Grand Start at Hyd-SLP 2015 batch


The wait was over and first session for SLP Hyderabad had dawned on September 6th 2014. Even the Sun seemed to have sported a sparkle as he slowly moved through the clouds on that day. It seemed as though all of fate and destiny had worked together with the rest of the universe and set the big stage for a memorable, exciting start at SLP Hyderabad.

30 of City’s best of Entrepreneurs were judiciously handpicked based on many aspects of passion, idea, endurance and most importantly on the cause and dream to solve a problem, serve a cause and how extensively each of them are committed and dedicated to their dream. A lot of hard-work that the Alumni had invested in this selection process, and the result had brought together a team of scintillating, enthusiastic and lively entrepreneurs of mix age and gender from all sectors of the Industry. Best of creative minds, innovators, problem solvers, dreamers, thinkers and magicians had thus come together at one place, in one program, for one Passion – to make this world a better place.

The first hour on the curriculum had to be the ice-breaker. How else can one know each other, know their journey, share their story, skills, ups and downs, highs and lows etc., Just as the tradition goes at SLP, all the participants were asked to prepare a short 3 minutes presentation that details their story in a witty way and is the opposite of a formal customer slide deck. Who knew that this would be unlike Hogwarts, unlike any business presentation but better than and beyond anybody’s imagination?
It turned out that the session was not just any ice-breaker, but the most special one that would change the course of one’s life.
As everyone started with their story the whole class resonated with laughter and illuminated with emotions of glory and loss. Every one untwined the threads of their life’s story, sinusoidal crest and highs were split wide open and even though the mistakes made were hilarious they deeply highlighted the lessons learnt. If at all there was a large mountain of ice nearby, this would have certainly shattered it and melted into an ocean, isn’t that truly an ice breaker? What a beautiful session that was, not one noticed how time passed by.

There were very witty stories, where one shared the complacence they gained from their failures and success with the team in an introspective way, while the other humorously presented the strength and weakness using something as vague yet scientific as astrology, a few stories showed how  mother-in-laws can animorph into monster-in-laws, how lonely one felt without a girlfriend in college, and how hilarious it was to have broken the rules, gone against the odds etc., Every story had an exciting start and an end. The 6 slides that all entrepreneurs had to present, included the journey, what they do, why they want to do what they do and how can they impact the world by their doing. But what those slides uniquely emitted, were important lessons of life, true stories that had a realm of self-realization. How they did small things in a great way which they did not have to do great things at all. How success is not about what you have but who you are. How one has to risk to triumph, and how you have to spend your life your own way.

Some stories of hunger, struggle, fight and glory made a few eyes wet, as they instantly cleared off with every slide embarked a witty and a happy ending but a new beginning. The most valuable thing out of all that we do are mistakes which nobody can learn by being perfect.

Everyone in the room slowly realized a sense of power to create something disruptive, to become something amazing and to do something impossible. The excitement was so much that it can only be felt because words would fall long short of a magical day.

Pizzas during lunch added to the celebration, and the smiles exchanged after knowing each other could equate to a dessert.

Just like Oprah Winfrey said “Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself” Every one of the SLP team members had one faith, requited – “What I believe can be achieved and my faith in what I believe is restored”

As Entrepreneurs one often faces more struggle than glory, more put downs than praise, more pain than pleasure, more effort than results. How would it be, at the end of the day, all that changed and a sense of confidence, futuristic excitement, strength, gratitude and energy prevailed? That’s how the day ended as we continued the celebration into a splendid Welcome Party.

A day that is going to be remembered, cherished and treasured is also inevitably by the force of nature as we see it, is a history in the making. Everyone will stay inquisitive of the days to come and the people they are going to become.

4 thoughts on “Grand Start at Hyd-SLP 2015 batch

  1. Hey Maddy,
    It sure helped me re-live that day! Very well written.
    Belief in what we do, give us hope for a better future, & something to believe for others, that the future can indeed be better !

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