For participants entering GP Futuremakers for the first time, the pressure can be intense. Everyone wants their idea to stand out, everyone wants to make it to the next stage, and ultimately, everyone wants to win. But what if standing out is not really about trying to be different from everyone else?

For Feroza, a previous champion of GP Futuremakers, the answer begins with something much more fundamental: finding a problem that genuinely matters to you. Looking back at her own journey, she believes that the strongest starting point for any participant is not an impressive solution, but a strong problem statement backed by genuine personal interest.

Start with a problem you actually care about

For someone participating in GP Futuremakers for the first time, Feroza believes the most important thing to focus on is developing a solid problem statement. But there is an important condition attached to that advice: the problem should be something the participant actually cares about.

“When the problem we’re trying to solve is important to us,” Feroza explains, “the entire process of working on the idea itself becomes more enjoyable.”

That connection between the participant and the problem can make a significant difference throughout the competition. An idea may look exciting at the beginning, but developing it requires research, questioning, refinement and persistence. Participants may have to spend hours understanding the problem, figuring out who is affected by it and thinking about whether their proposed solution can genuinely address it. If the problem itself does not mean much to them, that process can quickly feel like an assignment.

But when the problem is personal or meaningful, the experience changes. Research becomes an opportunity to understand something the participant genuinely wants to change. Feedback becomes something that can improve an idea they believe in. Even the difficult stages of the competition become part of a larger purpose.

For newcomers, therefore, the starting question should perhaps not be, “What idea will impress the judges?” Instead, it should be, “What problem do I genuinely want to solve?” According to Feroza’s experience, that question can provide the foundation for everything that follows.

Have belief

Once a participant has identified a meaningful problem, the next challenge is developing the confidence to stand behind the idea. For Feroza, this was one of the things that helped her most during her own Futuremakers journey.

“I think what helped me the most was going into the competition with complete faith in my idea,” she says.

Having faith in an idea does not mean believing that the first version of it will be perfect. In fact, competitions like Futuremakers can force participants to rethink and improve their ideas several times. Questions can expose gaps in the original thinking, research can reveal new dimensions of the problem, and feedback can require participants to make changes.

But confidence in the core purpose of the idea can help participants navigate those challenges. When someone genuinely understands and believes in the problem they are trying to solve, they are better positioned to explain why their idea matters. They can accept criticism without immediately losing confidence and refine their solution without losing sight of the reason they started in the first place.

For a first-time participant, this can be one of the biggest mental shifts: the goal is not to create an idea that can never be questioned. The goal is to understand the idea well enough to defend it, improve it and communicate why it deserves attention.

The goal shouldn’t just be the prize

There is an unavoidable irony in any competition: everyone enters wanting to win, but focusing too heavily on the final result can sometimes take away from the experience itself.

Feroza believes this is something participants should keep in mind throughout their Futuremakers journey. While she entered the competition with complete faith in her idea, she did not view the final outcome as the only measure of success.

“I also had the mindset that the outcome of the competition is not the most important part,” she says. Instead, she focused on “making sure I make the most of however far I reach in the competition.”

That mindset can completely change how a participant experiences the competition. If winning is the only objective, every rejection, difficult question or unsuccessful stage can feel like a defeat. But if the journey itself is treated as an achievement, every stage offers something to take away.

A participant may learn how to communicate an idea more clearly, understand how to receive criticism, discover weaknesses in their thinking or simply gain confidence in presenting in front of others. Even if the journey ends before the final stage, those experiences remain.

For Feroza, Futuremakers was valuable precisely because it offered much more than a final result.

One of the most important lessons Feroza took from Futuremakers was the value of networking. In a competition where participants are naturally focused on their own ideas, it can be easy to overlook the people around them.

But Feroza considers the networking opportunity one of the greatest aspects of the entire experience.

“The best achievement from Futuremakers is the networking opportunity and it’s important to make the most of it,” she says.

The other participants may initially appear to be competitors, but they are also young people who are going through the same experience, developing ideas, facing challenges, learning from feedback and trying to make an impact. The mentors, organisers and other people encountered throughout the programme can also become valuable connections.

Those relationships can continue to matter long after the competition ends. This is why Feroza encourages newcomers to look beyond the immediate competition. The person sitting beside you during one stage may eventually become a collaborator, a professional connection or simply someone whose perspective changes the way you think.

Winning gives you a title. But the people you meet can become part of a much longer journey.

While confidence is important, Feroza does not suggest that participants should rely on confidence alone. One of her key pieces of advice is to conduct proper research into the problem they are trying to solve.

For newcomers, one of the biggest challenges can be moving from working privately on an idea to presenting it publicly. A participant might spend weeks developing an idea, but eventually they have to communicate it in a way that other people can understand.

That is where all the previous preparation comes together. Knowing the problem gives the presentation substance. Research provides evidence. Confidence allows the participant to communicate the idea without constantly second-guessing themselves. And genuine interest in the problem gives the presentation something that cannot easily be rehearsed, a sense of authenticity.

The aim is not simply to memorise what to say. It is to understand the idea well enough that the participant can talk about it naturally, answer questions and explain why the problem deserves attention.

Feroza’s experience offers a perspective that goes beyond the usual advice about winning competitions. Her story is less about finding a secret formula and more about approaching Futuremakers with the right mindset.

Start with a problem you genuinely care about. Research it properly. Believe in the idea you are building. Be prepared to communicate it and defend it. But at the same time, do not allow the pressure of winning to overshadow everything else the experience has to offer.

Because a competition like GP Futuremakers is not simply about reaching the final stage. It is about what happens along the way, the questions that challenge your thinking, the people you meet, the feedback that changes your idea and the confidence you develop by putting your work out into the world.

And perhaps that is why Feroza’s final advice is so simple. Have confidence. Have faith in your idea. Do your research. And, most importantly, have fun.