What a whirlwind of a semester!

Working with a diverse group and creating an innovative, stellar idea to fix a common problem is NOT as easy as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates make it look. I mean, we all know their experiences weren’t a piece of cake…it didn’t come without hardship and failure. But it’s easy to look at them and assume that they were just inventive individuals destined to make history, so of course they found success.

This class twisted my brain in new ways. It took my mental capacity beyond its usual grounds, and I found myself in a zone beyond comfort. I was researching a platform — podcasts — that prior to I had really just viewed as an entertaining way to tell stories and share information. I was learning the ins and outs of why podcasts are on-trend, who’s listening, why they work and why you should care. From researching podcasts, LISTENING to podcasts and discussing powerful entrepreneurs, I began to unfold what it takes to create a problem-solving product that can really change things.

My group tackled the problem of getting students in media fields engaged with career opportunities and alumni via a weekly podcast show. The idea was, each week we would interview (for now) a different Spartan alumni in some media field — from journalism to game design to public relations.

After researching our audience via some telling surveys, we did establish that the on-trend method of receiving information — podcasts — was a key way that a majority of students would prefer to receive this kind of information. Networking is vital in the media community, and to be able to access that kind of material from anywhere, on the go, was a big pull for our student body.

Presenting and pitching this concept went smoothly, and it showed us exactly how perceptive an audience was and is to our idea. We received solid feedback and the provision of a mock podcast gave them a solid understanding of our exact product. While we aren’t putting this idea completely into action in this course, it proved to me that I have what it takes to consider all aspects of a start-up business. All the things that must be taken into consideration — money, audience, reach, etc. — play a major role in the success of your entrepreneurial venture.

This class took us into the real world. It isn’t easy, and staying on task with teammates to achieve success can be a daunting task, especially at this age with so many other obstacles and projects vying for our time. But we did it, through and through. And I am proud to have gone through this course and come out smarter and stronger. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll come up with a concept that’ll change the world!….or just my community….or just me. Only time will tell.