Explaining the FIRST Competition to Others...

[Joni Barrott]

First post, so forgive the lack of swag on my profile, or any noob blunders. Seattle regional was my first competition. I have a son who participated for the first time, and I was blown away by the depth of the program.

If you want to explain it to a CEO or business person, (I work for a game company in Seattle) tell them the program comes pretty dang close to the heady environment of a start-up company that is hyper-focused on success in a shifting market:
There is fast and furious development, testing, adaptation and non-stop competition. I told my engineering team the students participating did approximately 19 sprints in 2 days!
Teams have to be noticed in a crowded field,(a combination of branding, marketing and differentiation).
The strategy of observing strengths and weakness of other teams, whether evaluating an alliance or comparing your own design is critical for products to succeed in emerging markets.
Plus you get the support of actual rules that create good sportsmanship, (the one part the real world lacks) and HEY you are having fun! (an essential part of a game company)

Was that 3 minutes or less?