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Erin, I think that your work has inspired you to develop a venture for a niche market, but it will definitely succeed. I had experience in a library/reference usage "activity" in a previous MET course, and felt that this would be a more engaging and likewise motivating (due to it being GBL) for other students, especially undergrads who are learning about referencing rules. Maybe one day it will be incorporated into the MET program - I got my fingers crossed!

Noan, that was a great idea and something I want to start using (based on your rivalries you introduced, I think I'm going to use Classcraft until GENgine comes out) ASAP. The site was very easy to navigate and fluid as well, and your goal schedule is realistic too. I hope this actually comes out so I can try using it at my schools and maybe get you into the Japanese education market too!

Thank you for your input Claudia. As this is a non-profit development, there is no intention to generate income whatsoever at this moment in time. Some grants have been confirmed from local mental health groups and government affiliated organizations, but I intend to keep it small and see how well it works before considering growing, spreading it to other schools and making a proper business out of it. As mentioned in the site as well, there is no domestic competition because the topic of student suicide is culturally unaccepted, so there is a big risk but just as big potential to start this venture. If this project does grow I will definitely need to answer all the questions you brought up, so thank you for your detailed response - I hope I will be able to use your analysis for the future of Bamboo Dan!

Yuandi, you definitely nailed my concern with this venture in your comment. It's not something that people would necessarily want to invest, and it is not intended to make income. Maybe this defeats the purpose of the assignment and it being a venture as a whole, but I hope to truly make a change for the better in my and other students' lives with this project. I take your advice to heart and hope that with it I can get help from other specialists and philanthropists that would be willing to support me in this endeavour.

Moumita, thank you for your feedback and encouragement in this venture. I wasn't sure what to include in the elevator venture as it is limited to one minute, and like Professor Vogt mentioned early in the course, most of the time often fail miserably (I assume mine fits the description)! Your suggestions for interaction between other institutions and have mentors is great and one that I did not consider in this pitch - I will make sure to include that in the future of Bamboo Dan!

Thank you Mariana for your advice. The elevator pitch is in fact not really investor oriented, as for the project itself (which might have me off track for this assignment overall) - its a genuine project that I feel the need to invest my time and efforts in, and if it succeeds in its trial run at my school, maybe spread it to other Insitutes of Technology across the country or even just keep it local in my city or prefecture. I don't think nor believe that this can become a standard in Japanese educational institutions for many reasons - mainly the topic at hand itself. More data in regards to suicide in Japan would definitely be more convincing as you mention. If this project does expand in the future, I will definitely include that in its details. Here's hoping it gets that far!

Thank you for your comments Martina. Unfortunately the pressures on Asian children, and in my case in Japan, are quite unfathomable by the everyday global citizen. It is a crucial part of young lives here, yet never one discussed or even recognized as a problem. I hope that this project can serve as an outlet to make sure youth don't make wrong decisions that they will regret.

Chris, thanks for the feedback - I can understand the difficulty to understand the topic as I had to make it bare-bones for privacy purposes of the staff and parties involved right now. The problem with competition is that there is none in Japan as such support doesn't exist, but at the same time its existence in other countries might come as a source of inspiration or analysis in incorporating my own venture. I hope this project can save at least one more life in the future.

Thank you for your feedback Mark. As many others have noted, I should focus on the mental health aspect rather than trying to cover it up with academic support. My reason for doing so in the first place is the taboo nature of the theme here, but maybe going at it head on might make it more effective. Thanks for the encouragement too - I hope to make this happen!

Thank you for your feedback Baljeet. This was a difficult last minute decision to switch to this as my venture because the funding will have to be entirely internal for the trial at my own college. There was no original intention to have it spread to others institutions, but based on the results of the implementation at my current educational institution, I would have to seriously consider spreading the news of it to other places. Government grants will be the main source for the initial expansion, but it won't be much because the budget for mental health care at schools is already significantly low than other budget blocks at the Ministries of Education (federal, prefectural and municipal). I really hope I can make this project a success, even on a small scale in the near future!