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All ideation/implementation challenges that were presented to us had a great impact on the way we started looking at things. These challenges made us become more open-minded and our creativity kicked in. My teammates and I were very open to them as they made us think outside the box. Even though they were confusing at times, we managed to work together and come up with solutions. We all supported each other through any difficulties we faced.
Even though coming up and sticking to a challenge was quite difficult for us, with the help of our mentors, we eventually were able to ideate the challenge. One of us was residing in Lucknow and she convinced us that there exists a lot of waste on the roads, and there isn't any proper waste management system. We all voted to work on this challenge and come up with a sustainable solution, as it is abundant in many areas around the world.
Due to the cultural barriers, at first, it was a bit difficult for us to break the ice and start communicating our ideas with each other, but eventually, we became really close - second family. We understood each other's needs, and how each team member likes to work and communicate which was one of the major findings that led us to commence working on our project effectively. We discovered that a few of us preferred conveying our ideas through chat while the rest preferred speaking.
To work on our project of plastic waste management, we came up with innumerable solutions including making plastic bricks out of waste plastic bottles, educating people, plastic recycling, and material innovation using 3D printing. After a lot of discussions and confusion, we stuck to the idea of using 3D printing to transform waste plastic into reusable products.
Developing the prototype was not only a challenging task but also required skills as we had planned on creating an app. My teammates and I, first, thoroughly discussed the app's functionality and designed it on paper, after which, I designed it on Figma. The designing part took me more than nine hours, but I was really proud of the outcome.
Our first app prototype - paper
Our app prototype - Figma:
None of us knew how to narrate/pitch effectively. We learned how to create a business model by answering: value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, channels, key activities, key partners, key resources, cost structure, and revenue streams. Through a seminar, we learned effective storytelling whereby we had to answer: once upon a time, and every day, until one day, and because of this, and because of this, until finally. We pitched our business idea in front of the SECIP alumni and got their feedback which aided in improving our pitch. I searched up YouTube videos and watched elevator pitches through which I learned that we need to use statistics during our pitch to be more convincing. I told my teammates and we made sure to use statistics during our pitch.
We drafted our scripts and met to practice pitching. It took us numerous tries to perfect our narrative and pitch. On the D-day, we were all nervous but gave it our best shot, and once done, we all were extremely happy and proud of ourselves! Our achievements included the fact that we effectively pitched our sustainable business idea in front of a large group of people and got invaluable feedback. I also learned a lot about effective and efficient pitch-giving. For improvements, we could have rehearsed our pitch even more and made it straight to the point.
I learned so much this week including how to pitch and narrate, create business models, and make purpose sustainable. All mentors were amazing and gave invaluable advice. I particularly enjoyed listening to the challenges and happy times of the social entrepreneurs who talked about making purpose sustainable. It was interesting to hear how each one of them faced different challenges in their own business fields, and how they overcame those issues. They were able to adapt to the problems faced during COVID also fascinated me, and were able to modify and continue their business. The knowledge gained is extremely meaningful to me as I am sure I will use it in my life. It inspired me to not give up, despite any challenges. I learned that I have to be strong, and to 'fight' challenges, I need to face them. These are lessons that are not only significant in the business world, but in everyday life.
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