From Co-Founder to Guest Speaker
Paying it forward
On Thursday, I spoke with the Michigan Sport Business Inclusion Community (SBIC) about my experiences navigating college and building entrepreneurial ventures. It was moderated by Michigan SBIC Co-President, Alejandro Echeverria.
Michigan SBIC is a university-sponsored student organization I co-founded after my freshman year with Alana Milow and Diego Andrade-Cabrera. Its mission is to foster community among underrepresented students interested in sport business.
Going from co-founder to guest speaker was surreal, so I wanted to reflect on my thoughts (1) before, (2) during, and (3) after the event.
The full video is below if you’re interested in listening to the conversation. Some topics include:
3:33 Co-Founding Michigan SBIC
5:18 Working OUTSIDE of Sports
9:04 Committing to Regular Hoops
15:02 Going Viral
18:30 Writing a Weekly Newsletter
23:44 Biggest Lessons
Before
I’ve never publicly shared my journey, so getting invited to speak was unexpected.
Humbled by the invitation, I rented a fancy camera & tripod to capture the moment. I figured it would be nice to look back in a couple years and see what has changed. It also aligned with my intentions to build out loud.
On a separate note, I was offered to view the questions ahead of time. But I elected not to because I wanted to drive authentic conversations and avoid overthinking my responses.
During
I had almost zero nerves during the event. Partly because Alejandro is my friend and an excellent moderator. And partly because of this newsletter. These weekly reflections push me to think critically and cut through internal noise.
Although I wasn’t nervous, my mind was racing in the hot seat. Hearing questions for the first time and quickly crafting stories was fun, yet challenging.
It took a couple questions to find my rhythm, but I settled in after cracking a joke in the “Co-Founding Michigan SBIC” question. This broke the ice and encouraged everyone in the room to loosen up.
Oh—and towards the end, I was mentally preparing for the handshake. Was I going to dap Alejandro? Or do a formal handshake? Was it going to be after his moderating or after audience questions?
Okay, the handshake wasn’t that serious. I just wanted to point out the smooth dap at (25:50). Even my mom mentioned it on FaceTime the next day.
After
I’ve rewatched the recording at least five times, and the amount of filler words I used is bothering me. The most common ones were “like, whatnot, & per se.” They made it appear like I was speaking too fast. If I replaced the filler words with pauses, then the audience would have more time to digest each sentence, furthering the impact of my words.
Outside of that self-critique, I’m thrilled with how everything turned out. I loved the in-person aspect of this event because I could read non-verbal cues and sense when my messages connected with audience members. Many highlighted relatable parts of my story and shared their personal projects after the event.
I’m incredibly grateful for the interest people have in Regular Hoops. Without the support, this opportunity would have never presented itself.
PS—If this resonated, you might enjoy reading about my 2023 theme: ARC. And shoot me a message if you listened to part of the video. I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
Loved watching it! -IB