Case Scenario: COMPANY: CLASS DOJO
Business idea: Create a behavior management tool that makes it easy for elementary and secondary school teachers to keep their students alert and on task. pitch: Among the most difficult tasks facing teachers is dealing with disruptive student behavior. In fact, some teachers spend more than 50 percent of their class time improving behavior. Bad behavior in the classroom is not only unsettling, but research shows that unruly classrooms lead to lower test scores, higher dropout rates, and increased behavioral problems outside the classroom. Class Dojo is a behavior management platform that addresses this pressing problem. here's how it works. Each student in a classroom has an avatar that receives or loses points throughout the day based on behavior. The classroom is equipped with a public leader board, which shows each avatar's progress throughout the day. All the technology that's needed is a computer hooked up to a projector that projects the avatars and their progress on the leader board. The system is built on a set of categories that reflect positive classroom behaviors. The categories include on task, teamwork, working hard, persistence, participating, helping others, and so forth.
Because the categories are framed using positive reinforcement, the system has the ability to do more than just call out good behavior. For example, a teacher might create a category like "was able to disagree with another student without sounding mean or insulting them." Along with advancing a student's avatar, good behavior is recognized on the leader board in written form. For example, during a classroom exercise the sentence "Well done Jeremy +1 for teamwork" might pop up on the leader board. Research suggests the shorter the time period between an action and feedback for that action, the greater is the effect of reinforcement. Continually reinforcing good behavior, and subtracting points for bad behavior, makes a classroom less disruptive and creates a more positive learning environment. Data collected by Class Dojo can be shared with parents and administrators. Class Dojo can be run from a computer hooked up to the Internet or via a smartphone. The smartphone feature allows teachers to use Class Dojo on the playground and on field trips, in addition to the classroom. Class Dojo is free to the teacher and school district, which lowers the barrier to acceptance. The platform will be monetized through parents who want to use Class Dojo at home and pay a monthly subscription fee.
1. Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm's founders before making your funding decision? What answers would satisfy you?
2. If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the company's website, would you fund this company? Why or why not?