Please, help me with my start-up

[marakana88]

I am a graduate International Business Management student with a keen interest in Technology.

I developed the app called Lecture Scriber which help students with their studying. Lecture Scriber takes the stress out of note taking. It is a mobile app that simultaneous records spoken audio and a student’s written notes, which enables a user to quickly revisit and replay specific audio from lectures when revising. At the moment, App is available on AppStore, it is not a final version, but you can try and see how it’s work.


The tests which was conducted before product’s launch shows that students are interested in the app and they would like to use it. So, I invested money and hired developers to build the app. It didn’t go well from the first time as app had a lot of bugs, so I hired other developers who were more experienced in order to fix bugs, and we finally launched the app.

However, the development of the app went way beyond my initially planed budget, so now I can’t efficiently promote the app and improve it (app still have some bugs).

I decided to take a part in university’s Start-up challenge in order to win the cash prize which will help me to improve my App or to find potential investors.

I got to the final. In the final I had to record 1 minute video pitch, and now it is available for online voting.

You can have a quick look for my 1-minute video pitch and vote for me if you like it.

https://accelerator-london.com/students/big-idea-challenge/finalists-2020/commercial-idea-5/


If I win, it will really help me to make some progress in my small start-up.

I appreciate to everyone who will participate in this voting.

Additionally, I want to know your opinion of this idea? And how can I improve and promote this app without big investments?

 

[fisicx]

Why a video pitch? Much better if you show the app.

 

[marakana88]

Why a video pitch? Much better if you show the app.

App is available on AppStore but it is on early stage. App has some bugs which need to be fixed but I need some investments in order to hire developers to fix these bugs. So, if I win university competition in pitching my idea I will get some cash price and support from the accelerator.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lecturescriber/id1464186973?ls=1 - link for the app.
https://accelerator-london.com/students/big-idea-challenge/finalists-2020/commercial-idea-5/ - link for voting

I appreciate if you can vote.

 

[fisicx]

Can't really vote for it as taking notes on my phone often isn't practical. I tend to use my laptop to take notes. Whenever I see images of students in lecture halls they all have laptops.

 

[marakana88]

Can't really vote for it as taking notes on my phone often isn't practical. I tend to use my laptop to take notes. Whenever I see images of students in lecture halls they all have laptops.

Fair enough, that's why I need investments, as in the future the same program will be built for Mac OS, and it all will be connected. Students would be able to use Laptop version and phone version.
During my last year, I used this app, and it was really helpful in terms of preparation for exams.

 

[Mr D]

Fair enough, that's why I need investments, as in the future the same program will be built for Mac OS, and it all will be connected. Students would be able to use Laptop version and phone version.
During my last year, I used this app, and it was really helpful in terms of preparation for exams.

Any plans for windows?
Most of the students I know at uni use windows laptops.

 

[marakana88]

Any plans for windows?
Most of the students I know at uni use windows laptops.

Not in the nearest future. Research shows that Apple users are more willing to pay for this kind of apps. So of course, at the beginning, we have to consider the platform where most payable users in order to get some profit. However, of course in the future, the app will be available for Windows and Android users.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Will the advent of video recording of lectures due to virus fears not lead to all future lectures being given as video's and negate the need

Myself i have always thought that taking notes in a lecture is poor practice by the lecturer and that first class notes should be available as a transcript with the lecture, so you can consentrate on what is said

 

[Mr D]

Will the advent of video recording of lectures due to virus fears not lead to all future lectures being given as video's and negate the need

Myself i have always thought that taking notes in a lecture is poor practice by the lecturer and that first class notes should be available as a transcript with the lecture, so you can consentrate on what is said

What are they taking notes on if its not what is said?
What would a transcript show that isn't what is said? Was under the impression that transcript would cover what is said.
Perhaps printouts / downloaded slide to cover what is put on screen?

 

[fisicx]

Research shows that Apple users are more willing to pay for this kind of apps.

Research shows students aren’t willing to pay for anything.

 

[marakana88]

Research shows students aren’t willing to pay for anything.

Agree, that's why in the future app will be connected to AdMob in order to show advertisement in the app)))

 

[fisicx]

Agree, that's why in the future app will be connected to AdMob in order to show advertisement in the app)))

That makes it even worse. Right now you don’t have a viable product.

There are lots of ways to record a lecture and lots of ways to take notes. Everyone will have their own preferred method. I used an A4 notebook for example.

Have you calculated the development costs? Do you know how much it will cost to market? Have you projected revenue streams? Is it going to make any money (I suspect not).

Students are not going to be filling lecture halls for a long long time, this is an app for 2021/2022. Spend time debugging and integrating with other devices and then look to launch next year.

 

[marakana88]

That makes it even worse. Right now you don’t have a viable product.

There are lots of ways to record a lecture and lots of ways to take notes. Everyone will have their own preferred method. I used an A4 notebook for example.

Have you calculated the development costs? Do you know how much it will cost to market? Have you projected revenue streams? Is it going to make any money (I suspect not).

Students are not going to be filling lecture halls for a long long time, this is an app for 2021/2022. Spend time debugging and integrating with other devices and then look to launch next year.

I agree that product is not ready yet. I have a business plan for this project. However, development cost went way beyond my initially planned expenses, due to the poor hiring process of developers ( long story, but it is absolutely my fault). That's why I am looking for extra investments into the business, and this university competition can help me to get some money for business. That's why I am trying to get as many votes as i can.

Probably you are right, maybe it is better to build the system which will be working on all devices and only then lunch the product on the market. I would love to do that, but it required much more investments.

As I know from September all students are going back to school, until that time I have to build a perfect product.

 

[fisicx]

You won’t be ready for September. It might be ready for next year if you get funded.

a quick check on the App Store shows there are already a number of similar products I can download for free.

 

[marakana88]

You won’t be ready for September. It might be ready for next year if you get funded.

a quick check on the App Store shows there are already a number of similar products I can download for free.

Yes, I have competitors. They are not fully free. Some of them have a subscription of around £10 per month, my price will be around £3.

 

[The Byre]

Unfortunately, I cannot make out a word you are saying. A reshoot of the presentation using a proper mic and using a short demonstration of how the app works will work wonders for your pitch!

 

[marakana88]

Unfortunately, I cannot make out a word you are saying. A reshoot of the presentation using a proper mic and using a short demonstration of how the app works will work wonders for your pitch!

There is a short demonstration.

 

[fisicx]

There is a short demonstration.

I just saw some screenshots for a fraction of a second. no idea what it was. And agree, you are not speaking clearly, it's very difficult to hear the words especially with the music in the background.

Does the app ensure you have asked for permission to record the lecture and take screenshots?

PS: As a diabetic, Tap the Sap is a much more worthwhile project to vote for!

 

[marakana88]

I just saw some screenshots for a fraction of a second. no idea what it was. And agree, you are not speaking clearly, it's very difficult to hear the words especially with the music in the background.

Does the app ensure you have asked for permission to record the lecture and take screenshots?

PS: As a diabetic, Tap the Sap is a much more worthwhile project to vote for!

To be honest, accelerator stuff put this background music, I've just sent them a video. Yes, of course, it asked, otherwise Apple Store wouldn't publish it.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

I was on a campus last year and noticed students using mainly Chromebooks, Tablets (MS Surface perhaps) with an OCR app that converts their scribbles to text, and pen and paper.

 

[marakana88]

I was on a campus last year and noticed students using mainly Chromebooks, Tablets (MS Surface perhaps) with an OCR app that converts their scribbles to text, and pen and paper.

this works a bit different, this app allows students making notes and recording voice of the lectures at the same time. The recorded voice is synced with the notes which they have taken. So, while revising, they can save time to find the relevant minute of the recorded audio by just simply clicking on the related notes they have made.

 

[fisicx]

The point was that students don’t take notes on their phones. They use their laptops.

How many of your fellow students are using the app?

 

[marakana88]

The point was that students don’t take notes on their phones. They use their laptops.

How many of your fellow students are using the app?

oh, I see, the app is also available on IPad. in the future will be available on PC. Some of my friends are using it.

 

[fisicx]

oh, I see, the app is also available on IPad. in the future will be available on PC. Some of my friends are using it.

How many students use an iPad to take notes?

 

[Mr D]

How many students use an iPad to take notes?

My nieces and nephews use laptops and notepaper. Not sure they have ever owned an ipad.

 

[Barry_M]

i think this is a great idea. Lectures were sole destroying. Why dont you stand outside the university and say to people "hey do you want to try my app for me?" If they like it they will tell their mates. If they dont, get feedback why they dont. I think this would spread with word of mouth rather than promotion plus as it is buggy right now, people will tend to forgive you more if they think they are helping you out instead of being asked to promote a paid app.

 

[marakana88]

i think this is a great idea. Lectures were sole destroying. Why dont you stand outside the university and say to people "hey do you want to try my app for me?" If they like it they will tell their mates. If they dont, get feedback why they dont. I think this would spread with word of mouth rather than promotion plus as it is buggy right now, people will tend to forgive you more if they think they are helping you out instead of being asked to promote a paid app.

thanks, yeah i might try this

 

[marakana88]

Thanks, everyone for your help. I won the category prize, so now I will try to improve the App based on your feedback guys.