The Unexpected Road to TYE Global: Lessons from Team HIVE’s Journey
“Overall, I found that the TYE program equipped me to embrace my creative ideas, and to make them a reality. TYE taught me the importance of prototyping, customer validation and failure in entrepreneurship. I believe the mentorship that TYE provides represents an incredible learning opportunity and set of connections for students.”
My journey with TYE began in September of 2024. As an IB HL Business student at Lincoln, I was anticipating the TYE project and competitions for my senior year. Initially, we were introduced to our TYE mentor, Tricia Langman, and we began to form our teams as well as our initial concept. At the outset, I was excited for this process. My mind was racing with potential business ideas, inventions and innovations. Quickly, Owen Hendren, Akim Arkhangelski, Samuel Castillo Fernandez and I formed a group. Within a few class periods, we were able to narrow down our plethora of ideas to our initial concept; we called it the “tinnitus tuner”. The idea was based on my newfound struggle with chronic tinnitus, which had begun just over a month beforehand. The initial vision was a tinnitus-masking ambient noise speaker that would play audio only when the user needed it, and would turn off the audio when it was not needed. After coming up with this idea, I researched to find out how we could make this possible, and decided we could implement a decibel sensor and a motion sensor. Owen then came up with a clever company name: HIVE. Over the next six months we improved our product design, created, then refined our pitch, and became well versed in the scientific literature on chronic tinnitus and the science behind our solution. When the class competition to qualify for state came around, I was excited and confident in our pitch. The night before, I hosted a multi-hour Zoom meeting, where our team practiced our pitch and added finishing touches. That morning, we were the only four students to show up to school in suits. Our pitch was a little shakier than usual, and some of the judges didn’t seem to understand our product. I was a little worried, but still confident we would qualify.
That evening, the results were released. We had placed 4th, and were only 0.5 points away from qualifying for state. It seemed it was over for team HIVE. But, when our teacher, Mr. Hooper told us that if team GoFit (2nd place) and team Highlight-You (3rd place) decided not to attend the state competition, we would be able to compete at state, I regained hope. That day, Highlight-You dropped out, bringing us to 3rd. A week later, team GoFit dropped out, and so we received the surprise bid for state. This left our team with only a week to prepare for state, we were all determined and prepared quickly. We were true underdogs. The state competition was exciting. It was an excellent opportunity to see the other teams’ pitches, and to listen to experienced guest speakers. When the awards ceremony began, I was nervous. All the awards were called out, and team HIVE had not yet been mentioned. Then the second runner up was announced, I sighed as our chances of being recognized were slimmer. The runner up was announced, still no mention of team HIVE. I wondered if the hours spent over the last week were worth it. And then, I heard the word “hive”, and jumped in disbelief. Our team was ecstatic, and the celebration was wonderful. After thanking the judges and the organizers, I walked to my car, with a shining grin and thoughts of TYE Global. Soon after our state victory, our team was contacted by our TYE mentors and we were set up with meetings and feedback. The mentors selflessly gave their time and effort, which helped us in significantly improving our pitch. Globals preparation was rigorous. For me, it became consuming: I found myself spending 4-5 hours five days a week on HIVE for the first few weeks of my summer break. And although I was stressed, and working myself to the ground, I enjoyed it all. I sincerely enjoyed building a company, testing my ideas, and collaborating with my teammates.
The global competition was an extremely valuable experience that tested my resilience and performance abilities. The first morning, I had the pleasure of listening to experienced TiE entrepreneurs, and guest speaker Kannan Srinivasan, a state senator for Virginia. We then watched three other teams in our track pitch before us. I was impressed by the quality of the pitches at TiE Global. Each pitch was scripted and memorized. Each team member knew exactly what to say, and when to say it, and each team brought about innovative ideas with solid financials and plans to back themselves up. Our pitch was significantly more polished, impressive, and had more weight behind it than it had during the state competition. I was proud of us (spoiler alert!) even though we left D.C. with no more awards or placements to our team name. The other teams’ maker spaces were also impressive. The teams displayed a diversity of professional graphics, posters and models. I very much enjoyed being able to explain our product to people who were interested. We were also given the opportunity to explore the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, which was informative and enjoyable. The next morning, I confidently presented my elevator pitch, and despite not having won the award for it, I was certain I did well and was proud of myself. Team HIVE may have left TiE Global empty handed, but I certainly left food for thought, and an inspiration from others to continue to improve our pitch and to realize our company.
Overall, I found that the TYE program equipped me to embrace my creative ideas, and to make them a reality. TYE taught me the importance of prototyping, customer validation and failure in entrepreneurship. I believe the mentorship that TYE provides represents an incredible learning opportunity and set of connections for students.
