Our bank account was dwindling fast, and we were still months away from having a marketable product.
During one particularly low point, I called Professor Wilson in tears.
“I think I have made a huge mistake,” I confessed. “We are going to run out of money before we even launch.”
“Every successful entrepreneur has moments like this,” she assured me. “The difference is whether you push through or give up. Which one are you going to do?”
Her words steeled my resolve.
I doubled down on our efforts, took on even more of the coding myself, and reached out to my network for additional resources. Jessica, despite having no technical background, offered to help with administrative tasks for free on evenings and weekends.
We survived that crisis by sheer determination.
The breakthrough came in March of my senior year. We finally perfected our proprietary security algorithm, which allowed cryptocurrency transactions to process 30% faster than any existing platform while maintaining bank-level security.
When we demonstrated the technology to Michael, he immediately recognized its potential.
“This changes everything,” he said, watching our demonstration. “How quickly can you prepare for a Series A funding round?”
With Michael’s connections, we secured meetings with some of the top venture capital firms in Boston and New York.
Our timing coincided with a renewed interest in cryptocurrency following Bitcoin’s remarkable recovery. After a whirlwind month of pitches and negotiations, we closed a funding round of $50 million at a company valuation of $700 million.
The investment news made ripples in the tech and finance communities, but I decided to keep a low profile. I did not give interviews or make public statements.
More importantly, I did not tell my family about any of it.
