Post by Robin Gallego

Some of the best lessons come when your original idea falls apart. This week in Lisbon, I took part in the ICE Lab through Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, where our team was challenged to build a sustainable startup concept focused on improving young people’s health. We worked on ideas, interviewed our customers in the streets of Lisbon and came up with a "perfect" prototype. After we pitched it... ...the questions tore it apart. But entrepreneurship is built on solving problems, especially when things don't go as planned. While reflecting on the feedback, I realized we had been focused on the wrong customer. Young people were still the users, but they were never going to be the ones paying. The real opportunity was helping gyms attract and retain younger members. We pivoted the entire concept, rebuilt our strategy in a day, and turned the idea into something far more grounded in reality. In the end, our team was awarded 2nd place. What I value most from the experience wasn’t the result itself, but the process behind it. Learning how to listen to criticism without losing momentum. Learning how quickly a strong team can adapt when everyone commits to a shared direction. And learning to work and communicate with an international team who all have different perspectives and methods of working. A great reminder that innovation is rarely about protecting the first idea.