Student startup entrepreneur shares insights and motivation
Your startup company, Hangio, just graduated from the 2018-2019 Texas Tech Accelerator Program and is now in the MassChallenge in Austin. You are definitely hustling! What led you compete in MassChallenge? Just getting in is very competitive. The Austin MassChallenge had about 700 applicants from across the world in different industries. We are one of 70-plus teams accepted. Mass Challenge itself is a non-profit that hosts accelerators in the U.S. and overseas. The one out of Austin is a four-month accelerator that ends in October. As a company that focuses on closets and fashion, Austin is a very strategic place for us to have that opportunity for mentorship, partnerships and exposure. They also have awards that all the teams compete for, so it's a huge potential funding opportunity for us. Thanks to the Texas Tech Accelerator, I have a solid idea of what to expect and how to be prepared.
How has the TTU Accelerator helped you?
First, I want to stress the mentorship. There were so many things that I didn't know
that I didn't know. If I was not in that startup ecosystem I probably wouldn't have
been able to navigate through challenging times. Another thing was the $25k award.
When we started, we didn't have a market-ready product. We didn't know how to get
there, either. That funding is now helping us with future product testing for getting
it to a place where it's very high quality, durable and something customers would
really like. Third, the mentors and the Hub really press customer discovery. It repositioned
how we thought about products. We moved away from thinking about creating cool products
to focusing on how we can make the closet experience a more enjoyable one, not filled
with anxiety and stress. Our product molds, folds and basically adapts to accommodate
most any item of clothing you want to hang in your closet.
As a startup entrepreneur, what's the motivation behind your 'hustle?' When my parents came to this country, they grinded and they hustled to make a better life for themselves and for their family. They always impressed upon me and my brother that education is the key and that you have to work hard to get anywhere. They also stressed the importance of counting your blessings along the way and having good people around you. That fuel they gave me is deep inside. I also truly love positively impacting people. One way I'm seeing that I can do that is through innovative products, like the Hangio Hanger.
How did you and your company become involved with the Innovation Hub? I transferred to go to school at Tech in 2017 for two big reasons: it has a great electrical engineering program and it has the Innovation Hub. There are so many amazing things happening here! At the time, I had Hangio from a class project. I wanted to continue with it because I was having fun and we were getting traction. What we didn't have was the money, mentorship, and community that I knew were going to be crucial in order to succeed. I knew I didn't have that kind of opportunity to build out Hangio anywhere else. The Innovation Hub's program pipeline and their focus on researchers and students really attracted me to Tech. I've participated in every program for startups that the Innovation Hub offers.