Why Invest?

revenue model

Formative uses a four-tier pricing model. The Free level provides much of the usability of the platform, and access to the public library of banked content. The authoring tools are limited, as are some of the LMS integration features, but the free mode is accessible and useable enough to generate familiarity and dependence on the product. Each step up in the pricing structure provides access to more desirable features.

The Premium level provides the full suite of authoring tools, as well as full integration with LMS systems. At this level, instructors can see the full potential of the platform.

The Team level provides private libraries for sharing of content only within a team, provides recovery of deleted material, and includes access to a Mentor, a consultant who works with the users on a personal level.

Finally, the School or District level provides a different pricing model which is more economical for more than 1000 learners.

The paid-access programs are subscription-based, paid monthly or yearly, and should provide a consistent cash flow for the company. The features list provides a compelling incentive for users to move to the subscription access levels.

Potential to expand

At the moment, Formative is targeted at the K-12 market, with adoption in over 2000 school districts. In my opinion, it could be a strong competitor in the Higher-Ed markets, and in the private, corporate-training market. They are actively expanding their market reach, into Canada and overseas.

Higher Education

For a few years, many universities in Canada and elsewhere have been promoting the use of Classroom Response Systems, to the extent that it was mandatory for students to purchase a special implement (a "clicker") for particular courses. That reliance on proprietary devices has evolved, to i>clicker and Reef, that accomplish the polling task with students' personal devices. Formative can provide that same device-tolerant polling tool, and then do so much more for the instructor, both for in-class formative assessment to online tasks.

Corporate Training

Formative's Team subscription product could be ideally-suited for the private sector, with the private libraries of assessments that can be easily shared among all trainers–who can be live in-person, or remote. The flexibility of question delivery modes, and response modes, will make it adaptable to many different businesses' training needs, customer polling, satisfaction surveys, etc.