Faith
Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the top 3 teams today. We were a close fourth. After talking with judges at the cocktail reception last night, we learned that the other team, Gordon Mills (Stephanie Mecimovich & Daniela Lopez), was chosen because they are further along, with a product waiting to be put on the shelves, as opposed to our pre-launch phase. This trend was consistent with all of the businesses that made it to today – they were further along and had proven their model.
Even though we didn’t win, this event shows strong support that our next milestone, to launch the beta and prove the wommp model, is the right goal. I also took the wonderful opportunity to connect with a variety of aspiring entrepreneurs and industry experts - the value we gained sharing wommp and the feedback we received was more than the cash prize could ever have provided. After all, anyone can give money, but not everyone can give life-long advice.
As I was sitting in the lounge reflecting on the past 48 hours, two students discovered the benefits of the event - leftover lunch. We started talking about the event, and I wasn’t even five minutes into explaining wommp when Lawson, one of the boys, said, “That sounds awesome!! I would love to use wommp. Also, what a cool name. It’s the new verb....” I wish I could have filmed his reaction, as it was just what I needed to show others – our customers believing in our product. Now there’s just one thing to do...finish building and start wommp’ing!
Comments
Alex, you are right that the cash in the long term is not as valuable as sound advice and connections that will lead you forward. Seems to me you're doing everything right so far and should consider this round no different than a meeting with a VC group. While the markets are somewhat depressed - there is significant growth in the geo-based online/portable computing/ smartphone arena. Big software companies are hiring like mad in these sectors indicating growth over the next 2-3 years. So keep in mind our last discussion and ways to follow the hot sectors with your product idea. Think of it this way... The volume of data transferred across networks worldwide is GROWING not shrinking. With each byte of data moved, there is a need to filter it - make it accessible to a user. Your product helps people filter that massive, growing flow of data. You are in a GROWTH industry. Go get em!
Rich,
I couldn't agree more!! The filtering aspect of wommp is huge. Content is increasing, and the need to provide the right information to the right people at the right time is growing daily. It's great to recognize that you see our potential for huge growth and success!
Can't wait to keep you posted,
A