Crafting it all, mid fall.

Last week, Wicked Sheets was honored to release information on our upcoming participation in Kentucky Lt. Governor Hampton’s newest initiative geared towards helping youth find success. Dubbed the Lt. Governor’s Entrepreneurship Challenge, LGEC, students across Kentucky will have the chance to compete for prizes to start their business. Wicked Sheets CEO Alli spoke in Frankfort and guest blogs below on entrepreneurship.

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“My friend, Zack Pennington, and I were having lunch the other day and started chatting about entrepreneurs and how we “do things.” He and his girlfriend recently participated in Red Bull’s Flugtag competition. I’m sure that you’ve all seen the commercials –  “Red Bull gives you wings” – and their Flugtag Challenge tasks participants with building wings and seeing how far they can fly.

Off a platform. Into the Ohio River.

The first application by their team was unfortunately rejected. Had it been accepted, they would’ve had adequate time to prepare. There was a late dropout, however, and Team Zissou ended up being in!  Why, you ask, was their first application rejected?

Great question. Poignant, in fact.

Zack told me that the first application, written by an entrepreneur, for a team of entrepreneurs, had a proposal that stated the team would actually assemble the Flugtag on the platform on the way down. Because, after all, “entrepreneurship is like jumping out of a plane and trying to build a parachute on the way down.”

Red Bull soon embraced their own entrepreneurial spirit and decided that Team Zissou absolutely deserved a shot at the title. In 5 days, my friends met, brainstormed over beers, and assembled one of the greatest representations of Louisville that I could have imagined.

Sure, the tie-dyed Fleur de Lis, outfitted with a child’s rocking horse, a jockey, and accompanied by 6 jockey-dressed pushers, (who probably took shots of Bourbon before jumping into the Ohio – let’s be honest) was a great physical representation of Louisville, but the better representation of Kentucky was the team itself and the days leading up to the event.

Stay with me here: You’re an entrepreneur and you come up with a brilliant idea. You put your idea down on paper, much like a business plan, and you submit it to a committee who is ultimately going to give you a yes or no, much like that of an investor pitch. You’re told no. You take a few shots, but you don’t give up hope because you know that your idea is a good one. You take pride in your work.

Does Zissou’s story have a soaring, fairytale ending? Unfortunately, no. The Fleur de Lis ultimately crashed into the water not far off the platform’s end, but the team still felt a surge of pride in the fact that in 5 days they designed, built, and (attempted to get) their wings over the Ohio.

Entrepreneurship truly is crafting your parachute mid fall. But, it’s worth the jump.”

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For more information and ways to get involved, contact us or the Lieutenant Governor’s office.