Post on 05-Aug-2020
Demos, Pitching, Troubleshooting
Objectives
What makes a good demo video
How to develop an outline for demo video
Practical tips on how to create a demo video
Demo Requirements
Video can be up to 2 minutes
Clearly demonstrate the app functionality
Highlight the unique features of your app
Focus on the user interface, show navigation
Judges will be using this video to understand how your app works and how a user will experience it
The video must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo and URL shared in your Technovation submission. Can be private or unlisted, only people with the URL can see it.
Inspiration - Previous Submissions
Team Byte Me - My Nurse (2014)Good use of speeding up the video to demonstrate all the features
Northgate STEM - Unwind (2014)App gives good help text that shows the features of the app without needing narration
Team AMEKA - Safe Guard Driving (2015)Thorough walk through and good use of video editing
.comPote - Active Citizen (2016) Narration is clear and concise; efficiently goes through all the app features
Activity: Planning Your Demo
How should your video start?
How should your video wrap up?
What features should you emphasize?
What methods should you use to convey your message?
5 Minutes
Create a Storyboard
Introduce the app - 1-2 sentences
Introduce the solution your app provides -explain what your app does, demonstrate the features using the technical checklist.
Prove that it works - show it the way a user might interact with it.
Note: If your app is not complete, that’s okay! Show off as much as you can.
Have a script
Know what you want to say
Have your key points written out
Evolve your script as you get more things working in your app
Producing Your Demo
Screenshots – take a few high quality screen shots to show details or zoom in on areas
Screen recording – video your app being used. Use your finger to guide viewer’s attention
Demonstration – you can put in a short skit or other aids to show how and why a user would interact with the app
Finishing Touches
Create a voice over to explain your demo
Edit, revise and improve your demo
Show it to your mentor, friends, family, potential customers
Refine based on their feedback
Upload final video to Youtube or Vimeo
Share on your Technovation submission
Pitching
Creating a Pitch Story & Video
• A pitch is how you try to persuade someone to buy or accept something.
• All teams submit a pitch video.
• You will also prepare a live pitch for the Toronto competition May 4
• Your pitch tells the story of how your app started as an idea and became a business.
Elements of a pitch
• Problem: Identify the problem and who has it
• Solution: Describe your solution
• Target market: Who your customers are, how big the market is
• Competition: Why yours is the best solution
• Team: Who you are, what role each of you have
• Financial & Milestones: How you plan to make revenue. What your revenue opportunity is. If you are a non-profit, why you chose it and how you would get funding
How do you make a great pitch?
• Start with a hook to grab people's attention
• Tell the story of your app
• Why you chose this app, why would
customers use it
• Sell the story of your company
• It is worth investing in us because …
Tell a real customer story
Pare it down to the essentials
Outline your business model
Make sure its clear
Talk about your team
Address competition head-on
Give the numbers that are behind your numbers
Engage your audience
Previous Finalists
• California Coders - Loc8 Don8 (2016)
• Clearly defined problem and solution
• Dharvi - Girls for Change (2015)
• Compelling story & illustration of problem
• Team Ștefănești - Apă Pură (2014)
• Great introduction to the problem and good use of graphics, smart use of subtitles
• Nightingale - Arrive (2013)
• Good use of narration and explanation of how the app works
• FieldTripper - FieldTripper (2014)
• Clear arguments for the app, good use of interviews
• Team Charis - Discardious (2015)
• Nice graphics and images, good enunciation, passionate, and speaks to the camera
• Northgate STEM - Unwind (2014)
• Well organized and gives very compelling argument that is easy to understand
Watch at home and reflect
• What makes their pitch stand out?
• Is their message strong? Is it clear?
• Does the team seem knowledgeable? Have they done their homework?
• Do they clearly explain why their app solves their problem?
• Does the team portray confidence? How?
• Does the video make you believe their business will succeed?
• Was their video easy to understand and clearly organized? Why?
Writing a script
• Hook – A strong opening that is attention grabbing => makes viewers pay attention.
• Problem & Solution – Cover the elements with supporting evidence
• Call to Action – Close strong – Excite them with what’s next or ask the viewer to do something -- invest in your business or join your team!
Activity: Storyboard
Storyboardin the workbook
Pitch Video Requirements
● Up to 4 Minutes long with all team members speaking
● The video can be any format the team wants: skit, slides, testimonials from users
● The video must be uploaded to youtube or vimeo, and the link must be shared through
the Technovation submission platform
Tips for a great pitch video
• Make sure everyone is loud and clear.
• Have a strong opening.
• Speak clearly and confidently.
• Use open body language, large gestures
• Show us the problem (and your solution). Don’t just tell.
• Make eye contact with the camera.
• Use a script.
• Dress for success.
• SMILE! Be proud of your work.
Filming
• Sound quality
• Choose a quiet location. Test your sound quality.
• Lighting
• Use plenty of light so the subject is well lit.
• Background
• Make sure it does not distract from your subject
• Think about adding visuals or voice over to your video
Editing
• Leave time for video editing!
• You’ll want to revisit and revise until you are satisfied with the final product.
• If you make the semi-finals the pitch video is one of the most important messages that your judges will take from your project.
Prepping for Live Pitch
Create a Pitch Deck
Small number of slides focused on essentials
1 slide per topic – readable and engaging
Rehearse to build confidence
Practice answering questions
Relax and have fun!!!
Keep it Simple Rule
No more than 10 slides
30 Point font
Use visuals
Make it engaging
The Beginning
Title Slide
app logo, team name, mission
Problem/Opportunity
Describe your problem and solution
Use a visual, tell a story
Value proposition
Why your solution is unique and solves the problem
Strong Opening
Ask a Question.
“Have you ever tried to find a great babysitter?”
Imagine.
”Imagine for a moment that you could not afford lunch”
Statistics.
“Did you know that 20% of homeless are youth…”
The Middle
App solution
Describe your app and features
Business model
Who are your users and how will you make money
Market Plan
How will you reach your customers
Competitive Analysis
Who are competitors and why are you better
The End
Team
Your team roles, your advisors
Projections and milestones
Your current status, next milestones
Senior team your financial projections
Close
Get your message across one last time
Ask your audience for funding, help, use your app
Build Your Confidence
Practice pitching
Have friends and family ask you questions
Pitch to a mirror
Get your mentor
feedback
Handling Questions
Practice getting questions
Listen
Don’t get defensive
If you are not sure what the judge is asking, clarify
Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know
“I don’t know that answer, but what I can tell you is …
Remember
No matter what happens you and your team are AWESOME
Activity
Practice pitches
Submissions
April 23 deliverables
• 2 Screenshots of your app prototype
• Source code for your team’s app (3-4 functional screens)
• Pitch Video on YouTube under 4 minutes
• Demo Video on YouTube under 2 minutes
• 100-word app description - typed and in PDF format
• Technical checklist with a sentence description of each item +
Photo of pseudocode and workflow
• Senior Team Only Business plan – typed and in PDF format
• Team photo
Judging Rubric
Judging Rubric (2)
Check your teams
All team members should now be on the team
All team members must have permission forms signed
Mentors should join the teams
Any team member can upload items for the submission
Submission
Upload your videos to youtube IN ADVANCE!!!
Save your business plan as a pdf
Get your code ready
Thunkable Pro – Share a link to your Thunkableproject
App Inventor export your .aia and upload it
technovation@womenpoweringtechnology.org
How to Submit
Use My Team's Submission page
In the submission forms for multi-line text, just write a few sentences!
App Description should be short and readable
Tech. Checklist Explanations just need a sentence “we used tinywebdb to store users”
Upload pictures of your app, pseudo code, flowchart
Upload your business plan, code, video links
Review submission to make sure it is readable
Submission Dates
Start your submissions early
Do NOT leave everything to April 23rd
Join the Toronto pitch event
Deadline for submission April 23rd 8PM
Slides for the live pitch May 2nd
Link uploaded to your submission page and emailed to technovation@womenpoweringtechnology.org
Live competition May 4 at York University
Toronto Competition May 4
Prizes – Amazon gift cards
Senior team gold, silver, bronze
Junior team gold, silver, bronze
Preliminary round 11:00-1:00PM
Rooms will hold teachers, mentors, family, friends
4 minute live pitch, 2 minute demo video, Q&A
1:00 PM Keynote speaker
1:30-2:30 Finalists pitch
2:30 Awards ceremony
Troubleshooting
Tips for debugging your code
Debugging: the process that coders use to figure out why their code isn’t working
“It's hard enough to find an error in your code when you're looking for it;
it's even harder when you've assumed your code is error-free. ”
–Steve McConnell, software engineering expert and author
Using Test Data
Start with simple data to make sure your app works
Add more data as you get pieces working
Example: App shows the user where the closest restaurant is to them.
Your table stores the names of restaurants, the location data, style of food and phone numbers.
Get started with just two restaurants and location data
Get that working then add restaurants and more information about them
Debug with alerts
Not sure where your app is stuck?
Use alerts – a popup message – to show where you are in the code
Alerts in Thunkable
Drag in the alert component from the user interface section. Set the title and the button label in the designer. Set the message in your code block.
Debug with alerts
Debugging a loop
Testing which screens are getting called
Using labels
Drag a label into your code, set the text and make it visible to see how far your code got
Collapsing blocks
Having trouble focusing on the blocks that aren’t working? Collapse the ones that don’t need your attention.
Disabling Blocks (App Inventor)
Have a block that isn’t finished? Disable it while you test the rest.
Right click to Enable or Expand the blocks again
Using Comments
Comments help to understand the code –useful for judges, mentors, team-mates looking at your code
Version Control
Save versions of your project that you can go back to when you get a section working
You can go back to it if you mess up the next section!
The “save project as” option in AI2 or “copy” in Thunkable to create a copy of the code you are working and save it under a new name
Learning Objectives
Only senior teams need a business plan
What makes up a business plan
How to create a business plan
What is a Business Plan?
Document that describes your business and strategy
Brings together what you have learned:
Types of businesses
Product plans
Market research and marketing plan
Business model revenue and costs
Uses the information in your workbook!
Business Plan Sections
Executive summary
Company description
Products description
Market analysis
Strategy & implementation
Team
Financial plan & projections
Executive Summary
Short concise description – Like the trailer of a movie!
Engage the reader in your business
Write it last to summarize the plan
Include:
Your business name and location
The products and/or services offered
The purpose of your business plan
Company Description
The kind of business you are
Your company's mission statement
The important people in your business and the roles they play
An overview of what you plan to sell and who your market will be
A brief history of how your business was created
Outline what you want to accomplish in the immediate future
Products
A description of your app, emphasizing the specific benefits to the customer
An explanation of how your app has advantages over the competition
Product development:
Current stage of development
Information about how the product will be built and distributed to the customer
Plans that may lead to new products and services
Market Analysis
Description of the market:
Who are the key competitors?
How you think your mobile app will perform and why?
Customer research: A sketch of your customers, including size and demographics
Competitor analysis: a detailed evaluation, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, how will your app stand against these competitors
Strategy
An explanation of how you will reach target customers and enter the market
Details about pricing, promotions, and distribution of the app
An explanation of company operations
Information on number and types of employees you currently have or will need
Team
Information about the team: names, roles, background and skills, past experience
You can come up with your job titles, like Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Technical Officer (CTO). You can get creative with it too, like Chief Idea Maker!
List of any advisors, mentors
Financial Plan & Projection
How much money you have now and how will you be using it
How much money you’ll need and what goals you have set for them
How much money do you plan to make in the next 3-5 years and how (profit projection)
Who will read your
Business Plan?
You will submit your business
plans to a panel of judges for
review.
● The judges will provide
feedback based on the rubric
● Judges are technology and
business professionals
● They will read several business
plans – keep it concise and
engaging!
Sample Plans
Team AMEKA SafeGuard Driving
Team AAT ConcussionChecker
Team California Coders loc8 don8
Team New Dork GroGreen
Team WoCo PraisePop
Team Changers ChangEd