In the SPOTLIGHT
Photo credit: Hult Media & Entertainment
An Insider’s Take on the
Hult Prize Regionals
By Chris Baird
Saturday morning started early, only
this time it was not to the routine sound
of my Android alarm clock. A different
kind of demon awoke me, one that didn’t
require technology, and that couldn’t easily be silenced – my stomach fluttered.
Hello anxiety, good morning Hult Prize!
From the moment I woke to the moment
we stood outside our first pitch room, everything seemed to pass in a flash. Breakfast,
check. Registration, check. Photos, check.
Everyone was marshalled accordingly, and
before we knew it 2.15pm had arrived. It
was our turn to put five months of hard
work under scrutiny. Within the glass fishbowl of Nile, five judges awaited us. They
ranged from the head of innovation at Cisco to the CEO of Sutter Health – you know,
those rightfully intimidating heavyweights
you only want to impress. I choked on my
last gulp of water, psyched myself up, and
in our sequence we entered the room with
a mix of excitement, poise and nerves.
A short twelve minutes later a very different team exited that room.
A euphoric wave hit us at Tsunami force.
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It wasn’t long before our professionalism was lost amidst immense
delight. We shrieked and cheered,
hugged and kissed – It was a beautiful moment of pride and triumph.
Unfortunately, the Hult Prize would
not immediately reward success. None
of the forty-eight teams would be able
to find out how they had done until the
evening reception. In order to proceed to
the final four you had to win your room,
but as we couldn’t see anyone else’s
pitch we were left completely in the dark.
As we proceeded to Levi’s plaza I
felt serene and steady. The trees were
flooded in fuchsia streaks that silhouetted against a dark sapphire sky. Inside
the tent it was warm and welcoming,
though my eyes felt heavy. We waited for
what seemed like a lifetime for a judge
from our room to head up onto stage.
We had been in track four, and for us that
meant we had to watch the three other rooms
have their winners picked and present.
As we saw our judge enter the stage
we gripped each other’s hands and
squeezed tight. My adrenalin surged…
“Let’s welcome P.wards to the stage!”
YES. ‘No time to celebrate’, I thought.
‘Focus, focus, focus, I want to enjoy this!’
I can confidently say that the pitch my
team delivered in front of more than 20
judges and 250 spectators was one of the
best we’ve ever done. I felt a certain energy standing amongst my teammates
that words will never capture. All I know
is that I am proud of those guys: Florian,
Charan, Rodrigo and Lianne - Thank you!
The final decision from the judges put us
in second place. In the end we were beaten
by a patented, piloted, and prototyped product from PhD students at MIT. Our great
idea came up against a great product, and
to be fair to the girls at MIT they have done
amazing work and deserve every success.
For P.wards the future may still be
in pee! We’re continuing to work on
the project with the hope of piloting
here in San Francisco over the next few
months. A special thanks to our wonderful coach Erika, and also for the amazing
support from staff and students alike.