Osarode Odemwingie, Rodelenz Industries: Highlights from my time in the LOOPLab Incubation Programme

The LOOPLab Incubation programme has proven to be the most brain-bursting experience, I have encountered!!!

Here are my memorable takeaways, in no particular order.

The session with Professor Joseph Pistrui where he spoke about “Market, Technology, and Society”. The fact that a product exists does not necessarily mean that a particular community/society will purchase it. It could be taboo in that community. Therefore, if the entrepreneur gets all three correct, they may execute successfully. 

Dr. Anderson’s lecture where we discussed the perception of brands. Every font type, color, and logo has a deeper meaning. These things are not done haphazardly, the buzzwords for the biggest firms around the globe came from deliberate planning and execution.

Dr. Natalie Beinisch’s session on the ‘Circular Economy Model’, retrains my mind frequently to always find value in everything I touch. There is no linear pattern of consumption. Humans became lazy and invented “a satisfy me quick” scheme. But in Nature, the ecosystem ensures that each component can benefit, without necessarily harming the other components.

 

Charles H. Green’s class on Building Trust and Credibility was simply fantastic as I find it hard to trust people to be honest. Through this class, I learned about ways to build trust. 

At the check-in session on the 24th of June, we got to see the movie called THE FOUNDER. It was really interesting and provided an opportunity for us all innovators to bond and interact with ourselves and our facilitators. I enjoyed the event because it was a physical event.

The class with Ibrahim Stone on Marketing opened my eyes to positioning. There is a way a lion behaves when it wants to hunt, depending on the prey, the lion may creep up unknowingly on the animal, or band together in teams to bring down big prey. In all, the lion is the lion, it does what it needs to do to achieve the goal (meat in the belly). As an entrepreneur, marketing needs to be fluid and easily refined to allow fast adaptation to the ever-changing conditions in the industry.

Drawing from the different sessions and learning in the LOOPLab Programme, We at RODELENZ INDUSTRIES, the organization I run, came up with an initiative to mop up waste Pringles containers and bad led bulbs that are present in the environment. Our #thrashforPIC initiative is currently ongoing to drive individuals to collect and return empty Pringles packaging as well as bad led bulbs (20 watts/30 watts bulbs), for a couple of professionally edited photographs. We are currently giving out 3 edited photographs for every 10+ PRINGLES containers returned. One couple has dared to return an entire crate of Pringles cans for a massive discount on her wedding package( we are still considering the actual number of cans she would need to deliver – at least 100 cans!!!!).

I am excited to learn and apply even more of the learnings as we move into the final months of the programme.