– Aadit Kumar, Vedaant Rathod, Veer Pratap Puri & Suryansh Srivatsava, Grade 10 students, Vista International School (Winners of the U18 Entrepreneurship Sprint & Competition conducted by Masters’ Union at IIT, Hyderabad)

Our journey to IIT Hyderabad was not something we could have predicted. What began as an opportunity given to us by our school turned into two unforgettable days filled with excitement, uncertainty, pressure, and ultimately, a moment of pure joy.

We are incredibly grateful to our school for trusting us and giving us the platform to represent it at such a prestigious institution. We walked into the competition excited to learn, but none of us imagined how far those two days would take us.

Friday — When It All Began

The first day was filled with informative seminars and sessions. We were listening, absorbing new ideas, and enjoying the experience of being at IIT Hyderabad.

And then, somewhere in the middle of one of those seminars, an idea struck us.

It wasn’t something we had planned beforehand. It wasn’t something we had spent weeks preparing.

It was simply an idea that made us look at each other and think, “What if we actually do this?”

There was excitement, but there was also doubt.

Could we really build it in such little time?

Would it work?

Would the judges like it?

We didn’t know.

But as the saying goes, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” So we decided to take the risk.

Friday quickly turned into brainstorming, designing, developing, fixing, and starting all over again. Every small improvement brought excitement; every problem brought frustration. Yet somehow, every time we felt like giving up, our belief in the project grew stronger.

We didn’t have certainty.

We had faith.

And that was enough to keep us going.

Saturday — When Everything Was on the Line

Saturday arrived, and with it came the nervousness we had been trying not to think about.

The teams were divided into two groups, and after lunch, it was finally time for our presentation.

Standing there and presenting something we had practically created from scratch in such a short time was both terrifying and exciting. We knew exactly how much effort had gone into those few minutes, and we wanted the judges to see the same potential that we saw in our idea.

When the presentations ended, we had no idea what would happen next.

Then came the announcement.

The top three teams from each group would move forward.

Six teams in total.

Our names were called.

The happiness was immediate — but it was quickly replaced by another wave of nervousness.

We had made it to the final six.

Now we had to present again.

We gave it everything we had left.

And then… there was nothing more we could do.

We could only wait.

The Longest Few Minutes

This was perhaps the most emotional part of the entire competition.

The organisers began giving out other awards. One after another, teams went onto the stage.

We sat there watching, smiling for the winners, while somewhere inside us, the tension kept building.

Every award announced meant we were getting closer to the one announcement we were waiting for.

Our minds were racing.

“What if we win?”

“What if we don’t?”

“Did we do enough?”

We tried to stay calm, but the anxiety was impossible to hide.

Finally, the moment arrived.

The announcement for First Place.

Everything suddenly became quiet.

For those few seconds, it felt like the entire two-day journey had come down to one name.

And then we heard it.

NextPlay (our team)

For a moment, there was disbelief.

Then it hit us.

We had won.

All four of us immediately ran onto the stage, completely overwhelmed with happiness. We were laughing, shouting, hugging, and trying to process what had just happened.

The same project that had existed only as an idea during a seminar on Friday had just won First Place at IIT Hyderabad.

And when the ₹30,000 cash prize and award were placed in our hands, the feeling wasn’t just happiness.

It was relief. Pride. Gratitude. Disbelief.

All at once.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent van Gogh

Looking back, every late-hour discussion, every problem we faced, every moment of doubt, and every decision to keep believing in our project suddenly made sense.

Gratitude

This achievement was made possible by the people who supported us throughout the journey.

We are especially thankful to our school for giving us the opportunity to reach a platform like IIT Hyderabad and encouraging us to step outside our comfort zone and represent them.

We are also deeply grateful to a supporter who worked behind the scenes and helped us bring the website to life. Their contribution may not have been visible on the stage, but it was an important part of what we presented.

Most importantly, we are grateful for each other — for the trust, the countless discussions, the pressure, the laughter, and the decision to keep believing even when we weren’t sure where it would lead.

Two days.

One unexpected idea.

Countless emotions.

And one moment we’ll probably never forget —

“First Place.”

₹30,000.

And four of us running onto that stage with happiness that words can barely describe.