A Glimpse at a Student-Entrepreneur’s Life.

“Failure is a million times more valuable than success.” – Abby Lyall

Ever wondered what it’s like to grow your own startup while doing your undergraduate studies?  

Meet Abby, a girl from Canton, Ohio attending NYU.  She’s entering her sophomore year and is studying finance and “something else that [she] hasn’t completely figured out” at the reputed NYU Stern School of Business.  When Abby isn’t busy studying for class, you can find her practicing with the NYU Triathlon Team or attending College Libertarians’ meetings.  Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, she’s also a member of the IAG Portfolio team, an NYU organization that manages a real money value fund.  

I saw Abby’s name pop across my Facebook newsfeed when she was looking for some non-profits to get in touch with for her startup called MyDrop.  Abby and her co-founder, Rahul Chabria, created an app that “matches high-achieving and interested students from participating high schools with local nonprofits supporting causes they are passionate about. [Students] then work in pairs to manage Facebook accounts for these nonprofit organizations, promoting their mission and activities.” (www.mydropapp.com )  Rahul and Abby met during their first week of college after being paired in the same cohort.  Now, the two of them are getting ready to start MyDrop’s beta phase.  

I was lucky to get in touch with Abby and ask her a few questions:

1.  How did MyDrop come about?

In the middle of last September, Rahul, who was one of my good friends, called me and asked; "hey do you want to enter this contest with me?  We could win $20,000." The contest was called the Stern Social Impact Business Competition (SSIBC), which asked contestants to create a startup idea that would solve a specific societal problem. When we were thinking of problems to solve, the first thing that popped into our minds was: "community service in high school--that sucked!" We brainstormed and ideas soon began taking shape. To our surprise, we ended up winning the competition and the $20,000...and then it was like "Surprise! You have a company now."  While at SSBIC, we met a contender called Social Sway.  They are now assisting us with the technological aspects of MyDrop specifically the-end development aspects in which neither Rahul nor myself have a significant amount of knowledge.  It has been quite a ride, and our idea has transformed itself many times over the past 10 months.  We’re getting ready to launch our beta phase and are very excited to see how far this idea can go.

2.  What's been the MOST difficult aspect of the startup for your team?

Honestly, the overwhelmingness of it all. We were very much thrown into this venture as innocent little freshmen with absolutely no idea what we were getting into. With limited tech expertise and zero entrepreneurship experience, everything about this venture has been difficult.  You could call it an everlasting learning curve if you wanted.  Nonetheless, having this venture has not only transformed my outlook on practically everything, but has helped me grow as a student and businesswoman in ways I could never have imagined. Having to solve problems leads you to discover characteristics that you didn't even know you possessed.

3.  Is it hard to balance school and "MyDrop?"

School and MyDrop alone isn't particularly difficult to balance. School, a job, clubs, and MyDrop often is. (don’t forget about the triathlon practices three times a week either)  My partner and I are both very busy, so most of the major developments in MyDrop are made frantically in our dorm rooms at 2am. But that's how many great companies start right?

4.  What do you think is the most important lesson you've learned?  

MyDrop has taught me how to be flexible and comfortable while taking some risks.  In the early stages, my partner and I were constantly butting heads with each other - trying to preserve and carry forth our own ideas.  This prevented MyDrop from evolving and targeting our niche market.  I guess you could say that this gridlock was the result of stubbornness - however, as we moved forward, we began seeing each other’s points and learned to compromise.  

5.  What would you do differently if you could start again?

Absolutely nothing.