Reflection Report
I participated in a 2-day startup competition which organized by UTMXCITE and supported by Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and START Malaysia on 15th to 17th November 2019 at Kolej Tuanku Canselor (KTC) University Teknologi Malaysia. MaGIC is an organization which create a vibrant and sustainable Startup and Social Enterprise ecosystem built on impact driven innovation and inclusivity. They also schooling a creative, innovative and entrepreneurial culture for the student in university. Besides, START Malaysia is a platform to educate and develop talented local entrepreneurs and also supporting and accelerating high potential startup companies such as Runcloud, OxWhite and etc. Startup Weekend Johor Bahru @ UTM 2019 is a 2-day university startup challenge which immerses and pitching competition for the student with the theme titled “Eco-Innovation”. This competition furnished students with entrepreneurial mindset and skills through the title “Eco-Innovation” that they had to refine, build and showcase theirs ideas turned prototypes through discussion among teammates, mentoring, and sharing sessions in 54 hours.
Before forming a team, those participants who had an idea based on “Eco-Innovation” had to pitch their thought in order to attract the participants to vote and join a team. There were some attractive ideas which were e-receipt, reduce the price of goods which were almost expired and provide an on-demand trash pick-up. The idea of On-demand trash pick-up really caught my eyes and I decided to join the team which made up of 5 persons. The vision of this idea was to provide an easy way for end-user to recycle their recyclable trash and save time and money for recycling companies.
During the first team discussion, we managed to come out of our business model canvas based on our idea. Business model canvas benefited us to have a quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept when delivering to audiences. Although I did not have the experience in building a business model canvas but I tried my best to construct a business model in a straightforward and structured way. I needed to make sure my roadmap always reflected all the strategic elements needed for our products’ success. Through this session, I learned the ways for describing, visualizing, assessing and changing the business models. I believed a business model canvas would be more agile and accurately reflect my strategic thinking and my company’s current reality. I believed most of the investors were prefering to look at business model canvas because it focused the business on the strategic elements that matter most and will have the greatest impact on driving growth.
Furthermore, SWJB@UTM had invited some mentors to share their opinion based on our ideas such as businessmen, senior lecturers, coordinator in MaGIC and etc. They would point out the problems that unexpected and requested a solution. We were able to come out with some solutions but there still consisted of some problems that we cannot solve yet. I felt stressful in this session because I had to figure out the solutions for the problems that questioned by mentors. This reminds me that I also will face problems in my life and I need to stay strong in order to overcome the problems. Through the effort of our team, we managed to solve all the problems and produce a better product named “TrashGold”. I am proud of myself that I am able to resist the pressure and turn it become the power to move on. The most significant aspect of this session is I realise that teamwork is very significant in a team or workplace. This is because a good teamwork environment can promote an atmosphere that fosters friendship and improve productivity.
After the mentoring session, we had to produce our prototype which was a mobile application that provides on-demand trash pick-up from the resident. I had to relate my knowledge of programming and application development when creating our prototype. Creativity and innovation were very essential in creating a prototype so I had to think outside the box and explore into a new area. When I take this benefit into the business environment, I able to apply creativity and innovation to all processes such as marketing strategy or engage the customer. Besides, open-minded was very important in a team or workplace because it helps to obtain a better quality result more efficiently. I learned to welcome new ideas and diverse perspectives, allowing me to see more opportunities and better solutions to problems. These two skills are complementary as becoming a successful employee or employer in the future.
Good pitching helps to attract investors into funding our business. This Startup competition let me learn to perfect my pitch from other presenters. For me, the most significant aspect from the session is the characteristics of a good presenter should have which are confidence, organized, passion and content. To be an interesting and believable presenter, I need to learn to be confident in myself from outside to inside by fine-tuning my delivery skills and managing my nervousness. Besides, I learnt to organize my speech through this competition. An organized speech allow audiences to use the organization as a framework to aid in remembering the delivered messages. They taught me to organize my presentation in chronological order, by logic or using the comparison approach to produce a better presentation in the workplace. Making eye contact with audiences is very essential in a good presentation because it can help the presenter to move closer to them. Furthermore, they show prepared and knowledgeable about their topic matter during pitching. I felt that a great speaker should gain knowledge by obverse, study and read the subject matter because he will know the way to deliver a good speech in different circumstances and able to adjust for unexpected changes. These qualities make me understand that I have to practice myself to become a great speaker to attract the attention of the audience or investors.
Although I and my team did not win the competition but I gained a lot of experience of being a creative and innovative person. Creativity and critical thinking allow me to think broadly and deeply using skills, knowledge and behaviours for example reason, logic and imagination. I learn to think outside the box so that I can expand my worldview to have a greater perspective in the future. When working in a team, I will also consider alternative points of views and ways of doing things from other members. I may become mentally strong by staying open to new ideas and experiences can help me become a stronger, more vibrant person after this experience.
Moreover, self-discipline is the most important quality for success in life and business. From this competition, I understand that self-discipline helps me focused on making my work and eliminate any hindrances or distraction to my goals. As a student, I need to identify the distractions in my educational life and able to eliminate them. This distraction will drain my energy and willpower and lead me to difficult to stay self-disciplines on my tasks. Therefore, being successful people in the future has to be disciplined and consistent because that is the way to achieve the goals.
Whether running my own business or leading a team, a good leader requires a strong set of leadership qualities to interact with the employees or teammates. I need to improve my soft skills such as communication skills and teamwork in order to become a good leader in the future. A successful leader knows the way to facilitate open and effective communication within the team or company. Teamwork plays an important role in leadership soft skill to organize and run a team. Through this experience, I learn the way to combine individual strength and skills in a team or company to succeed. Productivity can also be increased when there is no conflict among team members. Collaboration can produce motivation and creativity that may not be present in individuals.
In the past of my campus life, I was an introverted person who lacks comfort in a crowded place and simply opt to avoid social situations instead because I lack confidence when confronting the problems or situations. Many people suggested me that try to challenge myself by being more open to the new situation as they said, the more I can involve myself with the social situation, the more confident I am going to become. By challenging, I able to expose more about myself and my strengths. Besides, I also can improve my knowledge and skills in familiar topics and learn more about things that I haven’t be in touch. However, challenges can keep me think fast and well prepared for the coming situations. The key component in being a successful business owner for long-term is having the expertise and knowledge in the field. Sometimes setting an “impossible” goals help me push myself as hard as I can. Motivation will be generated to complete the goals and if I continue to stay on track and take steps forward in my entrepreneurship. As a result, I will be able to lead my company with the confidence that I am making good decisions.
From this experience, I realise that to become a good leader or entrepreneur is not an easy thing because it required many characteristics such as creative and innovative, discipline, leadership and confidence. I need to improve myself not only in hard skills but also these soft skills because the market is looking for a person who has these two type of skills to successfully perform and advance in most jobs.