I would invest in IncetivED as a venture capital analyst, with a caveat. I would invest in IncentivED because from all the pitches available in the forum, I feel this pitch is dealing with the most popular pain point. If there is one area that I have heard teachers talking about needing improvement it is the arena of field trips. IncetivED’s ideas around crowdsourcing/funding fieldtrip projects and materials is a unique and potentially profitable venture. The caveat I would add before I fund this project would be to ask the founder of IncetivED to rethink their funding structure. In the pitch video it is mentioned that IncentivED receives 5% of the total funds raised for a project. It is not mentioned if the person creating the project receives money as well. The venture that was used as a comparison is Teachers pay Teachers, a crowdsourcing framework for classroom materials. I would think the success of Teachers pay Teachers likely is helped by the fact that users and contributors are making money. I was unclear as to what would motivate a teacher to propose a project to IncetivED, if they are receiving nothing in return. I recognize that the pain point of fieldtrips would incentivize some to create their own ideas however I feel the funding structure needs to be nuanced.
In summary I would invest in this venture due to its attempt to provide a solution to a common problem in education. I would however request that the founders look at the funding model to ensure that there are incentives for those teachers wishing to contribute content.