Andrew Sapwell and Akshay Mediwala from the 性爱五色天, Reno weren’t feeling any nerves as they waited two hours for their opportunity to make their entrepreneurial pitch to a panel of high-powered business leaders at the U.S. finals of Red Bull Basement.
As the last team scheduled to present, Mediwala and Sapwell listened to student teams from schools such as Stanford, Columbia, MIT and Princeton propose sophisticated plans for business powered by artificial intelligence. All 10 of the teams had been selected by Red Bull Basement from a field of more than 15,000 entrants in the national competition.
Undaunted, Sapwell and Mediwala finally took the stage to pitch their concept of AI-powered bins that would automatically sort recyclables from other disposables at restaurants and other high-traffic locations.
“The Reno boys were going to show them how to do this,” recalled Sapwell, a junior majoring in marketing in the College of Business.
And Mediwala, a junior majoring in economics, calmed his nerves with thoughts of the support the duo had received from numerous faculty members and fellow students during the often-frenetic few weeks that had brought them to this stage at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass.
“It wasn’t just us there on that stage,” he said. “We knew we were there representing our school.”
Even in the fast-paced world of technological entrepreneurship, Sapwell and Mediwala had moved with lightning speed. Consider:
- Sept. 27: A representative of Red Bull Basement encourages members of the University’s Entrepreneur Club to develop ideas for the competition. Mediwala and Sapwell, friends since their freshman year on campus, are intrigued. Sapwell, who has observed consumer confusion at those recycling-or-trash bins in restaurants, suggests they work up something to solve the problem.
- Oct. 26: A day before the deadline for entry — and only 30 days since they started thinking about it — the Reno boys submit their concept for SmartWaste Bin. At this point, it’s not much more than an idea.
- Oct. 29: Red Bull Basement officials e-mail Sapwell and Mediwala, telling them they’ve been selected among the top 60. They’re given 48 hours to create and submit a polished 60-second video that will determine whether they make the top 10.
- Nov. 1: They learn they’ve reached the final 10, and they’ll travel to Boston to present a full-blown plan to a judging panel.
- Nov. 16: Barely more than six weeks after they first heard of the competition, Mediwala and Sapwell confidently stand on the MIT stage, present a detailed plan filled with information about technological capabilities, target markets, development costs and global distribution channels. After their eight-minute pitch, they’re equally sure-footed as they answer another five minutes of questions from panelists.
While the clock was ticking ever more quickly toward their appearance at the national finals, Sapwell and Mediwala found support across the campus community.
Matt Westfield, entrepreneur-in-residence at the College of Business, and Thomas Burnham, an associate professor of marketing, worked with the team on everything from technical specifications to the business model. Samantha Bickert, a lecturer in management, helped them hone their presentation skills and pointed them to other University resources. Deborah Downing-Wilson, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Communication Studies, advised them on development of a unique introduction to their pitch. Sandun Perera, an associate professor of business analytics and operations, prepped them for technical questions about data collection and sorting.
Members of the — Mediwala is its founder — and made suggestions and posed challenging questions during trial runs of the pitch.
Even though SmartWaste Bin didn’t win the national competition —those honors went to a team from Stanford — and even though it’s still uncertain whether SmartWaste Bin is a commercially feasible idea, Mediwala and Sapwell said the experience vastly strengthened their entrepreneurial confidence.
Equally important, they said the appearance of a team from the University at a top national competition further cements its reputation as a school that develops entrepreneurial excellence. They expect other students to follow their footsteps to major national and international competitions.
“We’ve been there,” said Sapwell. “We have that confidence. We’re bringing it back to share with our University.”
