Final Pitching Experience & The Entrepreneurial Mind Journey
Proposing a start-up, a reverse vending machine, was an exciting venture that combines creativity and sustainability as we embark on our journey on this subject. The blog contains the journey, starting with interviewing people about the difficulty or issue they're facing or experiencing around campus, the first basic task that my team had to complete on our journey. To a detailed pitch, emphasizing the difficulties and learnings we encountered along the way.
As we already received their responses, each of them brought different unique perspectives. Our team brainstormed their answers to think of what start-up we could propose. The interviewees' answers served as our compass that guided us toward our proposed start-up, the reverse vending machine. When it comes to group projects, decision-making is essential to determining how a team will proceed. The interview's outcome was thoroughly discussed by the team. After navigating the challenges of decision-making, the group did come up with what we’re working on during our final term. That’s how we came up with our start-up, a reverse vending machine.
The concept of our reverse vending machine is to address how we can make recycling more efficient and accessible for everyone. The Eco Bro team did a lot of research to understand how reverse vending machines work. The team did research on the machine’s design, features, and the different models already in use around the world for us to compare and make our reverse vending machine have its own unique feature. In building our prototype with the features we have mentioned, During the process of making prototypes, it‘s quite challenging. We had sleepless nights and worries about whether our prototype would work just like we wanted it to. We made our prototype out of scratch; no programming or wiring happened—just our own DIY reverse vending machine. Through the team’s hard work and teamwork, we managed to make our own DIY reverse vending machine. And it's a success. In our final pitch, presenting our project to the new sets of panelists was the most crucial moment, as it was the last step of our journey. During the final pitch, it’s not just about presenting the project; it's also about being able to effectively communicate its value proposition. like highlighting the benefits and pros of our project. It is also involved in preparing to address any potential concerns and objections about the project. And lastly, to be able to show the panelists our prototype and how it works. After presenting it, we got good feedback, and we got compliments on our presentation. And that’s a success.
But, of course, there’s no journey without challenges; everything has its ups and downs. During the interview, some felt intimidated. In brainstorming the ideas, each of us has a different perspective, and there's a communication barrier. During the first proposal, our first idea was rejected, so we need to come up with other solutions. In midterm pitching, the feedback of the panelists is not that good; there are a lot of changes we made. They want money, but we want sustainability. During the customer validation, different feedback was gathered, both positive and negative. We didn't let those challenges bring us down, so instead, we made it our lesson to do more and to give our best. And that’s what we did.
Lecture Series
During the lecture series, I'd be honest, I really didn't get to understand everything in our seats. The University Convention Center was full of students, and we didn't have the chance to sit in our designated seats. However, I can say that the lecture was indeed informative and indeed gave us insights about the business world. What caught my attention was when the speaker discussed the dynamic of the start-up. It was mentioned that startups, which convert creative ideas into workable solutions, are becoming more and more significant to the world economy.
The speaker also discussed personal examples that demonstrate how entrepreneurs seize chances and overcome obstacles. Learn how entrepreneurs use copyrights, trademarks, and patents to safeguard their innovations. I was unable to hear the majority of what the speaker was saying when they discussed copyright legislation during the lecture.
If we're talking about experience, ever since I was in elementary school, we owned a grocery store. During the lecture series, I also learned that a grocery store is not a start-up. It's funny, yes. A start-up is a newly established business venture that is in the early stages of its development. In summary, a start-up is an enterprise that aims to achieve large growth and market influence by leveraging innovation, scaling rapidly, and managing substantial risks. It goes beyond simply being a new business.
It was fun. 😊
Thank you, Sir.
