By Samhita Surapaneni
Samhita Surapaneni, a senior from West Bloomfield, Michigan, is a current MSU student majoring in marketing with a minor in entrepreneurship & innovation. She has a great focus on integrating healthcare and business, which align with her future plans to get a master's in health policy. It’s very common to have doubts. Especially as a college student, we constantly find ourselves in a state of questioning our actions, thoughts, beliefs, and path. It is so easy to get caught up in your head that you cannot face the reality that things take time to develop, and that confidence is key in pushing yourself forward. But at the same time, it is also so easy to get caught up in reality that you forget about the abundance of creativity and dreams in your head. This is why I am so grateful for my experience at 2DAY VENTURE, because it allowed me an outlet to tap back into my imaginative character with no repercussions or judgment.
In all honesty, I went into the weekend with no original idea of my own and was simply there as a requirement for my major and my classes. However, my journey over the course of 36 hours completely changed my respect for the process and event itself. My team and I were assigned a predetermined venture, named “Mouth Buddy,” which was given to us as a default company. It was up to us to transform it into something viable which was exactly the challenge I needed to spark my creativity.
From the original concept, we were not given much information besides the name of the firm and the fact that it would be assisting those with depression/mental health disorders in cleaning their teeth for days which they could not find the motivation to get up. As the idea developed through processes of segmentation, targeting, analytics, surveying, and more. We ended up with an idea that consisted of a mouth guard containing a plaque and enamel “waxing” strip that attaches to your teeth and the customer easily removes plaque and residue. Mouth Buddy product eliminates the need for any water, is no-mess, and requires minimal effort.
Not only did building this company and product line reignite my motivation for business, but also my imagination that I felt I haven’t had a lot of time to explore as a college student. It made me feel like a little kid again. The Burgess Institute really rewards this quality in students, and they put no barrier on your ideas.
2DAY VENTURE is an amazing experience for anyone in any major, and I even made a new group of friends consisting of like-minded, hardworking individuals. It was a big plus to win first place at the end of it all too! My take on 2DAY VENTURE: The event has revamped my love for business and boosted my confidence to the point where I know I could make this a reality in the future.
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