Post TED talk patience, prospects, and perseverance.

After my brief meltdown upon exiting the TED stage (and many encouraging words from those that happened to be trapped backstage with me while it happened), I headed out to meet what I had imagined to be an onslaught of excited people who had just seen my talk…and had tons of money to eagerly throw at me. As I cruised down the crowded hallways I could hardly move a few feet before a “good job!” or a “I loved your talk” shot out at me. I graciously accepted the compliments, one after another, while patiently hoping the next one might sound something like “great talk, are you in need of tons of money?” Slowly the compliments were fewer and further in between, and the crowds disappeared into the auditorium for the next session. I stood dejectedly in the hallway, wondering if truly nothing was going to immediately come of this, when I was approached by a man with a very friendly smile. His name was Norbert, an MBA candidate at the HULT International Business School, and he asked me all the questions I very well knew that I didn’t know. How much money would I need to start manufacturing the Orbitar? What would be my most successful target audience? Why wasn’t my phone number on my business card? Ok, I knew the answer to that last one (I’d have to chuck my phone in the toilet if everyone who had my business card was able to pester me via phone) but thoroughly understood his point that potential investors did not want to waste their time with email. And it was in that moment I realized two things: the fact that no potential investors approached me was a blessing in disguise, as I was clearly equipped to answer approximately zero of the questions they were going to ask. And second, Norbert (and his group at HULT who offered to help me make a business plan) was exactly the connection I needed to make. So we set up a meeting for a few days from then, and life as a ragtag Orbitaist resumed per usual. Jacob and Natan returned to hacking in what was doubling as the Orbitar office, and my bed. And I prepared for my business meeting the best I could, knowing it was too late to order cards with my phone number on them.