Think training´s hard? Try losing!
Losing is tough.
Losing is tough, when you wholeheartedly believe in your idea. Losing is tough, when you know you have invested hundreds of hours in it and you know you did the best you could. And losing is tough, when you know you had the very best team you could ever imagine.
Nevertheless, this was the most exciting adventure in my life and I don´t want to miss it any single moment.
When our journey began six months ago, I had no idea what this will be like. Probably I was the usual business student, worked in consulting and did a lot of case competitions before. For that reasons I wasn't even that excited about the Hult Global Case Challenge in the beginning and was asking myself whether I should really participate or not.
At a networking event dedicated to form teams to participate in the local round of the competition it finally hit me - this is not the usual case challenge. It is something much bigger. Finally, what convinced me to take this path and to invest more time in this than I invested into school? It was the special kind of people I talked to at the event, and finally Oksana, Rui, Grace, and Josh. They were extremely passionate about what they did and we all hoped that, in some way, we can actually make a difference...it was the perfect fit.
The next 6 months were crazy. We worked hard on the first case - developing Osram´s O-Hub business in Kenya - to finally win against 40+ Hult team in London. This meant progress to the Regional Final, that could potentially open us the dream door to New York. The new case for SolarAid was now a real real case and at this point we finally understood that we can really have an impact, whether we would be the winning team or not. The regional event was amazing and participating against the best schools in Europe was an honor. It was tough and our nerves were lying blank. And finally, we made it. We all had this incredible feeling, being proud to represent the best team in Europe in the Energy track and Hult International Business School in the Final Round in New York.
New York - that was the dream from the beginning that come true in the end. I could go on and recap the event in all details, potentially analysis why we did not become the winners - but this does not feel important to me at the moment. Important is, that being part of the Hult Global Case Challenge at this level, is definitely not losing at all.
We were there in NYC with the 18 brightest teams from around the globe who all shared the same vision of a better future.
We had the chance to meet President Clinton and Prof. Muhammad Yunus who both dedicated their lives to the same vision, and inspired us a lot.
We opened eyes and doors for the partner NGO SolarAid and hopefully helped them to realize where their biggest obstacles are and how to tackle them.
And finally, we have proven to ourselves that within six months, we as a team are able to create world-changing ideas without any previous knowledge in the respective field. With this potential, we can achieve much bigger things!
Therefore, making it to New York in this competition is so winning.
For me, it was a life-changing experience. And New York was definitely not the end of our journey... For the moment, our team is split apart all over the world. Yet, I strongly believe that, no matter where we are and for what organization we will be working for the next couple of years, everyone of us will achieve great things and will make a difference. And whenever this team comes together again, my dear World, better be prepared...
J