I Pitched CORTEX and Secured My First Pre-seed Funding (As a SOLO Founder)

1. The Journey No One Sees

Most people only saw the pitch: confident delivery, clean slides, and a polished product. What they did not see were the long nights, the burnout, the doubt, and the moments where I questioned whether I could keep up with everything happening in my life. Cortex was not built in peaceful conditions. It came together in short bursts between responsibilities, often late at night when everyone else was asleep.

The chaos shaped it more than anything else.

2. Walking Into the Room Alone

When I entered the Dachuang pitch room, the contrast was obvious. Every other group had multiple members. Some had Olympiad backgrounds. Some had YC experience. Some had deep technical or computer science training.

And then there was me. A molecular bioscience major who spends most of his time around lab equipment and research papers. A lab nerd who somehow built a productivity tool and infiltrated a space far from his original expertise.

But I reminded myself that Cortex started because the problem was personal. It came from a real need. I was not pretending to be someone else. I was simply presenting something that grew out of my own experience. Once I began speaking, the nerves disappeared. I was not pitching an idea. I was sharing a part of my story.

3. The Hard Questions That Made Me Better

The Q&A was difficult. The judges asked about AI costs, user engagement metrics, reliability of my analytics, and scalability. These were serious questions from people who have built successful tools and knew exactly what to look for.

I answered honestly. I admitted that my tracking is still developing, that student testers behave differently from paying users, and that some features are still being built. For a moment I wondered if I was too honest.

But then one judge smiled and said, "I have a lot of questions, which is usually a good thing."

Another judge added, "It feels like you have been doing this for a while."

And as I walked out, a third quietly said, "Straight out of Shark Tank."

Hearing that, especially as someone who comes from a research lab background, felt surreal. It was the moment I realized I belonged in that room even if my path was unconventional.

4. The Moment After the Pitch

What happened after the pitch meant even more. One of the judges approached me and said, "We need to talk after this." She did not say that to anyone else.

That simple comment, coming from someone who understands the startup journey deeply, felt like confirmation that the work I have been putting in all semester was finally visible.

5. What Dachuang Really Represented

Dachuang was not just a pitch competition for me. It was a checkpoint in my personal journey. This semester was emotionally heavy, academically intense, and mentally exhausting. Presenting something I built from scratch forced me to see how much I have grown.

I realized I have become more disciplined, more resilient, and more confident in my ability to build things. Even though I was the only solo founder in the room, I felt prepared.

6. The Lesson I Am Taking Away

This experience taught me that progress often feels invisible until one moment brings clarity. Some months feel stagnant or overwhelming. Some periods make you question everything.

But if you keep showing up, even when you feel unqualified or unsure, things eventually connect.

My pitch was not perfect. Cortex is not finished. My metrics are not flawless. But I showed up, and that made all the difference.

Perseverance is not dramatic. It is consistent. And sometimes consistency over one intense semester is enough to unlock the next chapter.

If you go into something, with god by your side, knowing that you've already won, then the only thing that can stop you is yourself.