Summer Was A Wash
Written by Sam Evans, #WakeEntrepreneur and Summer Intern
This summer has flown by as my time as a student entrepreneur and Operations Management Intern at 2ULaundry is almost over. I am proud of the accomplishments I have made as a student entrepreneur and the skills that I have learned along the way. During my time, I had the pleasure to work on a project to optimize the company’s logistics network. Specifically, I determined that rerouting logistics through a centralized location for laundry and dry cleaning to be processed, before being sent to corresponding locations to be cleaned, is cost efficient for the company. I utilized data from company software as well as researched online metrics to create cost analyses and financial models to validate my claim. Additionally, I presented my findings to CEO Alex Smereczniak (’14) and the rest of the Operations team, within a strategic vision meeting, as well as brainstormed implementation strategies to be executed within the upcoming months.
Through the progression of this project, I have been taught valuable lessons about entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurs embrace uncertainty and risk when making integral decisions, having a calculated approach is necessary for mitigating the possibility of failure. This is accomplished through intensive research and planning to ensure every concern is being considered. Through the meticulous dissection of the given problem, a holistic decision and course of action can be made.
In addition to knowledge gained within the workplace, I have been able to make connections between my experiences at 2ULaundry and studies at Wake Forest University. Specifically, the courses offered through the Center For Entrepreneurship have fostered a mindset of curiosity and innovation; vital attributes to possess when working for an entrepreneurial venture. These businesses continuously seek improvements to scale and grow as a company; and creative insights act as the catalyst for their success.
Design thinking is a method to obtain these innovative thoughts and a skill that I have strengthened throughout this internship. By initially experiencing the concept within a classroom setting, I have been able to draw on prior knowledge to tackle complex problems and gain real world experience. For example, in my aforementioned project, I grappled with the dilemma of how to most effectively optimize 2ULaundry’s logistics network. After empathizing first-hand with drivers and facility workers and defining a concrete problem that sought improvement, I was able ideate and prototype possible solutions that could be tested in the months to come.
While I was able to implement design thinking within my project, as a novice to this unique approach, challenges still arose. In particular, the prototyping stage, was the most difficult. This phase required the consolidation of collected data to create working financial models and simulations in Excel. As someone who is not adept with this software, I initially struggled to present data in the proper format. Additionally, varying requests from supervisors would result in customizing visuals to meet differing needs. However, through trial and error and with proper guidance from mentors, I was able to succeed in my endeavors to create comprehensive models.
Overall, I am glad to have participated in an entrepreneurship internship. It has been a rewarding experience learning the infrastructure of a growing business as well as tangibly impacting its success. This position has allowed me to embrace failure as an opportunity to grow and become adaptable in new ways. I look forward to taking the lessons I have learned this summer and applying them to a future career within entrepreneurship. I am interested in starting my own entrepreneurial venture and this internship has allowed me to accrue new information on how to successfully operate a startup. With this newfound knowledge, I hope to elude common pitfalls many startups endure and become the next successful Wake Forest entrepreneur.