Turning Last-Minute Chaos into Expo Success!

Meraj Faheem posted a poster in our group, asking us to count the number of EdVenture Park startups. The poster featured 26 EdVenture Park startups (including my company), and we were all buzzing with anticipation. but confused about what we should do next because we were not told anything about it before...

The poster was of a Franchise & Dealership Expo which was happening on 7th & 8th Oct. I had a vague idea about franchises and dealerships, but I needed more clarity and same with everyone. The confusion was "hum waha jaake karna kya?" Only thing I knew was this is going to be kind of different and a new experience for all of us.

The real fun began one day before the expo when Ilyas texted - "All the ones who have a stall in the expo we have a meeting".

We gathered in the board room for the meeting after FoundersFriday ( - A flagship event of EdVenture Park). Meraj asked the key question, "Are you all prepared for Tomorrow"? and "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

Everyone was Blank for a moment for the first question itself! Meraj then took it upon himself to enlighten us about the fundamental difference between a franchise and a dealership. As he spoke, it became clear that we had a lot to learn.( No doubt)

He dropped a bombshell by instructing us to draft our proposals overnight. He emphasised that he wouldn't tolerate anyone without a proposal the next day. (Mann hi mann mein I thought, ek proposal hi toh hai hojata na, isku kitna hi time lagega) So, with unwavering confidence, I declared, "Yes, we will do it."

After confirming that we were all heading in the right direction with regard to franchises or dealerships, Meraj glanced at me and asked, "Okay ma'am?" to make sure we understood everything - (again me very confidently telling) "Yes sir"..

Later when the meeting ended, the biggest regret of being careless started because I was recording the entire meeting So I could listen to it again if I had any doubts and also brief anyone who had questions. Oh I chose Whatsapp to record it, (ps: don't judge me, I was using it at that moment and it clicked me that I should record this!) As I pressed the send button, I couldn't figure out what went wrong. It simply did not deliver, and the recording vanished into thin air. I was bewildered for almost 2 minutes. (Itna bada dhoka ??, aur abhi mai Regret karriu ich thi) I was bombarded with questions, and I found myself in an awkward situation because I was yet in the zone of what happened with me just now.

After reaching home, I was blank for straight 2 hours. Did not draft a single line of the proposal, because I was blankkk all the time.

I was trying to understand about franchise and it models because with respect to my startup it was franchise that I could offer. We all girls are asking each other k kya karna hai kaisa karna hai? and from 8PM to 10PM I was like KYA KARNA KUCH SAMJH ME NAI AARAA.

Everyone was panicing and the pressure of time was just cherry on the top.. The other founders, who were product based company, not only had to create their products but also draft proposals simultaneously. As I discussed my struggles with drafting a proposal with Nisa, she jokingly said, "I saw you in the boardroom... I thought Arma is all set!" (Little did she know that my confident "Yes" during the meeting was just.... Let's not go their now!)

In the end, the only person I knew who could help me at this moment was Zuha Ansari . She was my complete light, hope I would say everything.. One thing I love about the people at EdVenture Park is they never give you direct answers rather they will help you to figure out the answers on your own..

Zuha Ansari is one of the best examples of this. She has been my buddy, and she never gave me direct answers; instead, she made me think more and more and helped me here and there so that I could reach my answer.

It happened the same while drafting the proposal. She lives in a different time zone (canada) so she was like Arma Jo samajh aara randomly data stuff kardo.. and abhi namaz ka waqt hora I'll pick it up after praying! That single sentence made me draft the entire proposal. I was unsure about few things so I briefed about it to Zuha so that she could write it accordingly and it was almost 2:20 Am

The next day - 7th of Oct,

By the time I woke up in morning zuha beautified the entire draft or I can say the proposal because it was no more a draft! (Thank you so much Zuha Ansari )

THE STRUGGLE WAS REALLLL!!!!!!! But there is no end to the struggles. Just as I speak we had another one....

We are gettinggg latteeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Omer Mohammed was driving and Aliya Noorain just said "Omer, drive faster!"...was enough for Omer Mohammed to speed up and suddenly, we were racing down the roads. Everyone on the road gave us not just stares, but full-blown glares for our seemingly reckless driving. We somehow managed to cover a whopping 12 kilometers in just 12 minutes! wo kaisa hua god knows.. (You can ask maths.ai later about the calculations) Chalo pohnch toh gaye the hum!!!

Me to myself: You were always punctual kya hote jaara ab ye Let's be being on time? kaa (I just let the thought go, as it was not the right time to think about it.)

Upon entering the hall and observing the nearby stalls, we were taken aback. The majority of us lacked any promotional materials, and the adjacent stalls were entirely decked out with their company's branding. Meraj was unaware that we had arrived unprepared. As soon as he realised that we are lacking behind, Just one sentence from him, "Arrange karriye jaldi" was enough to make me spring into action and panic simultaneously!

Whom should I ask for help at this time, because we all were at the Venue which was far away from the market and everyone else were busy with the prelims interviews which were happening at EdVenture Park HQ for B23.

MOHAMMED OBAID ULLA KHAN came to the rescue. I made a call, and we managed to print a few posters that could help us out at the last minute. Within half an hour, he had the posters in hand, and it was a moment of realisation for me I vowed never to go unprepared again from the next time, this was the first and last time thats it!!!!

Aur abhi toh expo sahi se start b nai hua tha.. abbich itta sab hogaya!!!! Abhi toh pura din baaqi hai......

Stay tuned for the next part. :)