Reflection

This project was a fascinating experience. I ran my own home business, and am the type of person that is constantly thinking about new ventures. However, I have never created a pitch for a project. It was quite challenging to think of a concept that is not available on the market. I wanted to pick something that, as an educator, I see as a real-world problem. Professional development is a huge problem in education, and it's evident in the research and conversations I have with teachers, so this concept fit the mark for this project quite well. I struggled most the valuation and investment ask. I wasn't sure how to accurately assess the valuation of a company that doesn't exist, and I ended up using the projected gross income to calculate valuation. I honestly do think a website like this would be a fantastic one to have on the market. Currently, in my school district, we offer professional development days where the workshops are all teacher-created and teacher-led. Therefore, in many school districts, accessing a website like TeachEd would give educators the accreditation they need for professional development days. Personally, there are many areas of education that I want to learn more about, but I don't have the time to research and find the best resources to become better aware of the content. For example, the science of reading is a huge trend in education right now, and I am very curious to learn more about it. However, I don't know where to start. Imagine going to a website, searching for Science of Reading, and having a list of resources that are rated and reviewed for educators so you know where to start, and where to go, in order to learn more about areas you are passionate about.

I think a strength of my pitch is describing the problems and solutions, and how TeachEd helps to resolve many of the issues. I truly think this is a unique business idea, as there really is no competition out there for this business model.

I am not a businessperson, so the business or financial aspect of my pitch is definitely a weakness. I struggled with investor request and company valuation. I also included only one competitor. I wasn't able to find any others, but I wonder if this is something I overlooked, and there are similar concepts out there that are already flourishing. Also, with marketing, I am not sure that social media and co-marketing would suffice. Therefore, I wonder if there are other methods I should have employed.