Over this past (2023-2024) school year, I have had the unique opportunity to participate in the
INCUBATOR class. Over the school year, I was put into a team and assigned a mentor, and we
then learned the necessary items to build a business. When I first walked into the class, I was
excited to get started and curious about what we would learn. I was utterly surprised about how
much we learned. I knew we were starting a business, but I didn’t realize the amount of
coursework that went along with it. I am extremely grateful for the experience that I was given,
and the knowledge that I have gained through this course, especially from our mentor, Ms. Ivory.
She is involved with fashion and manufacturing and played a key role in getting our prototype to
what it currently is, and in getting us set up to reach out to a manufacturer. Throughout the
class, one of the things we learned was the process of starting a business. One of the specific
things I learned about this process was the lean start-up, which is essentially a way of starting a
business according to what the customers want, not what you think the customers want. This
process involves a lot of interviewing potential customers and listening to feedback.
At the end of the course, the top teams in the class went on to pitch night, a shark tank-style
pitch competition, where the top teams would get funding money to continue their business in
the accelerator course. My team, Skate Straps, was one of the winners of pitch night winning
$5,000 for our business. From the board of advisors, and a board of professional business
people, we were given plenty of advice which I agree with, and they are things we have looked
into for our product. Some of the advice we received was adding a clip to attach the strap to
your backpack, adding a place to hold a helmet, and expanding our market to reach parents of
young skaters. While we haven’t added each item, we have continued to consider it for future
prototype designs.
During pitch night, as I mentioned earlier, my team was one of 7 on-stage teams that got the
chance to pitch for money. Out of the 7, 5, including my team, were funded. Out of the 5, my
team got 3rd place. We also had a table display prior to the pitch for people to walk by and
observe our idea, product, and elevator pitch, and was a great way for us to connect to the
audience on a personal level. The pitch night experience was awesome and I loved it. As an
on-stage team, we spent all day perfecting our pitch, which well prepared us for the best pitch
we have ever given on stage. I wasn’t super nervous as I have been comfortable with public
speaking and I strongly believed in my team.
Looking back on the course, I’ve learned that I am a great entrepreneur and that I am great at
dealing with financial information. I learned that I am not the best when it comes to design or
branding, however, I am great with using social media and outputting information. Additionally,
with completing my Adobe certification that year, and my Microsoft Office specialist the year
prior, I have been well versed in different platforms to create and organize various forms of
media. Keeping in mind everything that I’ve learned over this course and in the academy itself, I
will be able to grow into a successful entrepreneur in the future. If I never plan to start my own
business, I believe I would be a necessary asset to other businesses with my well-versed skills,
and I would be able to help lead a business to success. I would be able to keep track of
finances, help create social media content, control social media, create a prototype, and so
many other things that would make me a valuable asset. I appreciate the academy for helping
me develop a diverse skill set, and I look forward to being able to use each skill in the future.
