Shortlisted in our first year

It is easy to doubt and question yourself when you are a start-up. In some ways, humility is a prerequisite for avoiding carelessness with valuable funds. Yet, being confident and assertive when you believe you are doing something great is vital when letting the world know your ambitions.

We applied for some awards to plant our flag and declare our arrival. We entered the Learning Technologies Awards and the LPI Learning Awards. We are pre-revenue and, at the time, pre-launch. It was bold. And to be fair, we didn’t expect much in response.

We were shortlisted for the Most Innovative Product (UK) Award by Learning Technologies. We didn’t win; congratulations to Guider. Yet, we were recognised for doing something new and different. We received feedback that we were on the right track, and you only get this feedback when you step out into the world and ask for it.

We are shortlisted for two awards from the LPI. Learning Professional of the Year for our Head of Learning, Racheal Smith and Start-Up of the Year. We are excited about February and the party. Being in the room with the Goliaths is impressive, and we are proud of this achievement.

There are two reasons for writing this article.

One. We like to tell people we have been shortlisted for awards.

Two. We ask our learners to put themselves to the test by completing an assessment, and we might or might not award them a Badge. We tell them that only through putting ourselves to the test can we get the feedback and validation required to continue learning. We thought we ought to live our truth and use this as a moment to show you how one feature of our products works.

Sometimes, no matter how small you feel, you have to declare yourself a winner and wait for your feedback. We are going to grow from the experience, as feedback is the food of Champions – and one day, we will be the Goliath, and others will quake when we arrive. Well, they will know who we are anyway.

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