This afternoon was pitch day for companies in the 4.0 Schools' incubator. Matt Candler provided a great introduction for why these companies matter to the learning community.
Matt Candler, founder of 4.0 Schools, introducing the pitch session.
These are quick summaries of the problems the companies aim to solve and their revenue models. Founders, if you want me to add a note from any of you to any of these summaries, please tweet @makaimc or email me at matthew.makai@gmail.com.
Haystack EDU is an online platform built to solve the problem of teachers not being properly matched up with schools. The problem of mismatch between the teacher and the school is hypothesized as the primary reason teachers leave the profession. The company uses partnerships with Teach for America to draw teachers to the website. The revenue model is for schools to pay for teacher placements or an annual subscription fee.
The founder of Haystack EDU, Tom Hayes, pitching his startup.
Overgrad is a web platform built to solve the problem of students not applying to colleges that are the best fit for them. The platform creates connections creates connections between high school students with colleges. The site monetizes by charging universities for student leads. The site is launched at four high schools and has a university as its first customer.
Ryan Hock, the founder of Overgrad pitching his startup.
enrichED is an online website for schools to obtain high quality substitute teachers. The company aims to eliminate wasted student learning days due to underqualified substitute teachers. The revenue model is a pay-per-use model with an annual subscription fee for access to the site.
The founder of enrichED, Andre Feigler, pitching her startup.
read nimble is an online product that solves the problem of a lack of information and alignment on reading and common core standards, which are currently in use in 46 of 50 states. The site uses close reading to enable student learning. The revenue model is unclear as the product has not yet launched.
The founders of read nimble, pitching their startup.
mSchool (micro school) helps local community centers open accredited classrooms with technology that combines multiple adaptive personalization learning software. The software solves the problem of (mostly underprivileged) students being dramatically behind their peers in other communities from a grade level standpoint. The revenue model is to obtain state funds as accredited institutions to pay for the services provided.
Elliot Sanchez, the founder of mSchool, pitching his startup.
imagiLabs provides a product to combine exploration and educational content through a virtual story and creation of physical objects. The revenue model is to sell and then send the pieces of the physical product to parents for their children to use.
Founder of imagiLabs, pitching his startup.
The winner of the event was mSchool, who received a $25,000 prize. Haystack.edu was second, with a $5000 award.