Hi Everyone.
Over the past few years I’ve been working towards building and growing my business. Apart from everything else that occupies my time, I’ve been attending events and competitions, pitching at trade shows and food fairs, but I just have to tell you about what I learned from one of the programs I recently attended – the MassChallenge Accelerator Program.
MassChallenge is an event that launches and supports startups in cities around the world and thousands of applicants compete in different cities to be able to participate. There were 5000 applications in the Boston program this time and only 1600 were accepted to initially compete. A few judging rounds later, 128 were invited to participate as finalists. And I’m really proud to say that I was one of them.
I got to work with mentors from the corporate world, policy makers and innovation leaders for 4 whole months. The workshops, seminars, events were all opportunities to gain support and inspiration and to reinforce our capabilities. The tailored curriculum was invaluable and we had access to world-class resources.
It was a great experience for me not only to practice my pitch skills, but also to share more about our delicious drinks and the wonderful work we are doing in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The interactions during those sessions and the exchange of ideas were incredible. I didn’t make it to the final 26, but I can undeniably say that the learning was priceless. The engagements I had with fellow entrepreneurs have given me new perspectives and ideas for the business and they will help me immensely to expand and fine tune the business in the long run.
The take away? That life is not always about winning. The high I got from being accepted amongst so many competing startups and then being able to brush shoulders with hotshots in business was my biggest reward.
I learned that if you are committed, then people reach out to help you. And if it matters, you will find ways to make friends, build a network and grow relationships that will influence you positively all your life.
So what’s next? Well I’ve realized just how important it is to go on meeting and learning from fellow business owners if I want to keep getting better at what I do. I’m happy to say that I’m one of 20 women entrepreneurs to have been accepted to the Boston WIN LAB Cohort!
WIN LAB is a milestone driven accelerator program for women entrepreneurs that holds participating winners accountable to business growth. Over the course of 5 months, the WIN team and mastermind experts – in residence, assess just how much winners have gained in relation to their key growth areas over 5 milestone presentations. In essence, it is not a competition but a place to meet and learn from other women entrepreneurs and that’s exactly what I’m looking forward to.
We start this month with a weekend retreat at the Babson College in Wellesly, MA where all of us get to discuss, swap ideas and update ourselves on business trends.
I’m super excited about the priceless inputs I will get. And like they say, “The journey is the reward”!
Wish me luck!
Talk to you again soon. Till then, keep at it!
Magbè