Assessment: Viability and Projections
Assessment: Viability and Projections
Embedded Files
This page is long and has lots of information.Please take the time to review the whole page.The contents list to the right will help.Your assessment task is to create a business case for investment in a new H-Farm online learning platform.
The platform will use the technology and AI expertise of H-Farm to guide the learning program.
Your business case needs to fit into the experience, expertise and strategy of H-Farm. There are two main arms to H-Farm - Education and Business Innovation.
This is an area of interest for H-Farm, so the best submissions will be shared with Riccardo Donadon.
Page ContentsScenario
Scenario
Goal: To win funding for a new product area
Role: You are a business analyst at H-Farm
Audience: CEO and board members
Situation: You've been asked to develop a business case for a new e-learning platform to be developed in H-Farm.
Product: Analysis in report or presentation format.
Standards: Must be relevant to audience and scenario, using professional terminology.
Suggested Structure
Suggested Structure
Your business case involves an explanation of the relevant issues and an analysis of the viability of the idea, in either business report style or slide presentation with video. Here is a suggested structure that you can follow:
Should we go ahead with this idea?
Should we go ahead with this idea?
In this task, you will be answering the question - should we go ahead with this idea?
Some Issues
Some Issues
- Market Size
- Serviceable Market
- Existing Competitors
- Revenue Models
- Target Customers
- Expertise/Experience
- Existing Business
Key Decisions
Key Decisions
- Who will the platform target?
- What pricing strategies and revenue models?
- Differentiation from competitors?
- Which customers to focus on?
- Focus on the platform, the content or both?
- What courses to offer?
- How to promote the platform?
Background: e-Learning Platforms
Background: e-Learning Platforms
e-Learning / Online Learning Platforms
e-Learning / Online Learning Platforms
These platforms provide opportunities for people to learn new skills and complete courses online.
They may be single-purpose apps and websites (like DuoLingo for language), focused on similar content areas (like Code Academy for computer programming), or offer a broad range of content types (like Coursera or EdX for university style courses).
Some platforms offer "certification", such as Open Badges (https://openbadges.org/) that have some industry recognition. Other platforms include content provided by universities that can contribute credit toward a degree program. Other platforms provide learning only for interest and skills, with no certification or accreditation.
Content or Platform?
Content or Platform?
It is important to distinguish between content and platform when considering e-learning.
Content:
- the materials, information and ideas being taught/learnt in the course.
Platform:
- the suite of learning and management tools (quizzes, course management, student tracking) used to deliver content, provide feedback, and monitor progress.
Some providers create content and freely distribute it online (typically on youtube.com).
Others focus on creating content to be exclusively delivered on their own platform (study.com).
Other platforms provide the platform only, and leave instructors to create/collate content (like udemy.com).
And some platforms offer both: pre-created content AND a platform for instructors to create and collate materials for their own courses (like stileeducation.com).
We are particularly interested in the platforms that provide structure to the learning process, rather than just a series of online video tutorials. We are also interested in platforms that provide a combination of content and platform - where instructors add to the pre-made content.Some Market Information
Some Market Information
Potential Customers
Potential Customers
Our class brainstorm:
- Time Poor
- Updating Professional Skills
- New Skill Learners
- Remote People,
- Nomadic People
- Developing Countries
- Students
In summary:
- Teachers
- Schools
- Companies
- Freelancers/Professionals
- Parents/Home Schoolers
- Hobbyists/General Interest
- Students
Existing Platforms/Types
Existing Platforms/Types
Our class brainstorm
- Languages - DuoLingo, Babbel
- Tutoring - Fluentify, MyTutor
- e-Classrooms - Google, Stile
- Teacher Support - MyIMath
- Student Support - study.com
- University/MOOCs - EdX, Coursera
- General - Udemy, Code Academy
- Corporate - LinkedInLearning
There may be others.
You will need to explain the motivations (the why) of each type of customer and the different features they would be looking for when choosing an online learning platform.Market Size & Potential
Market Size & Potential
You'll need to research the size and potential of the global online learning market. Some of the links at the bottom of this page will assist.
This diagram, taken from one of those pages, provides an overview of the structure of the e-learning market.
Possible Market
Possible Market
You will need to estimate the likely size of the market that
Financial Analysis
Financial Analysis
You can access a spreadsheet with some background information for your financial analysis at this link:
To Help You Think
To Help You Think
I've created a set of notes to help you think through the issues with the business/revenue model and how it hangs off the customer group decision:
Resources
Resources
Analysis
Analysis
A very detailed sample report about the elearning industry:
Articles
Articles
An article about online learning, including some interesting numbers about the global industry:
Research Reports
Research Reports
- http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3525737
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/03/06/1748554/0/en/E-Learning-Market-to-surpass-300bn-by-2025-Global-Market-Insights-Inc.html
- https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/elearning-market-size
Corporate training market in Italy:
Statistics
Statistics
Some statistics about training and development spending by US companies on staff training:
- https://trainingmag.com/trgmag-article/2018-training-industry-report/
- https://help.td.org/hc/en-us/articles/224564028--How-much-are-companies-spending-on-training-
Population of Italy, Age Breakdown:
Startup Development Costs
Startup Development Costs
- https://alty.co/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-an-mvp-for-a-startup/
- https://medium.com/swlh/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-an-mvp-2c88016da045
Pitching Your Idea
Pitching Your Idea
Coursera Pitch Deck [Wharton].webmA video from Wharton Business School about pitching and how to make the most of your pitch.source: https://www.coursera.org/lecture/wharton-entrepreneurship-financing-profitabilty/executive-summary-and-pitch-deck-UJWVK
Interesting article about what makes a successful pitch deck (and what doesn't):
Report abuse