Enron Mail |
Ken,
? I have been watching a new company since April. The founder worked at=20 Insource Technology as a consultant for a while and is a good guy. The=20 service is explained in the executive summary attached, but in a nutshell= =20 they solve the need for reliable information support for schools by getting= =20 the server out of the schools and onto an Application Service Provider. The= =20 result is much better information (attendance, grading, assignments,=20 messages, etc.) but the schools only need a simple computer with a browser = to=20 access the service. If one computer breaks, they simply move to another=20 computer and access the service. This is the same concept as Questia, but= =20 they can get by with much older computer technology, which is a big plus fo= r=20 schools. Also, parents can access essentially real time information about= =20 their child=01,s grades and attendance, and can easily communicate with the= =20 teacher through the messaging. ? When I met with them in April, I liked the idea but was consumed with=20 Questia. Since then, they have launched a beta test and then rolled out the= =20 production version of the service in the DeSoto ISD. They trained over 200= =20 teachers and have proven the simplicity and effectiveness of their system.= =20 Lamar Consolidated ISD has requested that they rollout the service in three= =20 test schools this fall.? They also just hired a new CEO, Roland Rodriquez, = to=20 lead the company, with the founder continuing to be involved. ? They are trying to raise $3 million. John Chaney and I met with them Tuesda= y=20 morning and decided after the meeting that we were both interested in putti= ng=20 around half a million in the company, and that we needed to get three or fo= ur=20 others to put in about the same amount.? We are both willing to go on the= =20 board, with one or two other new outside directors. ? Ken, this is not in the same ballpark as Questia, but it is a very good ide= a=20 and I believe they can pull it off. Please let me know if you have any=20 questions and if you would like to have a meeting with them. ? Rod - PI Executive Summary.pdf
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