“It Is Important To Trust The Process” - Team AkSiLA from SPJIMR Mumbai, National Winners of Airtel iCreate 2021

“We felt like we are on top of the world!! It took some time for all three of us to register what just happened. We were ecstatic!” This is what Team AkSiLa has to say about winning the competition. Presenting to you an exclusive interview with the National winners of Airtel iCreate 2021 from SPJIMR Mumbai.

There were a lot of factors that compelled us to participate in this competition. Airtel is such a big brand and iCreate is a prestigious competition, which we thought would help us in interacting with experts and learn new insights in the process. Also, we got inspired by our seniors’ journey, who bagged the title of Second Runners-up of Airtel iCreate last year.

Our journey from campus to the winner’s podium

We were fortunate to be on campus together. We spent a couple of hours every day before the first-round submission. Initially, we played around with multiple ideas, but once we got fixated on our main idea, we stuck to it. The most challenging phase for us in the Airtel iCreate journey was the final submission and the presentation. While all our friends were busy preparing for the end-term examinations, we spend 12-13 hours daily for 4-5 days before the finale, working on the presentation and the videos. 

In fact, on the day of the grand finale, we had 2 exams. We rushed through the second exam to be able to give our presentation on time. That was the most challenging and at the same time memorable phase for our team.

We also had conflicts, and this is pretty normal! We had different opinions when it came to creating the ad while including certain ideas in the ppt (whether to include or not). In both cases, we took suggestions from our professors, seniors, and batchmates, and then came to a conclusion that aligned well with our main idea.

Secret behind giving tough competition to top B-Schools

All of us are from the same specialization which gave us an extra edge of having good bonding among ourselves. We were open to discussions, which included critical feedback on the ideas proposed within the team. Each of us had a unique strength which we capitalized well.

One of us took care of the entire structure and flow of the PPT, the other acted as the researcher and expert of checking the feasibility of ideas, and the third one gave umpteen ideas and was the facilitator of all the requirements of the team.

We remember the day when we submitted the PPT for the semi-finals. On the day of submission, our classes got over at 5.50 PM, and we gathered in the reading room by 6 PM. Starting from then, we sat for six straight hours until we submitted our PPT at 11.50 PM. All three of us were simultaneously working to improve the slides, bring in new content and validate the ones which were already in place. We were surprised to witness our own dedication on that day. 

Post submission, we had a lavish team dinner celebrating our team effort. All in all, we worked hard and always celebrated our efforts!

To conclude…

We had an amazing experience being a part of the whole process. Starting with the first submission due at 6 AM, to the submission for the semi-finals, to creating the popular choice award video, to the dry run, and the final grand finale. The process, communication, and execution on the final day were really smooth and hassle-free.

From Airtel iCreate 2021, we have understood that it is important to have trust in the process. Instead of chasing the end result, we realized that taking small steps and giving our best would help us lead towards the end goal.

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