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Business Plan Competition: finals
Sep. 23rd, 2009 10:52 pmWar stories from GenCon are coming soon... the short version is that I had a fantastic time, and that despite all the pre-con problems things ran smoothly at the event. It was also busier than last year - I'm guessing there were about 12k people over the weekend.
I flew back to Melbourne early on Monday morning, and ran around organising things for the BPC presentation. This included picking up a suit, which I was measured up for last Saturday. The other team members found it amusing (and a little horrifying) when I explained that it was probably the third time I'd ever donned such a costume. Still, I think I did a decent job of impersonating a respectable member of the business world.
Plus, you know, I was the marketing guy on the team. So I think the judges were prepared to cut me a bit of slack on that front :)
We finished our powerpoint slides minutes before heading over to do the presentation, and arrived at Ernst & Young in enough time to put down our bags and launch directly into the pitch. A bit more prep time would have been nice, but everyone knew their material.
Our business plan was called TeachMeAnywhere.com - it's an online tutoring business for Mathematics and Science, using digital pens and online whiteboard software. The pens allow students and tutors to communicate diagrams and formulae, which you can't easily draw with a mouse. We're customising our own software (to create a multi-page workbook instead of a single-page whiteboard), and the business instigator has plenty of experience in the tutoring market through his current business.
Most of the pitch went well, but we had a technical disaster when trying to demonstrate the technology - when connecting to our missing team member (who was in Boston, staying up very late...) the pen didn't work at all. There was a backup plan available, but it highlighted an important point: that the technology is still in development. I hope that won't be the only impression that we left the judging panel with.
The judges had an impressive list of qualifications: senior partners at Ernst & Young; the Director of RMIT Vietnam; technology investors; strategic planning consultants. We didn't receive any questions about our market research or marketing plan, which were my main contributions. Hopefully that means I explained things clearly enough in the presentation. Instead, there were a few questions about business structure and legal issues (which will have valuable input into shaping the business), and a question on the technology itself.
Then I met up with Louise, and we headed home to recover from a hectic weekend. Neither of us have had more than three hours' sleep a night, over the last week. Sleep deprivation took its toll, Tuesday passed in a haze, and suddenly it's Wednesday night.
I flew back to Melbourne early on Monday morning, and ran around organising things for the BPC presentation. This included picking up a suit, which I was measured up for last Saturday. The other team members found it amusing (and a little horrifying) when I explained that it was probably the third time I'd ever donned such a costume. Still, I think I did a decent job of impersonating a respectable member of the business world.
Plus, you know, I was the marketing guy on the team. So I think the judges were prepared to cut me a bit of slack on that front :)
We finished our powerpoint slides minutes before heading over to do the presentation, and arrived at Ernst & Young in enough time to put down our bags and launch directly into the pitch. A bit more prep time would have been nice, but everyone knew their material.
Our business plan was called TeachMeAnywhere.com - it's an online tutoring business for Mathematics and Science, using digital pens and online whiteboard software. The pens allow students and tutors to communicate diagrams and formulae, which you can't easily draw with a mouse. We're customising our own software (to create a multi-page workbook instead of a single-page whiteboard), and the business instigator has plenty of experience in the tutoring market through his current business.
Most of the pitch went well, but we had a technical disaster when trying to demonstrate the technology - when connecting to our missing team member (who was in Boston, staying up very late...) the pen didn't work at all. There was a backup plan available, but it highlighted an important point: that the technology is still in development. I hope that won't be the only impression that we left the judging panel with.
The judges had an impressive list of qualifications: senior partners at Ernst & Young; the Director of RMIT Vietnam; technology investors; strategic planning consultants. We didn't receive any questions about our market research or marketing plan, which were my main contributions. Hopefully that means I explained things clearly enough in the presentation. Instead, there were a few questions about business structure and legal issues (which will have valuable input into shaping the business), and a question on the technology itself.
Then I met up with Louise, and we headed home to recover from a hectic weekend. Neither of us have had more than three hours' sleep a night, over the last week. Sleep deprivation took its toll, Tuesday passed in a haze, and suddenly it's Wednesday night.
