Noan

This is a very pertinent idea for all of us MET students... prior to learning the ropes on using Word for references and then Citethisforme I would get nailed on the minutiae of this regularly. On a personal level, the citation conventions are a bunch of hogswallop, and denote an era before hyperlinking existed (I had a great conversation about this in Text Technologies, so you threw a rock at the wrong hornet's nest). However, my bat senses tell me that it will not be changing anytime soon, and your solution is both fun and very insightful. The CYOA stories are a great platform for this, and provides good incentive to the text lovers. The ask is reasonable... it is surprising how lean you can be when you want to! As a venture I stand behind this, but don't know if engaging in this is forward thinking. The learning behind citation style is not necessarily deep learning, but does apply forms of logic and following instructions. I am just wondering whether it is worth learning if the process can be automated?

There are some really solid ideas in here. I had a similar idea when I was starting to think about my venture pitch, and was happy I did not pursue it (mine was a lot less sophisticated). I love the application of this in moving away from schools that are based on timeliness and set schedules. With a wearable like this, you could really allow kids to roam and define how they spend their day much more, since things like attendance and tracking what students are up to are automated. My concerns with the venture seemed to be highlighted in other comments... the steep price per student, competition with current guys, and issues with the optics of privacy. I don't doubt that we will see elements of this venture show up in schools in the coming decade though, so good forecasting!

Hey Briar, I think this is a very important idea,and the more we can replicate the many aspects of a conference the better received such a platform will be. It sounds like your team has a good deal of experience, and is well prepared to cover the areas needed to make this venture work. Applying an Open Access model is a great idea, particularly if you were to engage partners who are more about the dissemination of their message than the safeguarding of the IP. Monetizing this may be challenge, but I do think that you have some good numbers in terms of what you feel would be the costs associated with the development of this venture.

Hi Moumita, a quite interesting idea, and one which could have lots of promise in areas like HR. Generally, I feel that startups are lean and the people onboard are experts in what they need to do. However, they may be missing some soft-skills which would provide them opportunities to potentially work more efficiently and harmoniously. Could an LMS provide that effectively? As for the presentation, I appreciated the breakdown of what you were doing on your site, but the elevator pitch did not really sway me. I would look to get more emotion out of the viewer.

I love the notion, but also am curious how far AR can extend into primary classrooms without becoming too much of a gimmick. While the concept of the layover data is great with something like a Hololens or other wearable, there is part of me that after a couple weeks of bumping into kids face down in phones playing Pokemon GO feel that AR will need to be used efficiently, particularly with younger students where it holds that much more allure. I agree with Clay that the immediate payment per person would dissuade use, perhaps a model where they have a limited number of badges would serve better initially.

This is a well laid out idea Baljeet, and one which I could see a reason to invest. The nice thing about such a platform is that you could really employ the cloud to work on distributed systems, such as these microschools. I work at a school with the environment as a focus, and there is certainly a strong desire for such a platform. However, I would consider some other reporting tools like Freshgrade to be direct competition for some of your functionality. Likewise, I am unsure how you would compete with the DIY videos that are distributed throughout the web for diversity. If you could leverage these, that would be an ideal plan. Consider me somebody who would invest if I had some cashola on hand!

Yowser, a blend like this one could be very potent. It combines many services into a catch all. I would be very wary of connecting so many major applications to one another under one ecosystem, particularly since each of these have found successful (well, in some cases) ways to monetize their existing strategy. The pain point in these ideas is a really interesting one, and one which has lead me into education (from Marine Biology) and more immediately through the MET program. It would be great to not have to jump through so many hoops though. I do like how Mobility would allow for people to practice their skills immediately, and allow them to showcase their abilities without having recognition from an institution. However, the scope of the project is so large it would be hard for me to even consider investing in such a venture.

This is a very interesting idea... I spent a good amount of time looking at the Estimote site and could see how this may hold potential. Originally, I was unsure of what would be different between these beacons and a QR code, and I suppose they serve similar functions (although beacons push data and notifications, while you have to activate a QR). The only challenge I see with this is that perhaps we don't want students interrupted more by their devices. The market here looks positive, and with greater connectivity I could see these playing a big role bringing education outside the classroom. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Jesse, thanks for sharing your pitch. It was quite interesting to watch, and something that I am pretty sure many educators would love to see. You nailed it when you said "mobile first" experience. I have found that most LMS don't offer mobile experiences, and you really want something that brings school into the context of the mobile millenia. 

I feel that it is a challenge to recruit new schools, and would encourage your pitch to think of a strategy which offers some type of incentive to get schools on board (beyond the advantages the app could provide).

One of the biggest challenges you may face is how crowded this market is. You have LMS on one side, with thousands of options. On the other side you have Social sites popping up, with many that only a 12 year old would know. With that in mind, you would have to make a really compelling story to interest investors. 

This is a pretty impressive pitch. I really like the concept, and it seems you have etched (forgive the pun) out a niche within the note taking industry. Your visuals are really well done, and seem like the layout and design came from years of experience. Nice work!

I would invest in this application if I knew it was ready to release tomorrow. With tablets going mainstream, and devices like the Surface and iPad Pro moving off shelves, the time is now to get a good note taking application on the market. I would not feel as confident if you were to tell me that we had to wait a year to release this app, as the trends indicate a move into VR may stymie the long term growth of such an app. 

When it comes to your revenue stream, you are hitting a great option. Having the Freemium model on this is exactly what would be needed to gain users and build a community of note takers. I would suggest some social features (such as note sharing between students) could also lead to greater conversion to the paid version (lazy students will pay anything for easy outs). 

There are a couple areas which concern me though. One is that of this application targeting a more traditional format of teaching (lecture and notes), and while I can see it applied in a more broad context, I would ensure through the pitch that these other niches are highlighted. I also am cautious about Notepound not reflecting the future screen: We likely will be going smaller (phones) and VR, neither of which would necessarily be strong for Notepound. 

In summary, a super strong pitch that if realized today would be a good investment. Two years of development may sour that idea, as we are in fast changing times.