A Conversation with the Winners of Hult Prize

Ugyen Samdrup Lhamo

It has been a week since the winner of the Hult Prize was declared, but the excitement still hasn’t died down as many are curious about the next steps of the 2018 AUW Hult Prize winner. The Echo had the opportunity to interview two members of the winning team, Shravasti Roy Nath  and Regita Gurung, to learn about their journey to the finals and plans for the regionals.

The E-Tree team won the 2018 AUW Hult Prize. They plan to “Use ethical fashion as a way to uplift disadvantaged women, and curb the negative impacts of fast fashion, while reviving traditional style elements.”

Congratulations on winning the Hult Prize!

Regita: Thank you! It is such an honor to win this competition; we were not expecting to be the winners at all when we started out.

That’s interesting, all of you did a great job on the presentation and it was well researched as well, so why do you think so?

Shravasti (laughs): Since none of us had any background in business and finance, we were unsure of how the business proposal would turn out to be.

Regita: Yes it was hectic in the beginning finding a time to meet, but because we selected a project that we were passionate about, it helped in building our commitment and interest in the project.

Team work is always a challenge right?

Shravasti: Everyone was passionate about the business plan, so teamwork was not a challenge, not even during the busiest times of the semester, especially since all of us are involved in several other activities as well.

Now that that’s behind you, what are your plans for the upcoming regional competition?

Sharavsit: We are still waiting to hear from the Hult Prize committee about the updates and the possibility of the sponsorship.

Regita: Yes, if we don’t get a sponsorship we are planning raise funds and according to the budget select the nearest location of the regional competition, maybe Singapore. We remain hopeful that we’ll be sponsored and supported by the Hult Prize committee, but for now we are just waiting for the updates.

Thank you for your time! Before ending the interview can you advise the interested future Hult prize contestants?

Shravasti: Just participate, don’t fear the unknown, especially don’t focus on your lack of expertise in business. Be honest with yourself, if you’re passionate about yourself, people see that, and this was reflected in the judges eye when we presented.

Regita (nods her head in agreement): Yes, being honest to yourself really makes a huge difference; work on something you are really passionate about. Of course, hard work pays off, but passion is a game changer. Don’t forget to put the effort in to ask people who are working in the field for help as well. The more different insights, the better it is. 

The winner of the Hult Prize are all in their first year, Shravasti Roy Nath, Anugya Kunwar, and Regita Gurung are majoring in Politics Philosophy and Economics and Nathasha Dharmasena is majoring in Environmental Science. The team constitute members from diverse backgrounds (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka), and this proved to be one of their strengths in winning the AUW Hult Prize 2018.

The Echo wishes them all the best for the Regional Challenge.