Student Spotlight: Ignacio "Nacho" Diaz De Argandona Delgado De Molina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your connection to the University of Illinois?

I studied my last year of my Master’s degree at UIUC. I also did my Master’s thesis there, as an Independent Study.

 

What’s your favorite thing to do on campus?

I really enjoyed going to the pool at the ARC in the morning after classes. When the outdoors pool was open it was even better!

 

What is the most beneficial TEC Course that you’ve taken?

It was ENG/TE 333: Creativity, Innovation and Vision

 

Why was it so beneficial?

It helped me to realize that I was actually creative, that I was able to solve any problem in a creative way and that I could eventually build my own business and my future around it. It was a really cool realization.

 

You said that you attended SocialFuse and the Entrepreneurship Forum, can you describe your experiences at both?

I really believe this is key for future entrepreneurs and confident people. It changed my perspective and my life goals in just 10 months, I can imagine how it could be to spend 4 years connected to this world.

 

Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Not at all. After 4 years of Aerospace degree in Spain I didn’t really know which way to go. I’m mad about electronic music and producing my own music. I though many times of giving that a shot, but after all I had studied it was a hard decision to take. I also tried to be an airline pilot. I applied to a British Airways training program in London, but after two phases of selection process I got rejected. I thought that it was perhaps a matter of location. I decided that I wanted to study one year abroad, live new experiences and see what happened. It turned out to be a key experience for me that changed the way I saw my future. It was during my stay at UIUC that I knew that entrepreneurship was what motivated me.

 

How do you think TEC courses has shaped the way you think?

I didn’t have this entrepreneurial spark until I took TEC courses. They helped me see myself as a person that wants to pursue his own ideas. That’s pretty cool. I really believe they do a great job in transmitting this message to the students.

 

What is one goal that you have for your future regarding entrepreneurship?

I am launching SkiConnect, a startup that develops new technology for ski resorts. We aim to increase the experience of the skier by getting rid of unnecessary lines, speeding up the payment processes and connecting them to each other. We are now in early stages, but it is very promising and we are receiving great feedback from people. I hope to see this idea real soon!

 

How did you come up with the idea for SkiConnect? Is there a story behind it?

I’m mad about electronic music and everything around it. I love going to music festivals to listen to my favorite underground DJ’s and producers. I once attended the Berlin Festival, in which I used for the first time ever these contactless chips embedded into the wristband to make payments. It was super easy to just tag your wristband onto the reader and pay. I loved it. While in TEC 298 with Harlee Sorkin, I told him the idea of building a management solution for music festivals with wristbands, apps, etc. We concluded after a little research that this idea was already spread across Europe, and so I had a lot of competitors before even starting. We decided to pivot, and the result target was ski resorts. I loved the idea because I’m a skier since I was like 4… it was really exciting.