liked your use of TouchCast - the voting option in particular kept me engaged. This was my first time seeing UberFlip and I thought your design was polished and professional - nice work! As an investor, I am interested in your product and believe that you have a strong enough background in training and development to see this through. What are you asking from me financially, and what is the projected timeline?

Hi Rupi, I loved the music and repetition of "envision" throughout your Elevator Pitch and, at the end of the pitch, I was very interested in learning more about TalkBoard. Similar to what Mark has noted, I found that the first few slides were a bit text-heavy, however. As that might turn some potential investors off, it might be wise to move to narration, or concise, bulleted text points. I thought your Venture Pitch was detailed and it is clear that you put a lot of thought and work into the design of TalkBoard - well done! Similar to mchristian, I immediately started wondering if there might be an opportunity to market TeamBoard as an "add-on" to a SmartBoard. With so many schools already invested in their Smartboards, this might be something worth considering. As a potential investor, I also would have liked to see a bit more detail in the "Global Target" section - perhaps a specific number of schools to be targeted? Finally, I wanted to learn a bit more about you/the team and your collective capabilities and experience.