Entrepreneurship
Fresh off pitching the top idea at the Red Bull Basement Global Final, students Brinlee Kidd and Sylvia Lopez describe the experience of collaborating with the world’s best and brightest.
In the space of about seven months, Arizona State University students Brinlee Kidd and Sylvia Lopez went from dreaming up a tech idea for rethinking the way we learn, to being showered with confetti as their ingenious solution was named best idea of the latest Red Bull Basement Global Final.
The journey involved a lot more than simply flying 10,000 miles from their college town of Tempe to the Global Final in Istanbul.
Red Bull Basement empowers student innovators in all areas of study to kick-start their ideas to drive positive change. Kidd describes it as “an incredible programme for young entrepreneurs looking to disrupt the way the world works today”. However, as first-year undergrads, she and Lopez figured the opportunity was more appropriate for older students until their lab director encouraged them to enter.
Believing in yourself is far more important than anything else you can do
They submitted a 60-second video describing Jotted, an automated study tool that generates flashcard sets, identifies key terms in lecture notes, creates practice quizzes and more. Then, with the news that they were one of 44 global finalists selected from among more than 4,000 entries worldwide, they doubled down, spending months on development, as well as on a pitch for the Global Judges.
Even with the help of the programme mentors, as new entrepreneurs with a big idea, Lopez acknowledges that there were moments of doubt, saying, “While we had people who believed in us, that didn’t mean we didn’t feel imposter syndrome. But uncertainty is not a reason not to try. Believing in yourself is far more important than anything else you can do.”
Check out the Red Bull Basement Sessions podcast below to hear Kidd and Lopez share their secrets on how to start a business while still at university.
While the pair felt jet-lagged when they arrived at the Global Final, they quickly regained their mojo as they started three days of networking with the other finalist teams, as well as with global experts giving workshops and keynote speeches.
“We were rejuvenated,” Kidd recalls. “There’s Inspiration Day – we walked out of those workshops ready to get to work and do everything to accomplish our mission and vision.”
With the workshops addressing everything from storytelling to pitching and making the most of social media, there was a lot to absorb. “The biggest thing I learned is that everybody has a story,” Kidd shares. ”In pitch training, they teach you to tell stories. And that was an incredible thing for us to learn, but an incredible thing to experience as well, because you get this showing of everyone telling their life stories and what makes them passionate. That’s very special, and in such a goal and solution-oriented format, as well. I think pitching is now one of my favourite things!”
Certainly Jotted’s own pitch made an impression with the Global Judges, including Gener8 founder Sam Jones, who invited the team to stay in touch for possible collaboration. And when Kidd and Lopez’s names were announced as the top team, the smiles on their faces said it all.
“I think Red Bull Basement is going to make me a much more outgoing, competent person, and as a company, I think it’s going to be the big difference for us,” Lopez declares.
Kidd agrees, “We can’t wait to use this as a launching point to make Jotted the best it can possibly be, so that students and other users truly find it more efficient to learn.”
Thanks to meeting so many inspiring student teams from around the world, Team Jotted also came out of the experience feeling more optimistic about the future. Lopez explains, “I’m excited for what we will do ourselves, but also to see what the other teams do – to see how the world just keeps getting better because of all the people here.”
Team Jotted’s Top 3 tips for future Red Bull Basement participants:
- Never give up.
- Take interest in the network you meet throughout the process – “they could end up being your friends for life.”
- Go for it!
Explore Red Bull Basement opportunities year round at redbullbasement.com