What made you enter the iAwards?
We first wanted to enter the iAwards to showcase our HappyNess app and open people’s eyes to the massive problem that is in our local community. The iAwards was a way for us to take off on our tech journey and get our big break. We were able to attend the National iAwards in Melbourne, were invited to China for the Asia Pacific ICT Awards, and made an appearance on the Today Show with AIIA CEO, Rob Fitzpatrick. The iAwards has done so much for us and we don’t regret entering it at all!
Would you recommend entering the iAwards?
Team HappyNess would strongly recommend entering the iAwards. It has given us the most amazing opportunities. The night that we won the National iAwards was the best night of our lives. The iAwards is a great chance for you to start an innovative company, app or a piece of technology! It was our chance to learn how to code, have an amazing story to tell and most importantly, change the lives of young girls and prove that girls can do anything. If you have an amazing idea that is innovative, then enter the iAwards!
What did you learn from pitching at the National iAwards?
What Team HappyNess has learnt from pitching at the National iAwards, is that there are so many other people who want the prize almost as bad as you do. When you pitch, you have to show how bad you want it and be well rehearsed. We also were able to build our confidence so much. We pitched the day that we landed in Melbourne from Sydney. Our flight was at 7:00am and we woke up at 4:30am, so we were extremely tired. We just gave it our all and pushed past our tiredness. We’ve learnt how to deal with our emotions too; we were all very nervous, but we put on a happy face so the judges thought we were confident. Midway through the presentation, I’m pretty sure all of us were confident and excited!
What advice/tips would you give to young innovators considering entering?
If Team HappyNess could give one piece of advice to young innovators, it would be to just follow your dreams and if you believe you can win, you will win. But there are a few things that you need to have: confidence, resilience and food! If you are considering entering the iAwards, you need to be ready for the challenges you’ll face, like difficulties programming, difficulties writing presentations and difficulties reaching consensus in your group. But when you’re finally finished, it gives the most rewarding feeling – especially with our app, because we know that HappyNess will help so many girls across Australia and maybe even the world!
How does it feel to win the Junior Students iAward at the National iAwards?
It feels like a dream to have won the iAward. Not only are we proud of ourselves, but our parents, teachers, friends, family, and so many more people we met are proud of us! Winning the iAwards has given us so many business opportunities and we are so grateful that we had the opportunity to enter and attend the National iAwards in Melbourne.
What’s next for HappyNess?
The next step is to convert the app to iOS (Apple). We have already started using X Code to convert HappyNess and we hope it’ll be in the App Store soon! We have had multiple newspaper and magazine interviews, and one TV interview with the Today Show. We have made lots of progress because of these interviews and we currently have 20+ users. At the moment, we are limited because of the lack of people that own Android devices. That is why we are converting HappyNess to iOS. However, HappyNess is available in the Google Play Store NOW!
Do you have any fun facts about your iAwards Journey?
One fun fact about our iAwards journey is that when we were in Melbourne and were on our way to the PitchFest event, Ruby and Summer’s Uber cancelled on them and they almost missed their turn to go on stage and pitch! Mia and Lily had to rehearse their parts because they were so late! However, we stayed calm and confident, and when we were on stage, we didn’t seem flustered or anxious!