My First 30 Days at muru-D
I’ve just completed my first 30 days in the muru-D startup accelerator program and it’s resembling an emotional rollercoaster. With questions and thoughts continually rambling through my head. “What am I doing?” “I can do this!” “Have I bitten off more than I can chew?” “I’ve so got this!” “Why am I doing this?” “OMG today we are kicking goals!”
I think you get the idea!
The highs and lows are real and are experienced when I’m awake and asleep! At times you feel like you are walking with a blindfold on, or fumbling through the dark. You hit many walls (and it hurts), but you pick yourself up and take a different route until you feel comfortable navigating with the blindfold on.
One of the many upsides of being in the muru-D program is you’re not alone. You are surrounded by people who are going through the same emotions, and with one common theme running through all of us – we are here to succeed and make the most of this amazing opportunity.
When we started this journey, we only had a prototype, passion and what we believed to be a great concept. This was enough for muru-D to believe in us and help us accelerate our startup. There’s a lot we need to achieve during the six month program, from customer discovery and product validation, to designing and building version 1 of Kiddsbay. We’ve also been creating our social media channels and building a database of highly enthusiastic kids who want to be the first to use Kiddsbay when it goes live.
The support from the Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs), mentors, muru-D team and the other co-founders in our cohort are critical to our success. The insights we have received from previous cohort founders (members of muru-D alumni) have been invaluable. You realise that to achieve what may seem the impossible is actually a team effort. To think that you can do this alone is a complete misconception. Ask anyone trying to build a business, and they’ll tell you that you need to surround yourself with amazing talent. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a community of like minded people to build a startup!
Here are my three highlights to date:
- I’ve loved getting to know the other co-founders and their teams
- I’ve learned so much in the fantastic workshops muru-D organise
- I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration between alumni members
I can’t wait to keep building the business and growing as a founder on this crazy accelerated rollercoaster as we head towards getting Kiddsbay off the ground!!
Words and thoughts from Adelina Lalic, Co-founder Kiddsbay