Speed dating experience
Last week, on Monday 30th of April, all the ad discovery and creativity lab students had the chance to discuss with the members of the other start-up teams and participate in an interactive session. In this session, we tried to present our ideas, in order to give and receive feedback and learn more information about the other start-ups. With a view to achieving this, we used two methodologies; speed dating and world cafe.
The whole process was very simple. The roles were three; the pitcher, the questioner and the observer. The pitcher had some minutes to communicate the start-up idea and the questioner listened to him and asked for more specific information. Finally, the observer that did not take part in the conversation, gave his feedback to the other two. The procedure had to be in a few minutes. Then, we changed table and moved on to another date.
Our start-up company name is “The Chocomists; The alchemists of chocolate” and our product is “El Mejor: the best chocolate of all”. The team is made by 6 chocolate lovers, who aspire to be chocolate makers. Our fundamental goal is to prove that chocolate can be healthy, too. Our brand is based on raw cocoa bean and other healthy and nutritious ingredients. ( https://medium.com/@gmitsoulas98/el-mejor-chocolate-8b21d7fb9f28 )
The speed dating experience was something new, but very exciting and special. I believe that it was really fruitful. because we could practise how we can present our projects in some minutes and how we can interact with others. Moreover, the exchanging of ideas was very helpful and let us know how our peers think. Despite the fact that the whole process was very challenging, the feedback was very precious, in order to be improved and make the next step. One additional thing that i was familiriazed with, was how to manage different types of people and be clear to the presentation, in order to stay the audience interested.
Furthermore, by responding to questions and feedback, I learned how to understand the whole point of view of my peers and to reply without ignoring anything. As I mentioned, feedback was very helpful, because it is the corner stone for the next step. Also, i listened to some different opinions and aspects that really made me happy to hear. By asking critical questions and giving feedback, i was able to manage some information and give advice to the other start-ups. The most significant thing is that i learned how to give balanced feedback that outlines the pros, but suggests some solutions to the cons.
On the other hand, as an observer i learned how to combine listening, taking notes and noticing the details of the conversation. I had to write key-words about what i liked and what i wanted to ask and watch the body language of the speaking, because i find it very important. I am convinced that the role of the observer was not so easy as it seemed, but it cultivates multitasking skills.
Additionally, world cafe was very unique, because we exchanged ideas, we discovered more aspects and tried to get a benefit of it for our start-ups. The most valuable thing was feedback. Feedback made me think about how i can enhance our start-up and how to collect many opinions, which have a main aim; the improvement. World cafe gave me that opportunity and i am really excited that i participated in it.
In conclusion, the two methodologies helped us understand the main needs of our consumers and think about some details of our product. The feedback was very positive and this verified that our start-up took the right path. The whole process was very interesting and learned us how to present our start-up professionally in a few minutes. So, we are ready for the next step. Let’s do it!
