Workshop: Personal Branding Beyond Linkedin

 Blog post by Mireille Francis, ESSEC Global MBA Student Ambassador

On Saturday the 19th of November, students from the Strategy & Luxury track attended Youri Sawerschel’s Personal Branding workshop to help the students get their personal brand into shape, stand out during interviews, and make networking easy. One thing that stood out from Youri's presentation was his quote on Personal Branding:

“If you are smart and do a good job, you only have the basics to enter the game. Personal branding is about knowing who you are and where you want to go”  

- Youri Sawerschel 

A strong personal brand is key to successfully reach your professional objectives. Original teaching techniques were used to acquire and validate various hard and solf skills. 

Students enjoyed their Saturday at le Coeur de la Défense campus in Paris, reflecting about their past and future path and working on taking ownership of their career goals. They were able to define a roadmap and think outside of the box by doing many group and individual exercises. 

We asked one of our classmates on what he learnt during the workshop:

 “Yesterday’s workshop taught by Youri Sawerchel was definitely something to remember. Among many other things, it allowed me to think long-term by looking back, a process I had not encountered before. We took time to write our own obituaries (an interesting exercise for sure) which allowed us to reflect on our successful careers before the end of our lives. By jotting down what a successful career looked like in my eyes, I unknowingly wrote a career plan that I would be thrilled to progress through. It helped me set specific goals for myself in a very simple, yet ultimately effective manner”  

- Santiago Xavier Elizalde, Strategy & Digital MBA’22

In a nutshell, students were advised to become the CEO of themselves, define their vision, anchors, topics and eventually take the right decisions accordingly. 

Global MBA Luxury Brand Management: Conference with Guillaume de Seynes, Managing Director Hermès International

 

On the 6^th of July, the ESSEC GMBA Luxury Brand Management Track had the pleasure of a conference with M. Guillaume de Seynes, a 6^th generation member of the Hermès family, and member of the executive board. In addition to being responsible for production for the Hermès brand, he is also CEO of the smaller companies within the larger Groupe Hermès, including the storied shoemaker John Lobb, and cristallerie Saint-Louis.

Official photo by Alexandre Guikinger

Few but the cognoscenti are familiar with the latter marques, and it is a testament to the discreet and self-effacing good works of the Hermès group that they have stayed that way. Many were rescued from the precipice of extinction over the course of the last few decades, in order to preserve crucial pieces of European artisanal patrimony. Cristallerie Saint-Louis, for instance, traces its existence back to 1586, when it became the first glassmaker in France, and in 1781, the first crystal glass maker in continental Europe. The Paris shop of John Lobb was purchased in 1976, and continues the finest tradition of shoemaking by hand to this day.

This quiet passion for artisanal excellence and support for the craftspeople who make it possible was evident in everything M. de Seynes was kind enough to share with the class. On the topic of production, the inevitable question of the (in)famous Birkin waitlist, and the eye-watering prices commanded by these iconic handbags, naturally arose. Walking us through every detail of their manufacture, including the rarity of the materials used, the years of training required to make a single piece, M. de Seynes demonstrated categorically that the price of Hermès products correspond directly with the care and meticulousness in their fabrication, and not, as is wont with other luxury brands, a “marketing price”, as he called it, based on considerations of image and demand. 

The other hot topic of discussion was of course sustainability. Was Hermès worried about the growing scrutiny of leather as an unsustainable material? Was mushroom leather really the future for the brand? As M. de Seynes explained, Hermès products are a priori sustainable, as they are made with the robust durability that enables them to be passed down over generations. Combined with other innovations in sourcing and fabrication, which have allowed the brand to cut waste to the minimum, he pointed out that this approach was much more sustainable (and luxurious) than making something from a subpar material that would degrade and need to be replaced.

Inspired by this hour of conversation, we came away thoroughly charmed, feeling the same emotions experienced by all who step into one of the 306 Hermès boutiques worldwide, where this singular vision of beauty and quality is brought to life.

Learn more about the Luxury Brand Management track of the Global MBA

Talk to the Global MBA Admissions Team

Diving Into a Changing World

 by Catherine Villarosa, Global MBA Ambassador 2020-2021 | Strategy & Digital Leadership Singapore Track 

As a class, the ESSEC GMBA Cohort of 2021 was faced with the difficult decision of pursuing our degrees during a time of great uncertainty. The entire world was put on pause until a cure was found for COVID-19, with the billions of people around the globe left uncertain even of what the next day would bring. Until then, we needed to make do with what we could. Yet, despite knowing the upcoming challenges, the seventeen of us still decided to go for it. Changes were happening left and right, and even though there were times we felt lost, we realised how much this reflected the world that was coming: a new, different, and constantly changing world that we were still preparing to dive into. 

To begin, the journey to Singapore was a long road; with over half of the class struggling to enter the country, the whole class adjusting to the new blended online-offline learning environment, and the entire community striving to make the most out of what was possible. And for the first time, the cohort’s team building and integration activity was held after the first term closed; when, normally, it is intended for the first week of classes to help us build a strong foundation for the upcoming twelve months. But after working together for three months, I have found that even though the physical and temporal differences made it difficult to build that foundation, it was the shared experience of going through the struggles and having the hopefulness in a better tomorrow that truly brought our class together--and our team building activity helped cement it.

On the 14th and 15th of December, we took part in a two-day programme that allowed us to experience teamwork through out-of-the box tasks, different perspectives through culinary delights, and a sense of community and appreciation of the MBA journey through alumni talks over dinner with a beautiful view of Singapore.

We began our activities on the first day with Focus Adventure with a light breakfast and brief introduction and expectation-setting session: with some key ones being to have fun, make great memories, and make sure everyone was safe. We had a quick, multi-round icebreaker which had us learn our friends’ favourite colour, food, and country to visit. This went on for one round, where we traded as many name tags as we could by passing on what we learnt onto the next person we met. The second round was us passing back the name tag to the owner by correctly naming all three favourites. The final round involved a heavy round of competition between two random teams, where a curtain was put up in the middle, and the first team to correctly identify all three favourites would win the set, and the winner would take the person from the other team onto their side. This went on until one team won.

Our next activity was to build a working raft that would keep us afloat to complete a series of tasks. However, we weren’t going to be spoon-fed for our materials; we had to earn our materials through a blind minesweeper game, where we had to collect a specific number coloured balls that would represent each item that we needed to build our raft. The catch was: our team could only lead us through the field by using only animal sounds!

After successfully collecting everything we needed, each team was challenged to come up with a workable design that would be able to hold two team members who would operate the craft on the water towards a defined point, and would take it back to shore after. We would need to do this three times, and in between, we had to complete three sub-tasks as well. The first was to complete seven rounds of team juggling, the second to do a coordinated jump rope effort for ten rounds, and finally, to disassemble the raft in the most efficient and organised way possible.

Following this, lunch was served, and we had another icebreaker to re-energise us for the next activity of the day, which was to build a bicycle. Teams were given parts, manuals, and guides to assemble, and needless to say, it was an effort that required communication, teamwork, as well as both precision and trial and error. Throughout the allotted time for assembly, all teams were forced to stop working, and would only be able to continue once we completed specific tasks.

Apart from this, teams were also challenged to creatively present their bicycles through a short five-minute presentation. It was here that we learnt that the bicycles were to be donated to children in need, and upon learning this, all teams began to put greater effort into ensuring that the assembly was correct. In parallel, the teams began to prepare the presentation content; which ranged from lighthearted, superhero stories to inspirational, but humorous stories about chasing after their dreams (and ending with a dance for successfully reaching them!).

The day ended with a wrap-up of going through our expectations, as well as a time for special recognition for and from our teammates. The day was certainly tiring, but very rewarding, as the entire class had learnt how important teamwork, communication, and respect for one another is in achieving a common goal. This was especially true for our cohort, which is a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds and nationalities. While a small, close-knit group, we realised we had so much more to learn from one another, and that this was just really the beginning.

On the second day, we kick-started our whole-day culinary adventure with Hello! Singapore’s signature food tours. The trip began in the East Coast at Soon Soon Huat’s famous curry puff, which instantly became one of the group’s favourite delights. There, we tried and learnt about the differences among local kopi and teh drinks and how to order them according to our taste preferences. 

Our next stop was at Kim Choo Kueh Chang, which is a Peranakan heritage shop specialising in nyonya (rice) dumplings, nyonya kueh (traditional cakes), and other snacks. Apart from this, the shop also has several souvenirs available such as batik and other handicrafts, and even has a special archive on the second floor featuring Peranakan articles and artifacts celebrating its unique cultural heritage and value. The archive contains items like traditional ceramics, textiles, shoes, jewellery, clothing, art, and furnishings, and we were also treated to a brief tour from the family who has been running the business for two generations.

After this, we were off to try Katong Laksa at Roxy Centre, which I was unfortunately unable to try due to allergies, but according to the others, the taste was different from the other laksa they had tried in the past. Laksa is a traditional Peranakan spicy-sour soup dish with rice, wheat, or vermicelli noodles in a base of coconut milk, curry, or both in the soup.  As we were told, there are several versions of this “original laksa”, but that this one is the most famous one. 

Next, we headed over to the Bugis area and went to Albert Food Centre, which was filled with plenty of choices for lunch time. Our group was full by this time, but that didn’t stop us from trying out a variety of dishes and drinks, as well as some ice-based desserts that were perfect for the hot afternoon that day.

To walk off the morning’s calories, we explored a little more around the area in Bugis by briefly looking around in the open markets, as well as observing the temples from the outside. After this, we continued on with our tour and stopped by the Kampong Glam area, and explored a little of both the Malay Heritage Centre and Haji Lane’s colourful street before trying out some mubarak and prata for a quick break before our final stop in Little India, where we had our last dish of the day, which was dosa.

Even though it was just one day, I was very happy to have been able to explore some of Singapore’s rich cultural diversity, and it was great to have been able to do this through food. I believe there is so much to be learnt and appreciated through food, as there is so much depth behind what one can see on one’s plate. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to understand the history, appreciate the culture, and experience everything through the various flavours, textures, and aromas on this day.

Finally, we were treated to a wonderful evening with a gorgeous view of Singapore for a special dinner with some of our alumni, who offered stories about their experiences after getting their degree, and advice to our questions about life after the programme. 

Despite only being here for three months, I can say that it has definitely been a valuable period of learning, not just for me, but also for the entire cohort. Our first term was not what we expected when we decided to embark on our MBA journey, but we are all moving forward nonetheless. Our paths are all different, but at the same time, we are going through similar challenges. What these past days have taught me is that while the journey may be difficult, what matters is knowing what motivates you, understanding what you can do to make things happen, and learning to work with others through extending your understanding of them with empathy and respect so that you can achieve your common goals.

2020 has certainly been a year unlike any other. Amidst all the challenges and significant changes brought about, we have seen how just one event can have such a profound impact on our lives. We have understood for ourselves how change must take place through both thoughts and actions. And we have experienced how valuable, and wonderful it is for people to come together and work tirelessly towards healing the world. With everything that has happened so far, I am grateful for the opportunity to be with this group, and I am personally very excited as to how our own stories, experiences, skills, dreams, and passions will shape our journey and transformation towards becoming our best selves.

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Enjoy the short video clip here: 

Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa

By Hannah Lee

In Tanzania, people don’t trust very easily and will come up with any excuse to turn your product down. Unfortunately, that is what happened to Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa’s CEO, Mesiaki Kimirei (Mr. Kim), and salesman, Fred. They have a unique product that has an innovative production process. They use a combination of clay, sawdust and colloidal silver to form the initial shape of the pot. The colloidal silver is the key ingredient (also expensive) that kills the bacteria.

It is then burned at 900 degrees in a kiln for about 24 hours, using a small stick of clay (a different kind) as an indicator of temperature (when it’s 900 degrees, it will start to melt). The cooling process takes about 24 hours. It is then transferred to the “drying station,” where it will solidify for a few days. The purpose of the sawdust is to create the tiny filters through which the water will travel. The sawdust will burn when in the kiln, leaving tiny holes all over the pot. Even the machine used to form the initial shape is handmade by Mr. Kim. It is a combination of wood, metal and the tool used when changing the tire of your car. It is constructed to minimize labor. Talk about doing it yourself! After the pot has dried, they test it to see if the water flow is as expected (2L per hour) and the water is bacteria-free. The latter is done at a local clinic. However, they have an in-home test as well where you stick a small tube containing the filtered water next to your body for a day or so and if the water turns brown, it means it contains bacteria. If not, it’s clean and safe to drink!

While his product is innovative without a doubt and even award winning, Tanzanians have less interest to learn about the product/technology or worse, trust that it produces clean drinking water. A lot of it is behavioral, which is unfortunate and hard to change. In the meantime, all they can do is stay focused on keeping a consistent messaging scheme and come up with creative sales strategy!

In addition, they are burdened with costs. Due to high costs, they can only sell the pot at a high price (90,000 TSH for the smaller one). While the pot may last 5-6 years depending on the water used, the initial upfront cost is very high for their target market (low- to middle-income earners). Even if someone expressed interest in the product, he/she will end up just walking away due to their schedule for the day. Tanzanians will usually have a schedule in mind when going about their day, and generally don’t like having to change i.e. go home earlier to avoid carrying the pot around all day.

The bucket itself is almost 40% of the cost (part of which is VAT), not to mention the high cost of the colloidal silver. Mr. Kim ends up making a margin of 20,000 TSH per pot (after salary, etc.), which doesn’t include some expenses. The Anza team proposed two major sales tactics: (1) get certification and (2) partner with health-related vendors i.e. dispensaries, pharmacies, etc. Safe Water Ceramics can get a certification from TSB (a Tanzanian standards office), which states that the product is up to the bureau’s standards.

By partnering with health-related vendors, Safe Water Ceramics can be present when a person comes looking for diarrhea relief medicine. This can be used as an opportunity to talk about the benefits of the pot, incentivizing the customer to purchase due to his/her state of health.

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Economic Empowerment of the Needy (SEEN)

PraveenKumar Sundararaju, current Global MBA student showcased his social business venture, Society for Economic Empowerment of the Needy (SEEN) at the European Social Business Forum, 2016 at Utrecht, Netherlands. The venture was showcased to Muhammad Yunus, Nobel prize laureate and other participants.

European Social Business Forum was created in 2013 and designed to bring together everyone active in social business. Furthermore, it gives insights to those interested in the concept and creates a familiar networking atmosphere for all participants. One of the main goals of the forum is to use participants' expertise and experience to shape the way forward for social business in Europe. The program of the European Social Business Forum is composed of key note speeches, panel discussions and presentations of activities, as well as interactive sessions in which solutions for relevant topics are discussed. In addition, exhibitions give an opportunity to showcase concrete examples of social businesses, exploring innovative ways to solve social issues within the society.

SEEN is involved in empowering the informal sector by providing need based training through public and private partnership in India, and also through product innovation. The trained workforce will be connected to the customer through the online platform. The initial service includes household service, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, gardening, landscaping, etc. The pilot project will commence soon in India. 

The Product R&D is to provide affordable and innovative solutions to the informal workforce in India. The team analyzes the top problems and proposes solutions which are feasible and affordable by the people in need. 

Electronic Wearable Cleaning Device:

Praveen showcased one of his inventions of an Electronic Wearable Cleaning Device (patent pending) to assist millions of domestic workers in India. The domestic workers are mostly women and are paid poor.  They work on 2-3 houses per day and they soft hands become rough because of day long cleaning work.  The activities include cleaning utensils, washing clothes, etc. The product is a wearable device with automatic brushes, motors and rechargeable batteries. The device can reduce their time and effort by 40% and protect their hands from chemical exposure. It also prevents Tennis elbow syndrome. It is a multi-purpose device that can be used for cleaning utensils, washing clothes and washing cars. 

The other products include Low Cost Refrigerator (concept) and a Digital Writing Device to replace traditional paper based notebook.  Praveen and his team were also the regional finalist in Hult prize, Shanghai.

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Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese

Delphine Lau, Global MBA 2014-2016, France

A big and unique opportunity during the Shanghai field trip was to visit the almost opened Shanghai Disneyland Park, the biggest investment for the Disney Company (at leat 5,5 billions US$ sharing with Shanghi Shendi Group Joint Venture).

During several hours all the batch was emerged with the Walt Disney Shanghai team who shared with us their  way of thinking business and their big challenges to integrate Chinese culture so far away from Western culture !

Indeed, the Disney stories hold a special place in the heart of millions people in Western culture. For more  than  90 years, the Disney unique characters have inspired generations of adults. I, personally, grew up with Disney which let a strong print in my imagination. I always became really excited when visiting the Paris Disneyland park and each year I looked forward to watching the new happy end Disney movie.

So when you know that Chinese people did not grow up with Disney characters and that the Chinese popular stories should end up sadly, how do you think that Disney Company would be able to integrate a traditional Disney theme park  in the heart of China?

Through important and deep market research, Disney understood that Chinese people wanted the traditional Disney experience even though they did not bear in them the Disney culture. But Disney had also this certitude that they would fully enjoy if they felt comfortable with Chinese culture reference. Thus Disney company created and built  all its Shanghai Disneyland park following that short motto « Authentically Disney, Distincly Chinese ». In other words, enjoy a full disney experience with the Chinese way of life and Disney stories knowledge.

Disney company decided to build the park in a style similar to Disney’s other magic Kingdom style parks. But in order to make the Chinese people more familiar with the park, Disney Company adapted the Park to Chinese culture specificity through powerful details which combined Disney stories and characters to attractions specifically designed for Chinese guests.  For example, Main Street, which is the first themed land inside the main entrance of the Disneyland park and represents a early-20th-century small-town America, has been replaced by Mickey Avenue. By visiting Mickey Avenue, Chinese guests are invited to discover the past of Mickey and Disneyland roots.

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But integrating China culture is not only the biggest challenge facing by Disney. Another one is to achieve performance according to Disney traditional high expectations and requirements. Disney will have to develop and maintain an innovative and efficient supply chain, as vendors and human capital. As most of the employees would be hired locally, Disney would also have to face with training people to reach the best international practice.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed that company visit because we had that opportunity to enter in the Disney atmosphere and get the global pictures of the business. To sell a product that is not an item but an experience is very challenging and requires the best practices at each level of the project.

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Singapore Term 2016

The ESSEC campus in Singapore is strategically located in what is referred to as the “Silicon Valley” of Singapore. The Buona Vista neighborhood is home to a dense concentration of Singapore’s 1,000 plus start-ups that innovate in a range of spaces including fintech, adtech, big data, social marketing, enterprise solutions, and biotech. ESSEC is nestled near a few major landmarks including Fusionopolis, Biopolis, Mediapolis, which are part of the ecosystem that house many start-up incubators and shared workspaces.

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With a population of under 6 million people, Singapore may seem to be an unlikely location for start-ups aiming for worldwide market share, however, Singapore has positioned its self as a hub of innovation and a point of access into Asia, particularly in growing markets like Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Singapore has been used as a launch pad for American and European enterprises for years, and the roster of companies with major Singapore offices include top names like IBM, Apple, Google, Cisco, Microsoft, SAP, Amazon, Facebook, and many others.

Of course all this did not happen by accident, the Singaporean government has engineered some of the world’s most proactive polices, which have led to Singapore being the easiest place to do business on Earth, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings. Impressive, especially when compared to ESSEC’s home country, France, which rates 27th in the world. 

The ESSEC Global MBA had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the policies and strategies that have enabled Singapore to emerge as one of the world’s most competitive economies.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) is the main government agency tasked with making Singapore an international “home of business” and conduit through which business is conducted throughout Asia. The EDB, is the first connection a company has with Singapore when looking to set up offices, they offer all the informational resources to enable the process.

Mr. Goh Chee Kiong, Executive Director of Cleantech and Cities, Infrastructure & Industrial Solutions in at the EDB, presented on the policies, incentives, and methods that Singapore uses that make it the most business-friendly in the world. He sees Singapore as a “living laboratory” and described the innovations that have been made toward achieving water independence, increasing the use of renewable energies, and implementing “smart-city” infrastructure.

We had the pleasure of learning about “10 principles for liveable high density cities” from Director, Dr. Hee Limin, of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC). The motto of the CLC is “to distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities.” Given Singapore’s small geography, population, and lack of natural resources, the Singaporean government has focused on sustainability and innovation since its inception. This philosophy has guided their urban planners to build a green city that countries around the world look to as a model. Focusing on water, housing, planning, transport, foresight and pragmatism, industrial infrastructure, and sustainable environment, the CLC works to document and innovate the science of urban systems.

A*STAR, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research works to “bridge the gap between science and technology.” They develop talent and infrastructure to drive new technology and scientific discovery. They focus on 6 main domains including: computing science, electronics and photonics, fluid dynamics, engineering mechanics, materials science and engineering, and social and cognitive computing. A*STAR has some 1,500 industry projects, 290 patents, and has published 2,770 papers.

We heard from several researchers working on a range of projects associated with A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing. Dr. IIya Farber from the Psychometrics and Decision Science Group (PDS), gave us of “tour” of MoCHA (Monitoring Cognitive Health for Alzheimer’s), a game designed to monitor the cognitive health of the elderly through a series of memory games. Dr. Yang Yinping of the Social Intelligence Group presented on insights that she and her team have derived from advanced analytics and social media intelligence. She noted parallels between social media migration and geographic migration patterns and discussed the social media contribution to global disease surveillance.

Of course our learning would not be complete without actually visiting some start-ups and shared workspaces. Crayon Data particularly stands out in my mind. As one of the fastest growing big data companies in Asia, it is a pioneer in pattern recognition and helping companies and individuals enable decision making through the use of data. We had the chance to have a long discussion with the founder, Suresh Shankar, as well as tour the Singapore office. We also “toured” Maya, Crayon Data’s recommendations app, which is based on a choice and taste algorithm that aims to simplify the process of making choices surrounding leisure and dining.

In all, our trip to Singapore was nothing short of inspiring and I felt that the city was buzzing with energy and new ideas. I was impressed and motivated by all the ESSEC alums we met doing amazing work across a gamut of industries. We’re all sad to leave but for many of us, this won’t be our last trip to Singapore.

Now we’re in Shanghai for a week of company visits!

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“We make money from waste!” - The MAI Bangkok Business Challenge

Jaganmohanarao Yegireddi, Global MBA 2015-2016, India

“We make money from waste!” was our motto as we submitted our business plan summary in October 2015 to the MAI Bangkok Business Challenge.

The team was made up of:

• Monica Elston from the USA
• Praveenkumar Sundararaju from India
• Jaganmohanarao Yegireddi from India
• Juvena Ee Huang Tan from Singapore
• Long Hu from China
• Abhimanyu Ajay Mehra from India



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From the very day we completed our case study on Terra Nova, who developed a technology to recycle printed circuit boards to produce the precious metals, we saw a potential to establish this technology in India. Prof. Gilles van Wijk was kind enough to set up a meeting with Mr. Christian Thomas, the CEO of Terra Nova to discuss the possibility of setting up a plant in India. It was then we heard of the MAI Bangkok Business Challenge. We realized this challenge will provide us with an opportunity to validate our Plan.

By early December 2015, we were excited that our business plan was shortlisted among the 16 semi-finalists out of 48 plans that were submitted. This provided us with the first proof of the soundness of our plan. We borrowed time from the cramped up academic schedule to develop the plan further. After several deliberations on the strategy, pricing and supply chain, we were ready with our business plan on the very last date for submission. We were all set to go to Bangkok to present our plan.

The entire challenge was very well organized from picking us up at the airport to the award ceremony. This facilitated us to be more focused on our work. We set up our exhibition booth and prepared ourselves for the first network round presentation. The judges were very detail oriented and gave insights on how we could improve our plan. This was followed by the interactions with two of the alumni whose business went on to be very successful and then the 99 second pitch for all the semi-finalists. The 99 second pitches pumped up the energy of all the teams with precise summaries of their business plans. The interactions with judges and other teams gave us new directions to explore.

The first round was intense in terms of the question and answer session. Thankfully, our intensive preparation by anticipating the possible questions helped us to face the judges with relative comfort. We were adjudged first in our group and found ourselves in the finals. The finals, which were held the next day were aired live on the Thai money TV. The questions grew more intense, the interactions more insightful and the 30 minutes stipulated to us for the presentations seemed as if they were 10 minutes.

The prize distribution ceremony was chaired by the Air Chief Marshal of Thai Air Force, as a representative of the HM King of Thailand.  Yes, we were a bit dejected by not finding our name in the first two positions but the knowledge we got by participating in this event was immense. The evaluation of the business plan by the eminent judges gave us new directions to think and work on optimizing our plan.

Tomorrow will be another day, another chance and we are better equipped to grab that from what we have learned yesterday!

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