manize nayani

Feedback: Hi Kendra, this is certainly a good idea and a very pragmatic concept given today's times. As an EVA I would have appreciated some more information on competitors other than Coursera. It would also be interesting to note how open MOOCs that provide free online courses and certifications would compete. Thank you!

Feedback: Hi Jessica. I enjoyed your elevator pitch--I am a PowToon fan myself and created my elevator pitch using PowToon as well. Your venture pitch is detailed and addresses all the areas a Potential investor might want to know more about including but not limited to its value to customers and investors, the product's competitive edge and the market status. As an EVA I would certainly consider investing in this venture.

Feedback: Hi Greg. I love the idea, and I certainly think it would prove to be invaluable to the students and to the teachers. Also, I like the idea of creating the venture pitch as a prototype of the actual website. I was a bit confused with the format though--the "elevator pitch" was very detailed and I initially thought it was the 'venture pitch'. As teachers are required to maintain the website (over and above all their existing responsibilities), do you foresee any challenges or resistance from them in terms of buying this product? Thank you!

Feedback: Hi Carlo, I love the vision of Kiota--it is broad and very inspiring. You did a good job of backing up your information by some reliable statistics from credible sources. You also highlighted the pain pint, the solution well along with identifying the competitors and what Kiota does differently, i.e. provide facilitation. It would have been good to know more from a business strategy perspective how the vision would be implemented. Overall, as an EVA I would certainly make a contribution to your venture.

(Feedback) Hi Carlo. Great elevator speech--had the right emotional hook at the end. Gradenetix seems like a very invaluable tool for teachers and you did a great job explaining the features of the product, the current competition and how Gradenetix differs from its competitors. I would be interested in knowing more about the learning curve for teachers, as well as how the product would be customized for diverse clientele - national and international. Also, at the risk of sounding silly I am curious to know about the 17 hrs of grading mentioned in your elevator pitch--is it 17 hrs per week? Per month? Overall, good job!

REVIEW: Hi James. In my opinion, this was one of the best-researched pitches in the forum. At a personal level, I always loved Algebra, but somehow never excelled in it. I only wish I had an app like this to practice! Your elevator and venture pitch had several strengths: 1. Examples of user interface of the actual product--brilliant idea because it is difficult to imagine what the final product would look like. Having examples of the user interface solves this. 2. Identified the pain pint and solution clearly. 3. Premium functionalities: I like the idea of unlocking premium options such as "Am I Right" and "extension questions". 4. You clearly identified the list of competitors and the competitive edge of your product, i.e. the app helps identify the nature and difficulty of the question and finds another comparable question. In terms of areas of improvement, as an EVA, I would welcome some indication of the initial investment and the expected return on investments before I reach out to click on the "Inquire" form. Having said that, I feel given your experience and your product demo, and equipped with the necessary financial information in terms of investments and ROI, I would definitely consider it as an investment opportunity.

REVIEW: Hi Robert. I think your idea is fantastic and very relevant in today's day and age. The number of students (and adults) with anxiety and other mental-health challenges is on the rise, so having a product like Healthplus is definitely invaluable. Your elevator pitch was successful in terms of quickly outlining the problem and explaining the solution as well. It had the necessary hook-- a smart-technology-based wearable combined with short bursts of learning. The learning can be audio, visual or text-based. I think you did a very good job explaining the product and its value--'complex need' vs. finite resources, student/teacher ratios, five minute reminder before activity change (that was a good one!), process of escalation, etc. While I feel that the venture pitch did an amazing job of explaining the value of the product to "customers", I think having some information on its value to "investors" would make your pitch stronger. As an EVA, I find your idea very innovative and pragmatic, but I would need information on the investment aspect such as : current market status. competitors, defining edge or unique selling point, what's the initial investment and what is the return on investment. Having information on these aspects would help me in making a decision to invest. Thank you!

REVIEW: Hi Christopher. As an EVA, your elevator pitch had me hooked for sure. You were able to effortlessly identify the pain point—tracking individual progress of personalized learning goals can be a nightmare, and how Zaffold would provide a solution—by being an infrastructure service provider that enable you to ‘access, track and report personalized learning’. Loved the green screen idea—made it look very professional. You did a good job identifying the CEO credibility in your venture pitch, which was detailed and addressed almost all the crucial areas. The information provided in the ROI, Market Focus and Offering Type was explained well, and added to the credibility of the overall pitch. There were a few areas which I feel if they were addressed would make your pitch stronger. For instance, I was not clear about the differentiation strategy. While you did talk about ‘Why is Zaffold better than the alternatives’, it was not very clear what the alternatives were? The ‘Competition’ section mentioned ‘other venture pitches in learning technology’ as competitors, but it would have been good to know if there were any existing service providers out there that could be potential competitors. In my opinion, the roll-out phases would be more relevant in the ‘Business Plan’ phase. Lastly, it would be helpful to know what the company’s strategy was on data security. I think considering that your product has great potential and provides a unique hybrid solution of a business intelligence platform and an LMS combined together, and considering the ROI, I would surely consider it as an investment opportunity. Good job!

Hi Scott. Thank you for reviewing my pitch. This is amazing feedback, and I do appreciate the critical analysis. I agree the initial investment amount seems quite low. On a personal note, I really did struggle with coming up with a number, and in the grand scheme of things I realize that financials are not my biggest strength, but something I am definitely willing to learn more about. Regarding your question on which client would be more profitable--corporate eLearning or education institutions, I would lean more towards the former. This is especially because an increasing number of educational institutions are outsourcing their content development. While working as an instructional designer in Mumbai, I was often developing content fro US-based universities--so I would definitely bet on more profits from the corporate sector.

Thank you for your feedback, Mel. That's a great question and especially considering that Rise is an already well established company out there doing some amazing stuff!