Anxiety, excitement, burning passion, fear – this week was full of varying emotions

It was indeed the best of all. Besides the final pitch, we had the opportunity to learn amazing stuff from some amazing individuals (yes, summer lab is all about becoming amazing!)

We are thankful to Simon Rowell to share his time and knowledge with us. He gave us an introduction to IP (Intellectual Property) for Startups. It is a complicated subject for most of us yet he made it interesting and easy. Using the example of ‘Real Kashʼ, a project he is working on, he taught us what to consider when securing a patent or trade mark. Itʼs easy to ignore it in the beginning but as Craig Venter states, ‘Intellectual property is a key aspect for economic developmentʼ. We were beyond lucky as were really started contemplating on our IP.

‘In business as in life, you donʼt get what you deserve you get what you negotiate.ʼ – Chester L. Karass. One thing I can assure is we are a step ahead from most of the people because of an engaging lesson on Negotiation from Andrew Patterson. It’s one of the most important skills one can develop for this competitive environment we live in. Andrew taught us various methods like competitive vs. collaborative and various tactics like how we can present the proposal, build rapport and make concessions. It was followed by a fun VR video and a negotiation demo practice amongst all of us. Canʼt wait to start applying it in real life and start winning!

Now comes the most awaited part- final pitches and celebrations! YES, WE ARE ALL PROUD FOR MAKING IT TILL THE END!

I am so thankful to the team at CIE for listening to our endless practices, giving feedback and helping us build confidence. We were all decked up in formals waiting for our turn to present everything we had done in last 6 weeks. It was unbelievable to see how every team had come so far from where they had started (even those who pivoted at the last moment). The panel of investors were highly encouraging – they listened to each pitch patiently and gave their valuable comments – how much potential our ideas already have, what we can add or change and how we can take it forward. Then came the time to acknowledge everyone with a few speeches, prizes and certificates. Our team was certified for being ‘PERFORMANCE DRIVENʼ, thanks to our mentor Rob Hanks for endless support, encouragement and 7:30AM meetings!

Oh, and we had so much fun at the selfie booth and ending it perfectly with food, booze and desserts! Wait, no this isn’t the end to our entrepreneurial journey, it’s just the beginning.