Storage Together: Blessed are the Flexible
One of our co-founders from our scrappy startup Storage Together told us of a networking and pitching even in Wuhan, China – any opportunity to pitch in front of Chinese investors. As a team, we focused on our idea and saw other share economies taking on the world.
Our startup team, an odd bunch of GCU Lopes traveling to and fro, had our passports stamped from Europe to Asia. What made this different than the event in Barcelona or even our other competition was how we would be pitching for real-deal investors, not a prize or an award, to become a real-deal business.
Our team decided to push forward. We’d rent a car and drive over to Los Angeles.
Our travels came to multiple halts due to a travel agency mistyping our passport information. We had to rush through the terminal. Naturally, our plane was grounded for seven hours due to two tire issues. When we finally landed in Beijing, our cofounder’s phone was stolen. They had to reschedule our connecting flight to Wuhan via a new airline. They had us stay at a motel for two hours in the hustle and bustle of Beijing before we came back to go through TSA (be sure to remove your belt during the electronic scanner – don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise).
Hours later, after our associate picked us up, we made it to the hotel. We missed the beginning of the event. In a quote from my dad who paraphrased from the Bible, “Blessed are the flexible.”
During the humid days we got to talk to peers from America who came with the same vision we had. We talked about their API strategies, their generalized vision of how they got from point A to B and their plans to go to Z. We talked about the vision of characterization in Manga to their interactions with Steve Jobs to the foundation of Atari. They spoke about flexibility, about bending to things out of your control – and if they were in your control, making them bend towards you.
During our pitch, the organizers did not swap our pitch with our new slideshow. During the spot, we had to improvise. We realized simple things: to be respectful and roll with the punches. After our pitch, we talked with investors. Josh told me, “We got our main points across.” During the pitch and right after, we simply conversed about what they were passionate about, including culture and business.
Storage Together is a business created by honors students here at GCU. Learn more about opportunities in the Honors College by visiting our website or contacting us today using the Request More Information button.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University.