R. Stefan

Thanks. I wasn't able to identify any direct competitors, but I'm sure more searching could turn something up.

I wouldn't be targeting Discovery or National Geographic videos - those are easy enough to find. I'm more interested in the videos produced by all the people who do short videos explaining a particular concept in the hopes of attracting potential clients for their tutoring services. These people are looking for ways to distinguish themselves and are more likely to want a good independent review they can refer to.

Hi Galina,
You're absolutely right about building my own credibility first. That is something I struggled with myself.

One way to do that would be to post my own videos and make sure they were of excellent quality, but then I would be putting myself into direct competition with the people that I want to be my clients. I would also become a smaller-scale version of Khan Academy - not the best place to be.

I'd be curious to hear any suggestions.

I understand what you mean. This is precisely why I stayed away from checking the videos for "fit" - if I did that, I would be removing the teacher from the equation and my venture would be no different than Khan Academy. It's not a terrible thing to be, but there is already a big player in that market and I doubt I'd be able compete (or even interested in competing with them).

All I'm trying to accomplish is remove some of the frustration and wasted time on your end, when you're trying to identify and narrow down your choices of videos for use in your own lesson plan.

Hi Wanyi,
Yes, a google search will give you a list of content (just like my service would). The difference would be, that google doesn't filter content by accuracy, quality or usefulness - my service would. So, I think using my service would help you find what you want more quickly.

Hi Coleen,
I don't intend to process 60hrs of content per minute - that figure is there to illustrate the enormity of the challenge of finding content on youtube. The plan is to be selective and identify individuals who want to monetize the content they post. These individuals have the most to gain from an independent service that can verify and certify it as accurate. Once that badge of approval is there, it would be easier for those searching to find the content that is more likely to be useful for them.

The playlist idea has some merit, and it may be something that I could consider, but my initial goal with this was to simply identify content that is "trustworthy" and let educators, parents, students decide how they would arrange that content. I would solve your art class problem by having a searchable database that would allow you to find quality content that could be of use to you, but in the end, you are the best judge of how and which order you would want it presented.

Hi Britt,

Since you are writing about an already existing enterprise, I suppose your pitch is going to be a bit different. But, I will comment on your pitch using the same criteria that I've used for all the other pitches I've gone through thus far.

I like the fact that you're presenting a product that is at or near completion - it makes it easier for investors to understand what they're investing in. But, I think because of that, you focused your pitch on the product with the assumption that the pain point is clearly apparent. In fact, it's really difficult to find any real discussion of the problem your venture is trying to address, and thus it's hard to know how much demand there might be for your product.

While your pitch does go into some detail about your market situation, there are few hard numbers to give an investor any idea of the size of the market that can be tapped. Additionally, I would have liked to have seen a closer comparison between your venture and BCLN (your closest competitor). BCLN claims to offer 60+ online courses (substantially more than your venture), so they probably shouldn't be dismissed because "their math curriculum is not as robust or reliable in transfer to various LMS platforms." This is something that could be potentially remedied in the near future, and then your stated competitive advantage would vanish. This would be a worry for a potential investor. It may be worthwhile for you to identify some other points of differentiation, to make your venture more appealing.

One of the strengths of your pitch also comes from the fact that it's an established venture. You are able to provide details of a licensing and remuneration structure that you already know works. I think this might be something that would count in your favour - it means you've already identified what your customers (and contributors) are willing to accept as a fair amount. So, there won't be any experimentation and false-starts.

Overall, the venture seems to be sound, but I don't think I would be willing to invest without knowing more about the size of the market and potential for growth. 10% of overall sales may sound good, but only if there are lots of sales.

A Correction:
On slide 15, you say: "In 2015, we sold 17, 500 licenses...", but the graph on slide 17 shows that you have actually sold 17,500 licenses over the past 10 years. Assuming the graph is right, the statement on slide 15 might give potential investors unrealistic expectations of growth.

Hi Edwin,

I liked your videos. You have identified a very interesting pain point and made a good case for why it's important. Your solution seems to be fairly innovative and seems likely to fill a need quite nicely. Your team seems like it should have enough expertise (although it's not clear what kind of a doctor Dr. McMurray is - you mention no clinical experience), and you seem fairly passionate about this venture.

The product demo, the presentation of the pricing structure, and identifying your partners really helps make this venture feel like it's close to completion and just needs a quick infusion of cash to finally get it out there. There are, however, a few things about your pitch that could use some work.

1. Your Market Opportunity section seems to be aimed at the wrong audience. You seem to be trying to convince governments or administrators of the importance of this issue and the need to deal with it. It sounds a bit like a sales pitch - it's not a bad one, so save it for later. Your discussion of the "market opportunities" tells potential investors very little about who might be buying your app, and the potential for sales.

2. Your "ask" is very vague. It's not clear how much you need to get your app onto the market, or how soon an investor can expect a return on their investment. Additionally, you make it sound like the success of your product is dependent on government funding (you warn of imminent "drastic healthcare cuts") and may be unintentionally undermining your pitch.

Hi Galina,

You seem to have identified a very valid (and also sad - this should not be happening) pain point, but as an EVA, I would not invest in your venture. Maybe it's just my lack of experience with the business world, but I really didn't see how your solution differentiated from the other, already pre-existing tools - they all seem to be good for networking and potentially finding mentors or funding.

It sounded like you want to create a university-specific social network, which caters to the needs of entrepreneurs within the business program. But you also want to extend membership to the whole university in a later phase. There may be limited interest in your network outside of the business student community, so I feel like this is unlikely to result in much growth except within the business college.

Hi Jason,

Wow! What a fantastic idea!

I enjoyed your venture pitch. The pain point was well defined and your solution seemed to be well thought-out. Additionally, you presented yourself as a credible and capable CEO.

While the venture concept isn't too original - there is already a similar app out there - you seemed to differentiate your product well from the alternatives. Yes, such stories could also be created by anyone with a wordprocessor, but it's clear that your product would be a more preferable option for many.

Your projected revenues seem reasonable based on the market size numbers you quoted (and those were only for Canada and US - imagine your market if you manage to get a few translations done!). The fact that you already have this product, tested but in a different format, makes the venture much closer to being ready for "prime-time." It truly does seem like an investor, who could lend you some expertise with launching apps on multiple platforms, could find this a very compelling opportunity to gain a decent return while also supporting a very beneficial project.