What I Have Learned
Creating a pitch for a venture was an instructive activity. My experience with it has taught me a number of things. Firstly, Assignment 3 in particular and ETEC 522 in general have shown me the technical elements of a pitch. Secondly, I have a new understanding of the difficulties and benefits of entrepreneurial endeavours. Lastly, I have been exposed to the broad range of possibilities that exist in the realm of educational ventures.
Creating my own venture pitch was the culmination of the lessons learned throughout ETEC 522. I had a vague vision of what it takes to pitch an idea. I understood that it was vital to hook your audience in the first few seconds but never realized how technical yet broadly comprehensible a well crafted elevator pitch could be. I learned to recognize and illuminate a pain point, to differentiate my product from its competitors, to market or recognize possible markets, to highlight one’s skill and competence, to craft an ask and forecast a return. I admit, my knowledge of some of these elements is more superficial than others but my awareness of them all has made me a better entrepreneur already.
However, taking on the task of creating a venture pitch made me appreciate the challenges that entrepreneurs face. My venture was fictional but I nevertheless experienced the difficulties, if only imaginary, of projecting numbers that potential investors will require. Furthermore, I see how developing a competent team would prove to be a vital aspect of creating confidence in a venture. Basically, I had to ask myself at various stages, why would anyone want to invest in this? I am currently developing a venture with a colleague that I declined to use for my venture pitch. Nevertheless, this experience has given me insight into the numerous and varied hurdles that we will have to navigate in order to make our brainchild succeed. The detailed and constructive feedback that I received from my peers was instrumental in this new understanding.
Finally, Assignment 3 allowed me to see the incredible creativity of our cohort, opening my eyes to the vast range of possibilities that exist in education. Some of my peers introduced me to niche markets I had never considered. I was struck but how some ventures solved problems so elegantly that I was surprised the solution hadn’t already been patented. Perhaps that shows the power of a pitch to create the sense that the product or service is imperative to the industry.
I took ETEC 522 because I see promise in private innovators to change the entrenched institutions for the better. It may be some new gadget or a new service that will launch us into the new paradigm. I am reading Kevin Kelly’s new book “The Inevitable” where he outlines the broad trends that he predicts will shape the next 30 years. As a preface he talks about how impossible the internet seemed to people 30 years ago. A resource with virtually any information that virtually everyone can access for virtually free? He says, “Right now, today, in 2016, is the best time to start up. There has never been a better time with more opportunities, more openings, lower barriers, higher benefit/risk ratios, better returns, greater upside than now.” That is a strong reason to take the lessons of ETEC 522 and apply them in my own endeavours in the near future.
Kelly, K. (2016). The Inevitable.New York: Penguin Group
Creating my own venture pitch was the culmination of the lessons learned throughout ETEC 522. I had a vague vision of what it takes to pitch an idea. I understood that it was vital to hook your audience in the first few seconds but never realized how technical yet broadly comprehensible a well crafted elevator pitch could be. I learned to recognize and illuminate a pain point, to differentiate my product from its competitors, to market or recognize possible markets, to highlight one’s skill and competence, to craft an ask and forecast a return. I admit, my knowledge of some of these elements is more superficial than others but my awareness of them all has made me a better entrepreneur already.
However, taking on the task of creating a venture pitch made me appreciate the challenges that entrepreneurs face. My venture was fictional but I nevertheless experienced the difficulties, if only imaginary, of projecting numbers that potential investors will require. Furthermore, I see how developing a competent team would prove to be a vital aspect of creating confidence in a venture. Basically, I had to ask myself at various stages, why would anyone want to invest in this? I am currently developing a venture with a colleague that I declined to use for my venture pitch. Nevertheless, this experience has given me insight into the numerous and varied hurdles that we will have to navigate in order to make our brainchild succeed. The detailed and constructive feedback that I received from my peers was instrumental in this new understanding.
Finally, Assignment 3 allowed me to see the incredible creativity of our cohort, opening my eyes to the vast range of possibilities that exist in education. Some of my peers introduced me to niche markets I had never considered. I was struck but how some ventures solved problems so elegantly that I was surprised the solution hadn’t already been patented. Perhaps that shows the power of a pitch to create the sense that the product or service is imperative to the industry.
I took ETEC 522 because I see promise in private innovators to change the entrenched institutions for the better. It may be some new gadget or a new service that will launch us into the new paradigm. I am reading Kevin Kelly’s new book “The Inevitable” where he outlines the broad trends that he predicts will shape the next 30 years. As a preface he talks about how impossible the internet seemed to people 30 years ago. A resource with virtually any information that virtually everyone can access for virtually free? He says, “Right now, today, in 2016, is the best time to start up. There has never been a better time with more opportunities, more openings, lower barriers, higher benefit/risk ratios, better returns, greater upside than now.” That is a strong reason to take the lessons of ETEC 522 and apply them in my own endeavours in the near future.
Kelly, K. (2016). The Inevitable.New York: Penguin Group