Reflection

Initial thoughts before starting the project:

I have never considered to start my own venture. With this in mind, it was initially tough for me to think of ideas to develop into a venture pitch. To get the ball rolling, I decided to check out Kickstarter and look for Educational Technology projects that did not hit their desired funding on the platform. From there I saw Fulcrum and saw potential in it. I then decided to reimagine the project as my own. From the original Fulcrum project, I only recycled the psychometric tests and the usage of the mobile application platform.

Thoughts while doing the project:

I mainly wore the hat of a student trying to look for programs and schools to register to. I also considered my experiences as an undergraduate student looking through university websites. Overall, I found the sites to be flat and generally disorganized. I didn't like the fact that I had to be redirected to multiple webpages to find the information I was looking for. I also did not find the pre-written profiles that helpful. It definitely gave me some ideas but I wanted to talk to these people directly.

The writing of the marketing, financials, and the ask and return pages proved challenging. I had to switch hats and think as a budding entrepreneur. I also found that it takes a certain amount of creativity to weave hard business figures and statistics to make into a compelling and cohesive story to present to the investors. Professionals in the business world are expert communicators.

I decided to go simple with the Elevator Pitch. In under a minute, I think the pitch should focus on the hook, value, differentiation, and call to action of the venture. All of which I've included in my Google Slide. 

I also experimented with AI with this project. The cover photo on this website and the photo I used in my original blog post are generated by Microsoft Designer Copilot. Overall, I'm quite impressed with the level of detail in the photo knowing that it only took a few minutes to generate. I think this functionality can help small business owners with designing their logos and various marketing posters. This can definitely help cut down costs associated with hiring graphic designers. 

Thoughts after the project:

I do not have a background in business so I think a weakness in my project is the ask and return section of the website. I based my figures on the average investment range for applications in a pre-seed stage. Since this project is in the pre-seed stage, I found the return will be down the line. Providing the right support and resources is imperative to progress through the next stages of the venture capital stages. Hopefully, it will secure more funding to grow the initiative further.

This way of thinking is definitely new for me. However, this way of thinking can be surely applied to my workplace. As an instructional designer, I often deal with problems designing courseware. I am presented with a problem and I have to find ways to present the information in an engaging way. I also have to present my work to different stakeholders in the company. I have to wear different hats when crafting the message I want to convey to different groups.