The Story of Surface Gauge So far...

Growing up, I was always fueled by the passion for doing something big, making a difference in the world, being a nature fanatic, the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and eventually our oceans troubled me. If the current usage, improper recycling and dumping of plastic waste continues by 2040, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish...The Great Garbage Pacific Patch,(A Garbage Patch twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific ocean) is ominous symbol of our failure to protect what's most precious to us. Upon seeing one such landfill, I've decided to turn this Garbage waste into something else that I really loved sneakers.

In the early days, it was just me, a laptop, and countless late nights. I navigated through the ideation phase, refining the concept, and defining our core values. Every setback was a lesson, every breakthrough a triumph. The initial idea was to 3D print the shoe, but I soon realized that a more hands on approach to the problem is what we really need.

As I was trying to find my way around how do I turn this idea of mine into a business, I attended an event at T-Works called #MaikerFaire, I found EdVenture Park , they came like a ray of hope piercing through storm clouds. The guidance of Meraj Faheem , Ilyas Shah Khan , Osaid Sharif and the entire EVP team helped me realize the problem further where I built

Prototype 1: The Surface Gauge V240 Prototype 1, is built from 8 plastic bags fused together and hand stitched onto polyester, the sole is sourced from one of my old shoes.

Over the next four months the action started, the sessions were very informative, they were the fuel that all the young entrepreneurs of cohort A-24 needed to run their companies.

This is a brief overview on the amazing stuff we learned:

1. Validation: To check if people are actually interested in the product, there is no product if no one wants to buy it. That's where we've learned. #SellFirstBuildLater
2. Vision/Mission & Strategy: Where we learned how to see. Meraj Faheem says if you can't see where you want your company at x years in the future you're blind. Oh yeah, that's why the model of the shoe is called V240.
3. Wireframing and User Flow: There is not much to this, attract with utility retain with value, build something that your customer will love using...
4. Business Model: This is where we learned how to make money, there is no business if it doesn't make money.
5. Marketing and Sales: Despite what consulting companies and marketing agencies tell you, marketing is not rocket science, although not easy, its no rocket science. We've learned here how to create an air-tight marketing plan.

Coming back to the story, after some constructive feedback on the first prototype, I was ready to build prototype 2, where I managed to get a textured finish on the plastic.

Prototype 2: The 8 plastic bags used, now have a textured finish, and a partly recycled sole. Hand Stitched.

The Second Prototype was a vast improvement over the first one, especially the textured finish. This is what many people liked especially Osaid Sharif

A couple of days after building prototype 2, there was a potluck/ eliminations. Anxiety ran high it was pre-demo day, I've eaten delicious food with anxiety for maybe one of the first times ever. When I've got shortlisted for the incubation program I was thrilled...fast forward to demo-day. I got to pitch my startup in front of really important people. Convincing my dad to allow me to go for this event was really tough as it corresponded with my mother's death anniversary, but he eventually let me go, and I got to pitch.

I'm really glad that I did. Osaid Sharif gave me an important tip, go there and enjoy yourself its your day! and I did. I really enjoyed pithing and talking about my product. Fast-forward to award ceremony, I was really humbled to receive an award for the most persistent startup. I was at a loss of words, this was the second award I've received in my entire life and the one I am most proud off. I hope to get many more under the guidance of Meraj Faheem and EdVenture Park team.

I would like to end with a line that Ilyas Shah Khan told us "aap front foot peh kehlo baki ka mai dekhletum" that really inspired me to push myself further.