Hello ULG,
Today’s session was great, as usual. The speaker perfectly embodied her profile and her presentation. I really appreciated it. Thank you for the organization.
I had created a company in 2019; I was a cofounder and COO of a Legaltech startup. I had launched myself with a lot of passion, so much so that at the time the project was very innovative. We manually encoded the data, and our legal chatbot had a small team of lawyers capable of responding immediately to the messages that were flooding in. I made enormous progress at the time, without money, but because my team and I were devoted to the project.
In 2022, the arrival of ChatGPT shook us up; it was truly a competitor beyond comparison. This didn’t make us give up: we had also revolutionized the platform, and the blueprint we are following aims for millions of dollars, while the profits we were generating only served to cover internal expenses, without helping to support the progress of our work. The funding we currently need is in the millions. To get this money, we had already submitted bids for several opportunities, but in vain. This is the challenge of dreaming big or wanting to stand out against an unparalleled competitor.
As the speaker said, never give up! We aren’t giving up either. Although we are advancing at a snail’s pace, we are still making progress. There have been times when we’ve been running low on resources: we spread ourselves thin to be “workers” so that the money we earn could support our project. This also amplifies the problems: the fact that we are not dedicated to the project full-time means it doesn’t advance well. Also, the fact that we are growing also implies responsibilities that our small salaries support. Several challenges, but we’re holding on.
Let’s not be limited. I’ve thought about some other opportunities that would work: investing in my natural talents: teaching, active listening, writing.
That’s where the idea of becoming a public speaker came from, because when I evaluate my journey in this field, I’ve helped a lot of people, particularly young people, with advice drawn from my experience. After every time I speak, participants come to see me backstage to talk about their challenges. I lend them a listening ear and give advice if necessary, that satisfies them. I also like to write (novels, presentations, my diary). All of this helps me a lot to relax, to get my message across, etc. I want to become an international public speaker in Francophone countries to help young people with empowerment, leadership, and the cultivation of values. I’ve started dedicating time to this idea, which is starting to take shape: I’m currently writing up this project and submitting bids for opportunities to get a mentor for guidance and connections in this field.
I truly liked Nathalie Born’s presentation, which greatly encouraged me to bring my ambitions to life and to work on projects in parallel; one of the projects might help the others to develop, you never know. But what my professional failures have taught me is to walk at my own pace, not to run at the pace of innovations (you sleep and you wake up, there’s a new innovation). I risk losing my breath by running; I’ll go at my own pace, and if it’s God’s will, these projects will come to life.
Thank you ULG; every day I learn from great speakers who boost our mindsets. I like that.
Thank you very much; it’s a great opportunity for me to be part of ULG.
Charmante KASITU/ DRC
by charmante Katungu