Getting the most out of Flux
From left to right: Team Tech Gurus - Tyler Reichardt, Ryan Anderson, Yolisa Nzimela, Laura Cohen, Asanda Mhluzi
and Olwethu Mashalaba
UCT Careers asked the winning team for Flux Semester 2 about their Flux experience.
What was your big idea?
Laura - We came up with an online platform which aims to connect labourers (plumbers, electricians, makeup & hair stylists, etc…) to those needing a job done, on an on demand basis. The platform would actively recruit straight from vocational schools and certified programs to help new graduates of these programs jump straight into the job market while allowing people to find the work they need right away.
Had you heard of Flux before?
Yolisa- No. I had no idea what it was until I saw the advertisement on Vula. And then I was really excited to take part in it.
Asanda- Yes! It’s always been something I wanted to participate in.
Laura - I heard of FLUX from my boyfriend who did it two years ago, and really thought it would be a great experience.
Did you know your teammates before? What are the degrees that you are studying towards?
Most of us only met on the day (only meeting one team member an hour into the day because she had slept through her alarm ;) ) Only Ryan and Asanda knew each other.
This winning cross-faculty team are studying:
- Ryan: B.Sc. Maths, Maths Stats and Comp ScI (2nd year)
- Yolisa: Business Science in Finance with Accounting (1st year)
- Tyler: B.Sc. Eng. Mechanical Engineering (3rd year)
- Laura: B.Sc. Computer Science & Computer Games Development (3rd year)
- Asanda: Bcom Accounting(CA) stream
- Olwethu: BCom Information Systems (3rd year)
Did you have any expectations for the day’s process?
Laura: I knew it would be a busy day, but I didn’t realize just how crazy everything would be! The time between getting there and presenting went by incredibly fast. I didn’t realize the extent to which the professionals would help and give their advice.
Tyler: My initial thought was that there would be limited resources throughout the day and that we would need to confine amongst ourselves to develop an effective business plan, wrong I was, there was an abundant amount of resources through various meetings with experts in their respective fields and continuous check ups and guidelines to ensure we were on the right path. I learned a staggering amount of information throughout the day.
Olwethu: I did not have any expectations for the day, since I knew I had applied as an individual with no prior knowledge of the competition and how it works. I knew I would be going in with no expectation and everything to learn and gain.
Ryan: My only expectation was that I would end the day knowing far more than when I began, and that was definitely met, even surpassed (I certainly didn’t expect that there would be a coffee stall set up… and loads of muffins)
Yolisa: I genuinely just signed up, and then I didn’t expect to get in as a lot of people told me it was hard to get in. But when I made it, I expected great food and a lot of group work.
Runners up: from left to right: Mziwakhe Makhaya, Bright Dube, Nawaal Boolay - Acting Director UCT Careers Service, Leeson Naidu, Megan Swartz, Yashara Ryan, David Guqaza from Deloitte and Amanda Sibanda.
What was the surprise about the day?
Yolisa: Meeting the panel and getting feedback from professionals.
Asanda: Meeting Laura because we are in the same phaphama organisation that consults for small businesses in the townships and obviously the prize winning because there were other great business ideas!
Laura: It was a really wonderful surprise to find myself working with the established professionals on such a “team” basis as opposed to feeling that they were my superiors. It was also very surprising to see how people who had never met could come together and really get things done!
Did you find it easy or hard to present?
Tyler: I found it intimidating and I certainly realised I had to brush on some of my soft skills if I were to ever pitch an idea to investor one day. The learning throughout the presentation really helps you to understand what it is investors are really looking for.
Yolisa: I thought it was nerve-wracking: I was a little scared that I would make a grammar mistake during the speech.
Olwethu: Being a reserved or normally quiet person, I found the presentation part to be challenging since I don’t normally do that kind of stuff. But I took out a lot from that experience and it definitely made me think of doing more presentations to better my public speaking skills.
Ryan: The presentation was very daunting. We had limited time to prepare and were grilled in a “shark tank”-like setting. However, I loved the challenge - and to see the group and idea come together during the presentation was inspirational!
Laura: I definitely find presenting a bit intimidating, but I have had the opportunity to practice my soft skills very much in the past year so I was comfortable. I had to present the final elevator speech which was very daunting and the lead-up was hard, but once I started talking, I found it easy get my point across.
What was your experience with the employer experts like?
Yolisa: Amazing. They made me excited to be competitive and become as knowledgeable as them.
Asanda: They gave brilliant advice and it helped us refine our business idea.
Laura: I really enjoyed my experience with them. I thought it would be an extremely formal relationship with them being my superiors, but it turned out to be much more team-based and everyone was on the same level. It was really amazing to practice my elevator pitch and have all my team and all my experts working together as one.
Would you recommend this to your friends and classmates?
Tyler: I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to engage and learn how to cope under pressure and produce effective results within a short period of time, this really does test your skills under pressure. The amount of information you can gain through an event like this is staggering, id have learnt just as much regardless of whether I placed first or last.
Olwethu: I would definitely recommend this to them because not only do you get the chance to meet great people to work with. But you also get the chance to talk with and receive feedback from people who are experts in their field, while getting the chance to collaborate with other students (whom you might or might not know).While also getting the chance to test and display your innovative and entrepreneurial abilities.
Ryan: 100%, and I already have! To be honest, it was a very hectic day from start to finish - we didn’t even get time to enjoy the delicious lunch that they had provided us - however, it is the kind of day that challenges you, and pushes you, ultimately making you stronger as a person (and exhausted!) by the end of it.
Did you feel that you developed through this experience? If yes, can you describe this?
Yolisa: Most definitely. I got to see how different people think. I had no idea people sat down and came up with business ideas in their rooms, explored all their opportunities at all times and worked on their entrepreneurship. This woke me up and started making me change the way I see the problems around me.
Asanda: I speak for everyone in the group when I say working in a diverse team and coming together with new people can manifest great things, other similar groups have done the same and we were lucky enough to win. I have developed my communication skills and problem solving.
Laura: I definitely think I was able to refine my communication, leadership, and presentation skills. I have not had an opportunity to present in such a high stakes and high speed manner, practicing and getting advice from experts on this was very beneficial. I also developed better skills in communication with my team and trying to maintain some type of order without being too overbearing.
Do you think this has switched on an interest in entrepreneurship to take forward / were you always interested in entrepreneurship?
Tyler: I have always been very entrepreneurially inclined, this has only increased my passion within the industry and shown me how much I still need to learn, personally I went into this event trying to learn as much as I can and the fact that our group won, only showed me how much enthusiasm I have gained within this industry
Yolisa: Yes. I thought I was thinking like an entrepreneur but now I realise that I was not doing enough. This gave me initiative.
Olwethu: For me, it hasn’t necessarily sparked an interest in entrepreneurship because I have always considered myself to be an entrepreneur. But it has definitely made me want to pursue my interests in entrepreneurship more.
Ryan:I would not say that this switched on an interest (because I feel that the interest was already there), however, I can say that it has given me a far deeper insight into how challenging entrepreneurship can be - with all the intricacies of financial planning and marketing etc. that one must consider - making me even more eager to give it a go!
Any other comments?
Go wild.
Well done to the team! Check out the photo gallery on the right.