I think everyone enters a competition with wining as the ultimate goal. Even if you tell yourself otherwise, even just a little, you want to come out at the end of it as the champion. I was no exception. I entered IYCE 2011 to win.

IYCE or International Young Creative Entrepreneurs is an annual competition held by British Council that aims to link the most talented young creative entrepreneurs from around the world with top creative industries leaders in UK. It is unique for recognising the role young entrepreneurs play as cultural ambassadors who connect creative talents to consumers globally. I first heard about IYCE when a good friend of mine, who also used to be my boss, Yoris Sebastian, won the music category in 2006. Then I kept hearing more and more winners from this competition who sought out to be highly successful entrepreneurs and proved that they really are leaders in their sectors. Ridwan Kamil, Wahyu Aditya, Oscar Lawalata, are just some of the champions of IYCE in the previous years.

It wasn’t until last year that I thought about the possibility of applying for this competition. Before that, my business was too new and I felt like I was not experienced enough to enter. Last year, I was about to submit my entry but a few things happened at the same time that made me decide against it and wait for another year.

So about last month, after reminder from a friend in British Council, I opened British Council website and submitted my entry. About a week after that,  I received the good news that I got shortlisted as a finalist, not in just one sector but two! Interactive and Fashion.

So the road to compete started. I took my time preparing my presentation carefully to wow the judges. I wanted to make sure I did my best to ensure my chance of winning, regardless of the outcome.

But as I entered the final judging last week, the 4 days “karantina”, I felt that my goal had somehow shifted. Not because I didn’t want to win the competition anymore, but more because being a finalist and getting the chance to go through all the activities somehow already felt like the prize. I met so many new people whose creativity and passion amazed me. Being surrounded by them was already an inspiring and humbling experience and I began to think, it didn’t matter anymore whether I won or not. I also learned so much from those 4 days, whether from the visits, workshops, talks or just from the interactions I had with other finalists and speakers, I knew that when I came out of the series of activities, I already gained so much more for myself and the company and my new-found drive, even stronger than the one I had before, made me feel impatient to go back to work and started implementing everything I had learned.

Anyways, those 4 days went by very quickly. Everyday, we started our activities at around 7.30 in the morning and it didn’t end until 9 or 10 in the evening, with very short breaks in between. And every night, when I returned to my hotel room, I immediately began to work on my presentation, usually lasted till about 2 in the morning.

Day 4, where we had to face the team of jury for our presentation and final judging, was even more grueling, even more so because I had to do it twice, for Fashion sector first, and Interactive the second. Even though I had prepared for it as much as I could, I was still taken aback of how tough the jury were especially for Fashion :D I had the ‘honor’ to go first and of course the jury were still feeling fresh and more than ready to test how far we know about our business and our vision of it. I really had to squeeze my brain to try to answer all of their questions, while at the same time maintaining my good English grammar and composure :D I didn’t blabber nonsensical stuff, I guess you could say I did okay. But I walked out of the judging room feeling almost sure I wouldn’t win the Fashion sector :D I also remember thinking “So this is how the MasterChef contestants feel after getting butchered at the judging table.” Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little but honestly, it was that tough.

When I did my presentation for Interactive sector, around 1.30 PM that day, I was calmer and more prepared. I guess the first presentation helped me to anticipate what was coming. And to make things easier, I knew 2 people of the 3 jury and they were all being quite nice to me. They asked some tough questions too of course, but they were questions I expected would be asked, so I was more ready with the answers. I also managed to gain so much valuable input for all 3 of them, which I felt truly thankful of.

I stepped out of the last judging room feeling very relieved and light. Whatever the outcome, I felt good knowing that I gave it my best shot.

But all the stuff I had to go through for the past 4 days started to take its toll on me as we approached awarding night. It was held in JCC, also as the opening night of Pekan Produk Kreatif Indonesia (PPKI). My energy was drained and I almost couldn’t wait for everything to end. Lack of sleep made me feel like I was floating from one spot to another, talking with one person to another.

The first winner announced by Edward Hutabarat, was for Fashion sector and sure enough I didn’t win :D I’m happy for Aria Rajasa from gantibaju.com though, he really deserved it. Then, Arvin Maricelova was announced as the winner for Screen sector. After that, Muhammad Lukman, last year’s winner of IYCE Interactive, went on the stage to read the winner for the same sector. I was standing near my fellow finalists, a group of guys whom I had the best time with during the past 4 days. Funny thing is, before each winner was announced, the jury had to read a brief description of the winner and why that person was chosen as the winner. The description was in English and when Mas Lukman began reading it and said “HER business has….” my friends immediately cheered and congratulated me because I was the only girl in Interactive sector so it couldn’t have been anyone else! I of course refused to believe it until my name was called :D

Finally, Mas Lukman called my name and I walked to the stage feeling dazed. I got there, stood and saw familiar faces all clapping and smiling at me and suddenly I felt this overwhelming joy. I won! I won! The hard work I’ve put in the last few weeks has paid off! And when Keith Davies, British Council Country Director came to give me my trophy, I grinned like a lunatic, as you could see in the picture below :)

The last winner who was announced was Joshua Simandjuntak for Design sector. The finalist with the most daring personal photo which you could take a peek here :D

Arvin, Me, Aria, Soegi (who won Nokia Fellowship award), Bang Josh with Ibu Mari Elka Pangestu who said to me “You should do our website.” :D

After that, it was like a dream. Everyone there congratulated me, some journalists came to ask me some questions and took my photos. I was so happy that my husband and Hanzky and Vanya were there to share this incredible moment with me. They made it that much sweeter. We went to Portico later that night to celebrate and even then it hasn’t truly sunk in what had happened.

The next day, I was all alone in my house. My husband had gone to work and my daughter took a day trip to Cibodas with my mom and dad. I opened my laptop and saw this streams of messages on Twitter, Facebook and also BBM from friends and family, congratulating me, even from people I haven’t spoken to in years. Then it began to sink in and I started to get quite emotional. Not because I had won, though I’m quite proud of it, especially the fact that I’m the first female who has ever won IYCE, but because I realized that I have so much support from people around me. It was a humbling moment, really. Knowing that there are people out there, a lot of people, who cheered for me through every step of my journey and it makes me want to go even further.

So friends and family. Thank you.

And to my partner and best friend, Hanzky, whom none of this would ever happen without, thank you and let’s continue to make history.

To all finalists of IYCE 2011, if you are reading this, I am honored and proud to have known you all. Whether you realize it or not, every single one of you inspired me with your passion, intelligence and determination, and that motivated me to work harder and do better. I sincerely hope we could remain friends for a long time.

And to my husband and my little girl, I hope I make you proud :)

Photos courtesy of Feri Latief