I've seen THINKOLOGY. Have you?
That cheery red-lettered message on an orange background was
punctuated by the Heartsoft name and logo. It was on a sticky tag
(that could be worn on the lapel) being handed out at the Florida
Educational Technology Conference at the Orange County (Orlando)
Convention Center yesterday and today. Ben Shell, Dilene Crockett,
and other Heartsoft staffers manned the booth.
I visited today from about 10:30 until 11:30 AM. The convention
center is a plush meeting place, and the inside was jammed with
exhibitors. Heartsoft applied late and managed to share a booth with
another vendor. In spite of a smaller-than-expected display space,
the Heartsoft material was evident and colorful. Two tall cartoon
cut-out figures towered over the stall, a large THINKOLOGY sign
caught the eye, and several computers ran constantly with company
software products.
Apparently the place was overrun yesterday by interested visitors.
All of an ample supply of posters had been handed out, and nearly
2,000 of another popular handout had been disseminated. The
crowd was sparser this morning, but I did eavesdrop as several
professionals stopped by the booth. One was a college professor
who teaches a graduate-level course for New York University, Boca
Raton campus, on critical-thinking instruction methods. In other
words, she teaches teachers how to teach. She said she had read
about THINKOLOGY in a professional journal, and sought out the
Heartsoft booth to see it for herself. Dilene Crockett swept her up
like a magnet to iron filings, promising to provide the professor with
any materials she needed for evaluation or instructional purposes.
Dilene's handling of the professor was extremely accommodating and
professional. The professor was clearly excited by THINKOLOGY,
and remarked how timely the series was (the only other program on
critical thinking skills in her system, she said, was antiquated).
In short, my impression of the exhibit in Orlando was one of significant
success. Ben Shell spoke encouragingly to me about the promise of
the THINKOLOGY series, about the daily rate of revenues the six-
person sales team is bringing in working the phones, and about the
software construction toolset for delivering more software products to
the educational market. I asked about the prospect of licensing the
toolset, and Ben replied that it is much better used in-house to build
proprietary products for market, as opposed to enabling a competitor
to beat Heartsoft to market via access to their slick toolset.
I am not an expert in primary education. However, my sense is that
Heartsoft's products are well received by professional educators. I
also believe the business plan being executed by Heartsoft is proper
in its scope and focus. The products are good, the customer likes
them, and plans for new products will build on past successes.
So much for the product side of Heartsoft. I also had a chance to
talk at length with the company's investment banker, Steve Dotson.
I will outline that conversation on financials in the next message. |
