Imagination has led to crazy inventions and ideas that shape the world we live in today.

Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. 

Thomas Edison’s light bulb. 

Senior Aashreeti Deo’s Human Carwash.

This idea was born at Yale University where Deo did a project under the guidance of Professor Tristan Botelho.

“It was a group session in a way, and we did a Capsim project,” Deo said. “We pitched a human car wash. I know it sounds bad, but we did a beach dry-off thing where you could walk through something at the beach, and it would be, like, a quote-unquote car wash where you, like, clean off and it gets the sand off of you and stuff like that.” 

A Capsim project is a business simulation in which people are divided into groups and they have their own little company and they track how the company works and where the money goes.

“We used to handle everything, the numbers, and then I also did a business,” Deo said. “We had a proposal pitch at the end of the program where we came up with our own, like, brand new products that we pitched to them.”

Deo was recommended by someone for this project. It was an in person project where Deo stayed at the dorms in Yale university and had roommates. This immersive experience not only allowed Deo to engage with diverse perspectives but also equipped her with valuable skills for addressing and solving housing issues.

“Yale doesn’t have air conditioning because the buildings are old, and we had fans in our room because we were there in the summer,” Deo said. “It was really, really, really hot the first night, and then after that, it kind of cooled down because it rained, but the first night, I felt like I was literally going to boil. It was really bad, and I think that was a really big challenge.”

Working in a group presents many challenges. Sometimes, the ideas of group members do not align, making it difficult to reach a conclusion. Additionally, some members may not cooperate, which can hinder the quality of the work. To address these issues, strong leadership is essential, and Deo recognized the importance of this for the project’s success.

“I kind of administrated the entire thing,” Deo said. “And I was like hey, so marketing, let’s get this done, R&D, let’s do this, production, do this. So, I kind of administrated that, and I made sure all of that fit under the finance, like, budget, so we wouldn’t go over our budget and be into negative profits. I was also the main lead for our project pitch.”

Being the main lead for the project pitch Deo had to collaborate with her teammates and make sure all the work was done in time in order to deliver a successful pitch.

“I just had to get through to him [a teammate] and keep repeating, like, hey, like, we need your output, like, your input into this, and kind of just talking to him about it multiple times,” Deo said. “When we actually got down to do the presentation, I had him come over and sit with me and discuss his ideas, what he wanted to do in the project, what he wanted to include. I just tried to make him feel safe and comfortable in the scenario that he could add his own opinion.”

This project really helped Deo find out what she really wanted to do in life. Through various activities and discussions, she was able to delve deep into her interests and carefully consider her career options. She described the experience to be “fascinating”, “an asset”, and “fun”. Even though the project is over Deo is still in touch with all her friends at Yale.

“I like being in charge as an entrepreneur, and in general in every aspect of my life,” Deo said. “I think it truly told me how much I love being an entrepreneur, thinking like an entrepreneur, and it, like, confirmed that this is what I want to do in college. This program showed me that I am good at being an entrepreneur, and I liked the feeling of knowing that I liked doing it and I was good at it.”