FastPitch Contest in Rockford

Maxim and Sara Answering the judges' questions after the pitch!

The FastPitch Contest has been a great learning experience for us, through the Whitewater Launch Pad Program of Whitewater, we have been preparing and working hard to WIN the contest! We realized that hard work does pay and patience is one necessary element to success adding to it several sleepless nights. Our idea was simple, yet innovative. Peer2Connect is an idea based on our need as international students. Another lesson learned is if you know your target market you know your business!

As partners, we have been communicating everyday. Discussing every little detail of our business plan. Our main communication tool was our weekly meetings and our everyday phone and skype conversations. Although conversations weren't all about business, but we enjoyed every moment of it because it helped us build our dream and reach our objectives with the motivation we gave each other.

Professor William Dougan, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is our mentor and has been a great motivation factor for us because he believed in our idea but also in our abilities. He is always ready to work with us, be it 8 AM or 9 PM. The night before the contest, we stayed in his office working until 1 AM before returning home for more work.

We want people to understand that there is no secret ingredient to winning the fastpitch contest but hard work and sacrifice.

At the Final of FastPitch Contest in Rockford

Winning the contest was great but meeting new people and getting more connections was amazing! It was important for us as new entrepreneurs to get our name out there and let people know that we are ready to work hard and are able to. We are looking forward for the biggest contest of finalizing our business idea and launching Peer2Connect in January 2012.

We will keep you posted!