2019 has been busy, yet fulfilling for Defynance. The entire team came together to prepare for two large events, Synapse Summit and Tampa Bay Startup Week. Writing this blog is the first time I've had a chance to catch my breath and reflect on the experience. Our team is thankful for all of the people who took time to learn about our income sharing student loan refinancing product. We have received affirmation and support from pretty much everyone we spoke to. Each conversation taught us more about our customers and will help us improve. These early lessons are invaluable for our team.
I want to first thank everyone who was a part of these events. Shout out to Synapse, Tampa Bay Startup Week, and their volunteers for working hard to put on a great event. Thank you to all the speakers and presenters who came out and shared their knowledge with us. And finally, thank you to all the attendees who came out and made these events such a great success.
Lessons
The greatest lesson learned is the importance of listening to our customers. Being able to talk to everyone and learning your perspective is helping us improve our product. Following up after these events led to more in depth conversations and connections. We also identified early adopters as we look to launch the private beta of our product next month. It has also been gratifying to start fostering a relationship with potential customers, supporters. and service providers.
Another lesson for us is the importance of communicating our vision and story. Last year, we hunkered down to do extensive research, develop our product concept, and proprietary technology. Defynance was largely isolated, but participating in these events gave us an appreciation of the ecosystem available for startups in the area. We know that anything is possible if we leverage the resources available to us in order to build our product. Many leading innovators, entrepreneurs, executives, service providers, and others have shown a willingness to offer support and guidance in our mission to tackle the student loan crisis. We are ready for the next step and know that we are not alone.
Victories
Our biggest victory came last week when Defynance placed second at the Startup Showcase wrapping up Tampa Bay Startup Week. Most gratifying to us was the overwhelming traffic at our table and the voting results that led to our second place finish. We extend our congratulations to the other winners and hope that all of us can continue to put Tampa Bay on the map as a leading technology and entrepreneurial hub. We're on our way to Tampa Bay Wave starting next month, a perk of placing second. You can also check out our profile on PitchLyst and follow along as we strive to conquer new frontiers
