Edy Jel Centillas

"Started from the bottom, now we're here." is what my mind speaks as I write this fourth and last blog. It was indeed challenging for me to set foot in a world I am not fond of. Up until now, I consider entrepreneurship a difficult context because maybe I'm not starting a business now, which means I can't relate somehow. However, it doesn't mean I'm not interested in learning more about it since I have learned so much along the way, including the utilization of the Business Model Canvas so that one's startup plans and objectives are organized, clear, and concise. Also determining the usage and usability, and many more that require creative thinking in each opportunity presented because "Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have Value" - Sir Ken Robinson.

Meetings with endless plans solely for the final pitching to be ideal and qualified; empathizing, validating, and being criticized were I believe the words that best described and summed up our journey until the final pitching. The team has contemplated and justified the needs and wants of our target market to determine which needs to be prioritized, validated to the legitimate business store owners, and criticized for the shortcomings of our startups while also acknowledging our strengths. This was a reminder and will always be: "It is necessary to be wrong sometimes. Plan to experiment, plan to fail. Analyze, adapt, and repeat. The smarter you think you are the harder this is going to be." I suppose I have to continue to be down to earth and allow other people to help me because connecting with people that I don't normally do is a way for me to grow, but we must choose the right people, the trustworthy and reliable people.

On the other hand, promoting our startup project named "CHOOSE 2 GO", is a good way to showcase the products and services it offers and how it actually operates. Even before, our team already believed that we could change the world because change began with us being empathetic, by validating, and being criticized.

Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. - Jim Rohn Market validation is a very crucial task to be done to incorporate ideas that are relevant and beneficial for consumers. It was during the pitching and fundraising when we were told that while our startup and intentions were good and interesting, we didn't put enough work into achieving our goals in a way that would be beneficial to both our partner stores and us. In general, college is really time-consuming; even though we may already have the idea, plans, finance, and people when it's time to carry it out, there's no time anymore. I understood that for the best results, market startups needed to be well thought out months or even years in advance. Because I really believe that by pursuing this journey, we will grow, and our ideas will also grow. Additionally, customer growth means that we must adapt to changes. Moreover, there will be competitors which is inevitable so the team must present it uniquely to attract consumers, or even investors whether angel investors, venture capitalists or public investors. The Lecture Series that was held last November 23 and 25, 2022 was a way to bring awareness to the students and influence us to start a company and to interact with others on how they started their journey. Engr. Bronson G. Mabulay emphasized the word "Mindset", to be innovative and entrepreneurial. There are people who are willing to invest as long as we know how to do it, and how we are doing despite these countless challenges. It is also important to seek innovation centers that will serve as a mentor.

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It may not be now, but maybe in the future, this knowledge will definitely be useful in starting or venturing a proposal.

"Layoa sa printahanan oy", "Walay signal diri sa CMU", "Ka-layo sa palitanan oy", "Init kaayo sige baklay". Those are the usual complaints we would hear from the students of Central Mindanao University. Problems are inevitable, but it's a learning opportunity to find a probable solution for them, it just needs a better approach even if there may be frustrations. As for our group, we have seen several problems, concerns, and opportunities that need to be addressed. We have listed options/concerns such as: 1. Dormitory Hunting - slots run out quickly— giving the students an option to rather look for boarding houses outside the campus-- that is yet still approved by the University. These boarding houses may have been registered under the University, but these boarding houses are not easy to find especially for students whose hometowns are away from Bukidnon. One must have to go by almost all houses that may cater to student boarders as there are no signposts that imply that they are accepting.

2. Drinking Water Access - the difficulty of finding water to drink given that the Market is distant from all the colleges/buildings. The students or even the faculty have to go to the market to buy something to drink since the weather at CMU is warm. 

3. Printing Files/Documents - "Layo kaayo ang market para lang magpa-print. As I've experienced ma virusan pa imong flashdrive, time consuming sab kaayo" - from 3rd Year COE Student.

4. Slow Internet Connection - face-to-face classes may be implemented already, but there are still other subjects that are held online and it is one of the problems that students experience even though there may be Free WIFI around the campus, it is not enough to cater a lot of students and it doesn't even work properly.

We believe these concerns are all important that must be addressed but we chose and prioritized proposed the Drinking Water Access. Students will go to the market to buy water, but when they will return to their colleges they had already consumed the water that they bought. It is important to stay hydrated considering the very warm weather of CMU, heatstroke can happen at any time. An idea of putting or providing a refilling station in the areas where there are a lot of students, especially in the Social Hall, Fullbright Garden, Graduate School Bench, etc.

I learned that we have to foresee the situation and choose what's best for the students because only they, even us, will benefit from it. Indeed, Prevention is better than Cure!

According to Harvard University, Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity, and pursuing it regardless of the resources currently controlled. The economic world or marketplace is a wide and complex scope that no one could appreciate unlike those who are committed to making and expanding their businesses. It is inevitably challenging to enter if you're unsure of what might happen, so one must require critical thinking skills, especially in decision-making that would benefit anyone.

“If there’s a will there’s a way”. — I believe that this sentence is very meaningful to the entrepreneurs discussed in the Introduction. As Ma’am Leanne mentioned that there will always be failures, I think the people who undertake business are courageous, knowing they have to consider several things.