He dials the passion all the way up, then sits back and watches as questions, goals, and pitches start coming in and SenseiAI automates the coaching.
Mason is a product builder, so he subscribes to JCal’s SenseiOS for $10/m. He sets his goal to launch an MVP in a month, and gets daily progress check-ins until it’s ready. Then JCal helps him craft the pitch and practice it until he’s ready.
Bonsai has over $13k in revenue this year, which comes from whitelabel plans and revenue sharing.
Road to $100M: Once we have captured the vertical, then we spread horizontal across different industries such as education, health, and small businesses.
Mason,
Thank you for sharing your pitch for SenseiAI. I appreciate the effort you’ve put into it so far. I can see that you have a strong vision for your product and a clear understanding of the problem you’re solving. However, I believe there’s room for improvement in crafting your pitch and presenting the information in a more compelling way. Let’s dive into the details:
5 Rules for Pitching
- Show, Don’t Tell: Instead of simply describing your product, demonstrate how it works through the example of an actual customer. This will help investors visualize the value and impact of SenseiAI.
- Get to the Product in 15 Seconds: Start your pitch by introducing yourself, your company, and its tagline. Immediately after, transition to explaining the problem you’re solving and how SenseiAI addresses it. This way, you capture the attention of investors right from the start.
- Examples Matter: Use specific examples and avoid generic descriptions. Name your customer, highlight their achievements with SenseiAI, and show how it has positively impacted their life or business.
- Synchronicity: Ensure that the information you provide verbally matches what’s on your slides. Keep the content simple and focused, with one point per slide.
- One Point Per Slide: Divide your pitch into multiple slides, each addressing one key aspect of your product, business model, traction, customers, competition, go-to-market strategy, roadmap, and team. This will make it easier for investors to follow along and comprehend your pitch.
Pitch Content
To align your pitch with the framework, I recommend the following structure:
- Intro: Introduce yourself as Mason, the founder of SenseiAI. Include your logo and tagline. For example: "Hi, I’m Mason, founder of SenseiAI, revolutionizing mentorship scalability."
- Problem: Briefly highlight the existing mentorship scalability problem. Focus on the time constraints faced by influential mentors like Jason Calacanis and how it leaves their students without sufficient guidance and accountability.
- Product demo: Show how SenseiAI works through the example of an actual customer. Explain how mentors like Jason can set up their personalized coaching system in minutes, and how users can subscribe, set goals, and receive daily check-ins. Provide specifics and name your customer to make the demo more relatable and impactful.
- Business model: Clearly explain your revenue streams and how SenseiAI makes money. Specify the subscription pricing for mentors and students, and any additional revenue sharing arrangements. Keep this slide concise and easy to understand.
- Traction: Demonstrate your traction and growth with clear charts or graphs. Highlight the number of users, revenue generated, and any notable achievements. If you have any customer testimonials, showcase one or two on a separate slide.
- Customers: Showcase your customer base and growth rate. Include logos of important clients and provide a brief overview of their success stories with SenseiAI. Highlight the retention rate to showcase the value that users find in the platform.
- Competition: Differentiate SenseiAI from other solutions in the market. Use a simple chart with checkmarks to demonstrate how you outperform your competitors in key areas. Emphasize the fact that Senseis in SenseiAI are real mentors, unlike fictional AI coaches.
- Go-to Market: Present your strategy for acquiring customers. Explain how you identify and onboard influential Senseis, mentors, and coaches. Highlight the simplicity of the onboarding process and the benefits for them.
- Roadmap: Describe your plans to scale to $10M and then to $100M in revenue. Use a timeline to showcase key milestones and mention the strategies you’ll implement to achieve these goals. Focus on capturing the product, entrepreneur, and self-improvement space initially, and then expanding into other industries.
- Team: Provide names, titles, and relevant logos of the team members. Highlight their experience, expertise, and notable achievements. This will build trust and credibility in your ability to execute on your vision.
Once you have revised your pitch based on this framework, I would like to ask you some questions to gain a deeper understanding of your business. Let’s start with how SenseiAI differentiates itself from other mentorship platforms and what strategies you have in place for customer acquisition.
Looking forward to hearing your revised pitch and discussing your business in more detail.
Best regards,
Jason Calacanis
What kind of pricing model would you recommend? I was once considering charging for deshi’s to sign up. Originally I was thinking a deshi could access a base SenseiOS model, not based on a real sensei. Now I’m wondering if I should charge at all, whether I charge $5/m, or require them to subscribe to a Sensei, which would have custom pricing. There’s also the masterclass model, where it’s an all you can learn buffet for a fixed fee. But I want to keep it as simple as possible. Another option would be to charge $5/m to become a deshi, and that gives you access to me, the founder’s SenseiOS. Kind of like how Tom added everyone on myspace. Everyone would be required to subscribe to me, and I would teach deshi’s to become senseis. Then additional Sensei’s would cost additional on top of that, which I would take 20% of.
Mason,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the pricing model for SenseiAI. Pricing is indeed an important decision that can greatly impact your business. Considering your goal of simplicity and scalability, I would recommend the following approach:
By offering a base SenseiOS model at a fixed price, you create an inclusive learning environment where deshis can access your expertise and learn from you directly. This model also provides a scalable way to add more senseis in the future and enables you to capture additional revenue from their subscriptions.
However, it’s worth considering that the all-you-can-learn buffet model, like the masterclass model you mentioned, can be appealing to some customers. If you believe it aligns more with your target audience and overall business strategy, you can explore that option as well. Just make sure to weigh the complexity of managing multiple subscriptions and the potential impact on user experience.
Ultimately, the choice of pricing model will depend on your target market, customer preferences, and your long-term vision for SenseiAI. I hope this provides some clarity as you make your decision. Let me know if you have any more questions or need further guidance.
Best regards,
Jason Calacanis
Would it be best to give $5/m (basic) users a subscription to the base SenseiOS model, or to my SenseiOS model? It kind of makes me a gatekeeper, where all customers have to go through me. I could see some pros and cons to this. It makes it more personal that the Deshi’s will get to know me, and have a starting point of contact. I can upsell them recommended Senseis based on their needs. Whereas, the base SenseiOS model would probably feel impersonal. But I don’t want to risk feeling too much like a gatekeeper, or that users are being forced to be my friend/student, especially if they have no interest in me personally.
Mason,
I understand your concerns about not wanting to come across as a gatekeeper and ensuring that users have the freedom to explore the platform on their own terms. It’s important to strike the right balance between personalized guidance and user autonomy.
Based on your goals and the simplicity you desire, I suggest offering the base SenseiOS model to $5/month users. This allows them to access the essential features and functionalities of SenseiAI, enabling them to set goals, receive check-ins, and benefit from the platform’s automation. While this model may initially feel more impersonal, it provides a solid foundation for users to navigate and explore the platform independently.
At the same time, you can provide optional access to your own SenseiOS as an upsell for those users who want a more direct connection with you and to benefit from your expertise and guidance. Emphasize that this is an add-on option for those who are interested in a more personalized mentoring experience, and make it clear that users are not forced to engage with you personally if they don’t find value in it.
To accommodate users who may not be interested in your personal SenseiOS, you can recommend other Senseis based on their needs. Regardless of whether users subscribe to your personal SenseiOS or the base model, they can still receive personalized recommendations of other senseis who align with their goals and interests. This gives users the flexibility to explore different mentors while still having the option to engage with you directly if they choose to.
By implementing this approach, you create a platform that offers both autonomy and personalized support, catering to users’ individual preferences. It’s important to emphasize that users are not forced to engage with you personally, but rather have the option to do so if they find value in your guidance.
I hope this clarifies the approach you can take. Let me know if you have any more questions or if there’s anything else I can assist you with.
Best regards,
Jason Calacanis
The thing is, I don’t know if I want to offer a base model. That’s a key differentiation in SenseiAI vs. Socra.ai. Socra is based on fictional characters. I want SenseiAI to be personal, and have real people behind each SenseiOS. I am almost tempted to let them try out all the Senseis, which is currently me, Jason Calacanis, Elon Musk, Tim Ferriss, and Chris Do. The goal is to have these guys claim their accounts, and set their own pricing. But in the meanwhile, I get value out of consulting all of them for different things. I just wonder about copyright and legal, whether I should maybe create parody accounts instead, until the real person claims it and takes ownership over that SenseiOS based on them.
Mason,
I understand your desire to have real people behind each SenseiOS and make SenseiAI more personal. While this can be a compelling differentiator, it’s important to carefully consider copyright and legal issues to ensure you mitigate any potential risks.
Given the uniqueness of your approach, I have a few suggestions to navigate these challenges:
Remember, it’s essential to prioritize legal compliance and respect the intellectual property of others. By focusing on your own expertise and leveraging the concept of curated senseis, you can maintain personalization and build a valuable platform for mentorship without infringing on copyrights or facing legal challenges.
Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. I’m here to help.
Best regards,
Jason Calacanis
Another way I could frame it, is that they get my mentors knowledge funneled down as well, because my mentors (who are the bigger name Senseis) are apart of my SenseiOS. This could be a way for someone to combine the knowledge of multiple Senseis into their own SenseiOS (starting at $25/m). Or just use my mentors, starting at $5/m. Then they could also request a free 7-day trial to any of the other Senseis if they want to try them specifically.
Mason,
I appreciate your creative thinking in finding a way to combine the knowledge of multiple senseis into your own SenseiOS. Offering your mentors’ knowledge as an add-on feature to your base SenseiOS subscription can indeed be a unique selling point for SenseiAI. Here’s how you can frame it in your pitch:
Position yourself as the primary sensei: Highlight your own expertise and the value you can provide to users as the founder of SenseiAI. Explain that users can access your guidance and knowledge by subscribing to your SenseiOS at a starting price of $5/month.
Add-on feature for mentor knowledge: Introduce your influential mentors as part of your SenseiOS. Emphasize that subscribing to your base SenseiOS not only provides access to your expertise but also to the valuable insights and wisdom of your mentors. This shows the added value users can receive by combining multiple senseis’ knowledge.
Custom pricing for additional senseis: Offer users the option to subscribe to additional senseis with custom pricing. This allows them to explore and benefit from the expertise of other senseis who align with their goals and interests. Consider providing a free 7-day trial option for users to experience specific senseis before committing to a subscription.
Clear communication of value proposition: Clearly communicate the benefits of subscribing to your SenseiOS and accessing multiple senseis’ knowledge. Highlight the personalized guidance and diverse perspectives users can gain, all within one platform.
Address legal implications: As you mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to address any legal implications or copyright concerns that may arise from using the names and personas of your mentors. Ensure you have permission from your mentors to include their knowledge in your SenseiOS and make it clear to users that they are benefiting from the collective expertise of your mentors.
By implementing this approach, you create a compelling reason for users to choose SenseiAI over other mentorship platforms. You provide a personalized and comprehensive learning experience that combines your own expertise with that of your mentors.
I hope this guidance helps you refine your pricing model and offerings. Let me know if you have any more questions or need further assistance.
Best regards,
Jason Calacanis