Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education,
technology and design.
I'm your host, Mr. Jason.
Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting.
Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories
with an international flavor.
This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok.
Hello and welcome back.
I'm Mr. Jason and today for segment one, the podcast team and I will be walking you through
the five stages of the entrepreneurship process within the context of business.
However, these stages or steps could be applied to any type of startup context, not just business.
Then for segment two, we'll continue with part seven of our story, the secrets of El
Dorado.
We are deep into the struggles our heroes are facing, so you won't want to miss what
happens next.
But first, let's hear our quote of the day and get some headline news.
Hey, everyone, our quote of the day comes from Steve Jobs.
He said, when you're in a startup, the first 10 people will determine whether the company
succeeds or not.
In a startup, teamwork and collaboration among the early team members are essential in shaping
the company culture, setting the tone for future hires and determining the overall trajectory
of the business.
A cohesive and dedicated team can work together effectively to overcome challenges, innovate
and drive the company towards its objectives.
Ultimately, the quote underscores the importance of teamwork and collaboration in building
a successful startup.
The first 10 people in the company can make a significant impact on its success or failure,
highlighting the critical role that teamwork plays in the early stages of a business.
And that's our quote of the day.
Now onto some headline news.
Here's some headline entrepreneurship news from around the world.
Starting off with our first news, according to a survey conducted by Keat, which provides
automation software for small businesses, a majority of entrepreneurs and business owners
find it a challenge to deal with growth while also managing their business at the same time.
Those who succeed in overcoming these challenges were more likely to use software to make processes
like analytics, scheduling, customer communications, and etc.
All automated.
In fact, they also agreed that the use of AI has had a positive impact on their business,
with more than half of business owners reporting that they plan to increase their software
budget.
Onto our next news, Canada's plan to drive fair economic growth, budget 2024, has provided
$60 million in funding to Futurpreneur Canada, a non-profit organization that provides young
aspiring entrepreneurs with funding and support for their project.
Futurpreneur estimates that this $60 million investment will create around 6,000 more startup
businesses led by young entrepreneurs in the next five years, adding to the 17,700 businesses
that Futurpreneur has already helped finance and support through federal funding.
Onto our final news, tech giant Apple has recently announced that they will be hosting
six sessions at their stores as part of their Made for Business program starting May, which
is intended to educate small business owners and entrepreneurs on how Apple products and
services can be used to grow and manage their businesses.
Apple's business teams, business pros, and business experts are also present at the stores,
giving aid to the entrepreneurs in searching for the right services and applications for
their businesses.
Additionally, Apple also offers group reservations for consultation sessions to have products
and services recommended to them, as well as boosting their productivity through the
insights of business experts.
And that ends our news for today.
We are back for our first segment and my team and I will be running you through the five
stages of the entrepreneurship process.
Speaking from experience with several of the startup businesses I've been involved with,
the steps or stages of the process are not always as cut and dry as we will be discussing
today.
However, these stages do put some structure around what oftentimes for entrepreneurs is
a very dynamic, complicated, and challenging time while they are going through this process.
So to begin, I've asked my podcast team to present these stages and offer a little example
for each stage.
By the way, this process can also be applied to any larger endeavor or task you are seeking
to start.
We hope you find this helpful and if you miss something the first time, rewind and play
it back.
Okay, let's get started with the first stage of the entrepreneurship process.
Remy will introduce the first stage, describe it, and then share an example.
The first stage is called the discovery stage.
Here's an explanation about this first stage of entrepreneurship.
The discovery stage is where the journey begins.
This phase is all about identifying opportunities and pinpointing a market need that is unmet
or undeserved.
Entrepreneurs during this stage invest their time in researching, observing, and engaging
with potential customers to validate their ideas.
It's a period filled with creativity and exploration, where the initial spark of an idea is carefully
nurtured into a viable business concept.
The success of the stage hinges on the entrepreneur's ability to remain open to feedback and agile
in adapting their initial ideas based on real-world insights.
For our example of the discovery stage, we follow a young entrepreneur named Maya.
Maya notices a growing trend in her city for street food, but sees a lack of vegan options
available.
After discussing with local residents and analyzing food trends, she identifies a strong
market for a vegan food truck, offering a variety of tasty plant-based dishes.
Next we have the second stage.
It's called the planning stage.
Here's an explanation about the second stage of entrepreneurship.
Planning is the backbone of any endeavor.
In this stage, entrepreneurs translate the insights gathered during the discovery phase
into a structured business plan.
This plan details the business model, strategies for marketing, operations, and financial projections.
It acts as a roadmap for the business and is crucial for communicating the venture's
vision to potential investors and partners.
Effective planning not only outlines how the business will achieve its goal, but also anticipates
potential challenges and how to address them.
We continue with our example of Maya's food truck for the planning stage.
Maya develops a simple business plan that outlines her concept for a vegan food truck
named Healthy Bites.
The plan includes a menu featuring creative vegan takes on popular street foods, pricing
strategies, and targeted marketing tactics to attract both vegan customers and curious
foodies.
The plan also outlines the routes and locations with high foot traffic, such as near universities
and business districts.
Next we have the third stage.
It's called the resource stage.
Resources involve gathering the necessary tools, people, and capital required to bring
the business plan to light.
Entrepreneurs must secure funding, whether through bootstrapping, loans, or investors,
and must also build a team whose skills and values align with the mission of the company.
Additionally, this stage includes acquiring technology and other resources needed for
operation.
Efficient resources is critical for building a strong foundation that supports sustainable
growth and scalability of the business.
We continue to follow Maya and her food truck startup business as our example for the stage
12.
Maya secures funding from a combination of savings and a loan from her family member.
She purchases a used food truck and retrofits it with the necessary kitchen equipment.
Maya sources ingredients from local organic farms and hires one cook with experience in
vegan cuisine.
She also invests in branding, including a vibrant wrap for the truck and uniforms.
Next we have the fourth stage.
It's called the launch stage.
The launch phase is when the business goes live and enters the market.
This stage is about execution and bringing the planning and resources together to start
operations.
It involves a lot of moving parts, from initiating marketing campaigns to fine-tuning the product
or service based on customer feedback.
The launch is a high-energy, high-stakes time that tests the resilience and adaptability
of the entrepreneur.
Business in this phase is measured by the business' ability to attract and retain customers
and to establish a food hold in the market.
For example, with Maya and her food truck, she launches Healthy Bites at a well-attended
local food festival, which provides high visibility.
She uses social media to announce the truck's daily locations and upcoming menu specials.
And she collaborates with local businesses and event organizers to park at upcoming events
and festivals.
Okay, now onto our fifth and final stage.
Back to Premi for this one.
The fifth and final stage is called the harvest stage.
Harvesting is the phase where entrepreneurs begin to reap the benefits of their hard work.
In this stage, the business has matured and the focus shifts from maximizing profits,
exploring exit strategies, or looking for expansion opportunities.
For some, this might mean selling the business or merging with another company, while others
might choose to scale up operations to enter new markets or develop new products.
The harvest stage is a time for reflection on past achievements and strategizing for
future growth.
And finally, with our example of Maya's Healthy Bites food truck business, after establishing
a loyal customer base and achieving consistent profitability, Maya explores growth opportunities.
She considers adding another truck to serve different parts of the city or potentially
franchising her business model.
Additionally, Maya looks into packaging some of her popular stores sauces and snacks for
retail sale, leveraging her advanced reputation to enter new markets.
And there you have it, that's a quick overview of the five main stages of entrepreneurship.
To end this first segment, I did some research online about entrepreneurship and found some
interesting statistics.
Here's what I found.
The top three reasons people become entrepreneurs today are
Number one, they want to be their own boss.
Number two, they want to pursue their own passion.
And number three, they want to take advantage of an opportunity.
All right, moving on to some other statistics.
There are an estimated 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.
Next one is in the US alone, there were 31 million entrepreneurs at the beginning of
this year, 2024.
And yet another one is 90% of entrepreneurs are self-made.
And the next stat is 96% of self-employed people do not intend to return to work for
other people.
And another stat is 20% of entrepreneurs manage or own a business with a family member.
And finally, 75% of entrepreneurs said they were happy with what they are doing.
All right, that ends segment one of this episode.
Stick around for segment two as we continue with part seven of the secrets of El Dorado.
Part seven is titled revelations and connections.
We'll be right back after this short PSA.
Attention AP students around the world as you prepare for your upcoming exams for the following
weeks.
Remember that you're not alone in this journey.
You have the support of a worldwide community of students who are also working hard to achieve
their goals.
Keep pushing yourself, stay focused and believe in your abilities.
You are capable of great things and your hard work will pay off in the end.
Good luck on your exams and remember that you are part of a global network of determined
and motivated individuals.
Let's show the world what we are capable of.
And that's our PSA today.
We are back for our second segment as we continue with part seven of our 10 part story titled
the secrets of El Dorado.
If you're just joining us for the first time, I suggest you pause this episode and go back
to episode 55 where we begin with part one of the story.
Okay, part seven is titled revelations and connections.
Before we get into part seven, Premi will give us a quick recap from our last episode.
In the last episode, Ava and Sira narrowly escaped the people in the meeting, ending
up in a ledge near the reservoir.
Ethan and Professor Hawthorne, having driven down from Rob's Peak, fresh with discoveries,
decide to make a stop at the reservoir.
Together, the four find out that Lily is missing, along with many more discoveries that only
seem to deepen the mystery.
We leave off with the group discussing their next steps in the very room that the people
earlier were meeting in.
Unbeknownst to them, they have a photo of Ava's license, yet another threat that would
endanger their lives.
Thank you, Premi, and without further ado, let's get back into our story where we join
Ava, Lily, Sira, Ethan, and the Professor.
Back at her grandmother's house and quietly enters the front door, just as the living
room clock chimes once indicating that it was one o'clock in the morning already.
Ava's mind was still wandering.
Searching and thinking about all the small coincidences and the connections her, Sira,
Ethan, and Professor Hawthorne had just discussed at the reservoir less than an hour ago.
The ride back to the town with Sira was awkwardly quiet, probably because she and Sira was trying
to still process what had just happened.
Ava also started noticing that her upper arms and wrists were quite sore from being pulled
up off the ledge over the spillway.
The adrenaline had subsided now, and the trauma of the last two hours of events had finally
set in.
Wide awake still, she wonders if she should call Ted.
Her trusted colleague at the Bee who's helped her out in the past with quick research and
answers she's needed for other stories she has written.
Ted is single and somewhat antisocial.
Plus, Ava knows that Ted is often up late at night working anyway.
She takes a chance and sends him a quick text message that reads,
I need some help on something big.
Can't wait till morning.
Call me if you're still up.
Ethan gets to show up a little before 630am, still quite tired from all the activity and
excitement from the day before.
He thinks to himself while unlocking the backdoor to his cafe.
Was yesterday just one big dream or did it really happen?
He already knows the answers to the question.
Yesterday was not a normal day for a guy like Ethan, but he feels a sense of pride knowing
that the tech projects he had been developing all seemed to work quite well.
The dragging device, the integrated software, and the mini drone.
He enters the shop through the back door and turns the lights on in his office, knowing
that the others would be showing up through the back door in about 15 minutes.
The morning bakery crew was already in the shop kitchen preparing and plating all the
evening's fresh baked bread and pastries for the day.
Ethan loved this time of the day as it was calm before the busyness of the day.
As he glanced from the back room through the cafe seating area at the front windows, he
noticed that there were already customers starting to line up to get into the cafe first.
As Sierra made her way to the cafe that early morning, she would often walk down Main Street
and enter through the front doors about 15 minutes before her shift would start.
However, on this day, Sierra walked past the front of the cafe, past a dozen or so customers
who were waiting outside, and turned the corner to the alley and made her way to the back
door of the cafe as Ethan had instructed the night before.
As Sierra turns the corner to the alley, she notices that Professor Hawthorne and Ava are
already standing by the back door of the cafe talking quietly.
Professor Hawthorne looks down at his watch and he notices Sierra walking toward both
him and Ava in the alley and says, alright, let's knock on the door and get inside before
anyone else sees us out here altogether.
Ava knocks to Sierra as if to say hello without actually saying hello, and then turns around
and knocks three times on the back door of the cafe as Ethan had instructed.
Ethan hears knocking on the black door, rushes over and opens the door.
He is greeted by the Professor, Sierra and Ava as he gestures to them to hurry inside
and go straight to his office, which is situated just off the main kitchen in the back of the
cafe.
He looks at the three as they enter the back of the cafe and says, make yourself at home,
I've got a check on the front area and make sure my staff are ready to open and then I'll
be right back.
At this time, it was almost 7am in the morning, opening time, and the crowds from the town's
annual Gold Rush Days festivities were already up and mingling around the downtown area.
The line in front of Ethan's cafe had gotten longer as well.
After entering Ethan's office and getting situated, Ava looks at Sierra and Professor
Hawthorne and says, guys, I've got some news to share but I'll wait until Ethan gets in
here.
At that moment, Ethan pops his head in the office and says, guys, one of my morning front
cafe staff members hasn't shown up yet so I have to go cover for her until she gets
here.
You can get started without me, just fill me in later.
Ethan turns around and walks out of the room and says under his breath, man, the joys of
owning your own business.
Ava jumps right in as soon as Ethan leaves.
I couldn't sleep last night when I got home so I texted my colleague at the B and asked
for another big favor.
Thankfully, he was still awake.
Anyway, he reluctantly said yes after I persuaded him that he could be included as a collaborator
on one of my articles.
He got in touch with his confidential contact at the FBI in the middle of the night who
ran a tax check on the two license plates in my photo.
Long story short, one of the cars from last night is registered to the office of the mayor
of Coloma, Anthony Ruiz.
Ava could tell by the look on Professor Hawthorne's face that he was as stunned as she had been
last night when she had found out the news.
Neither the professor nor Sarah said a word.
They both just had a look of disbelief on their faces.
Ava goes on, guys, this gets even deeper.
The second car in the photo is registered to the office of none other than California
State Representative Deborah Stewart Brown.
You could hear a pin drop in the room.
Sarah quickly looks at both the professor and Ava and then says quietly, so we now know
the identities of three of the five people who were in that meeting last night, a prominent
professor from the college, the town mayor, and a state representative.
Whoa, then who were the other two?
This is a big deal, right?
Sarah says as she looks at both Professor Hawthorne and Ava.
Professor Hawthorne speaks up now and says, Ava, how confident are you with that source
at the FBI?
Ava responds, he's a solid source, another reporter at the BU, the same source to help
support the story we broke about next gen pharmaceuticals and the rampant fraud that
company was practicing.
Yeah, he's solid, Ava finishes.
There's nothing for him to gain or lose by feeding my colleague Ted into this info.
He just ran the tags, a standard procedure they do all the time from their office.
The only added bonus for us is that he did it in the middle of the night.
Professor Hawthorne then says, Wow, my good buddy Sharpton, the mayor and the state rep
Brown are all mixed up in this thing.
I mean, they seem to be involved with kidnapping two people, first gen and now Lily.
He continues thinking out loud here, so if Lily went to the college lab yesterday before
she disappeared, then what was she working?
Ava responds before the professor could finish his sentence.
I remember her saying that she was going to test out the formula or at least try the formula
that Shin had written on the note he gave to you a while back.
The same note where he also included the coordinates of the reservoir.
Sierra interjects, what if she discovers something about that formula and if Professor Sharpton
was there at the same time, it's possible she was taken from the lab at that time.
Professor Hawthorne responds, at some point, I think we'll need to contact the FBI and
report to them about Chen and Lily and give them our leads.
This could be much deeper than what we think, and I don't want either one of you or Ethan
to be endangered.
Ava Lynn says, I hear you, but I'd like to take a field trip first before we get to the
FBI involved.
The only reason I say this is because I think we need some more evidence in order for them
to secure where and to search places or arrest people.
Basically, all we have right now is a recording, a blurry photo of two license plates, an unpublished
old manuscript, a handwritten note, and the knowledge that two people we know are presumably
missing may be taken against their rule.
The FBI could say to us, for all we know, the two missing people could have just run
off with each other.
We need more evidence or a better lead in order to commit resources and secure where.
Looking right at Ava, the professor says, I know what you're thinking and we can pull
it off pretty easily.
You're wanting to go find the underground tunnels at the site of Sutter's Mill, aren't
you?
Ava nods her head and then asks, how will that be easy though?
Professor Hawthorne looks at both Ava and Ciara and says, because I'm friends with
old man John Sutter, the person whose name is on that deed of land, the land that's
now a historical site and a tourist attraction.
Old man Sutter doesn't live there, but I could call him and get his permission to poke
around all over that property.
He loves my previous archaeological work and we've had many conversations about it when
he's in town.
You see, even though old man John Sutter, a distant relative of the original owner
of the land at Sutter's Mill, his name is on the land deed.
He doesn't take care or manage the property.
He's actually paid by the state of California to not manage it.
Instead, the state manages it because it was designated many, many years ago as a historical
state landmark.
Therefore, the state of California has the authority and money to manage and take care
of the property and its surroundings.
It's also common knowledge that the state built an exact replica of the famous sawmill
for tourism purposes because the original sawmill rotted and crumbled decades ago.
Old man John Sutter lives a few counties over and doesn't come by here much anymore.
I think he's in his late 80s or early 90s right now.
I'll give him a call in a minute and get permission to go to his property before it opens to the
public and do some surveying.
I'll say we are doing some research for some of my classes for next measure.
A few minutes later, as the professor is talking to old man Sutter on the phone, the professor
looks over at Ava and Sierra and gives them a thumbs up.
Professor then says, yup, it's that easy and continues.
The property opens to the public at 10 or 1030 this morning, so we should head over
there now.
I'll drive since there will be much less suspicion than having a stranger's car parked
on the property like yours, Ava.
Ava looks at Sierra and then the professor and says, all right, we're doing this.
Sierra, you have the entire day off, right?
Yeah, I do.
Sierra answers, but what about Ethan?
I mean, I can go up front in the cafe and tell him what our plan is.
Not sure he can leave the cafe today again.
Sierra leaves the office to go tell Ethan.
She returns a few minutes late and reports, guys, the cafe is slammed right now.
So many customers.
Ethan said to go without him.
He also said we should each take one of his small tracking devices, which are in the top
drawer of his desk behind you, Ava.
I'll also bring Lily's backpack with me.
Professor Hawthorne responds as he points to his old worn messenger bag he never leaves
home without.
The manuscript pages I have are clipped together with one of Ethan's devices already.
Good idea, Ethan, Ava says under her breath as she opens the top drawer of her desk and
grabs one of the remaining paperclip tracking devices from the front part of the top drawer.
She continues, Sierra, here's one for you, too.
Let's just put them in our front pants pockets.
Ethan has the ability to follow all three of us now.
Just in case something were to go happen to any of us, Ethan's back here and can help
be supported if needed.
My Bronco is parked a block away down the street on the left.
Meet me there in 10 minutes and I'll drive us over to Old Man Sutter's property.
Ava, I hope you are ready to take notes for your articles, Professor says as he exits
the cafe office and then leaves the cafe out the back door into the alley.
Sierra and Ava follow a few minutes later after Sierra fetches both of them a coffee
and bagel for the road.
Meanwhile, Lily finds herself sitting on a small flimsy mattress cushion she used as
a bed the night before.
She's staring at a rocky dirt wall while a small single light bulb hangs from a wire
from the wall behind her and dimly lights up the small space she's being held in.
She noticed a metal gate to her right and left that leads to long corridors or passageways
that then lead somewhere else.
She has a pounding headache that seems to be getting better, but it still lingers.
Lily has no idea what time it is or where she's at.
All she knows is that she seems to be trapped.
The last thing she remembers about yesterday is being in the science lab at the college
and then everything suddenly going dark.
Then she woke up in this small, musty space or room a few hours ago.
She says to herself, it seems to be morning because my body clock wakes me up religiously
around 730 every morning or sometimes close to that.
All of the sudden she hears footsteps approaching and then hears a familiar voice say,
Lily, I didn't expect you to get mixed up with this.
First Chen and now you.
Come on man, you both should have left this alone.
You've put me in a very difficult situation.
And now other people who are not as understanding and as kind as I am are contemplating on what
they should do with you both.
Professor Sharpton continues as Lily looks up at him.
It would be in your best interest to tell me everything you know and tell me if your
friends also know the same information.
Lily responds with a faint voice.
What information are you talking about?
My friends and I were just looking for Chen.
Sharpton snaps back.
The formula, Lily, the formula.
Where did you get that formula from?
That's what I am talking about.
Professor Sharpton lifts up Lily's cell phone and shows it to her, then points to a photo
of Chen's note.
The note that Chen had written and gave to Professor Hawthorne the week before.
Lily, you see this photo and the formula written on this note?
Some very important people are not happy about this note.
So for your own sake, tell me what you know.
He then follows that up with another question.
Is it just you and the other two girls that are involved?
What do they know?
He finishes by saying, tell me everything and this might end well for you.
Realizing that this is not some terrible misunderstanding, Lily pauses for a moment before answering
Sharpton.
She then responds, the two girls who were with me the other day at the lab don't know
anything.
They were having lunch with me and wanted to ride along when I told them I wanted to
see if Chen was at the lab.
Then when we didn't find him there, we went and asked Professor Hawthorne, like you suggested,
and he wasn't there either.
Sharpton looks at Lily with a stern expression.
I hope for your sake you are telling the truth.
He turns around and walks back out the same dark corridor he came from and closes the
metal gate behind him.
Lily peers down the long corridor through the metal gate that Sharpton had just closed
and notices that there was another person standing further down the passageway.
She watches as Sharpton stops and talks briefly with the other person.
The mystery person is standing in a shadow so she can't make it out clearly who it
is.
However, she does notice that the person is much larger than Sharpton.
She then watches as Sharpton walks off and disappears around a corner further down the
corridor.
Alright Professor Hawthorne says as he turns off the ignition, we're here.
The three of them get out of the Bronco and pause for a bit to take in the surroundings.
The road they drove up on follows the American River through the valley.
It's a beautiful drive as it sits in a valley along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Inside the road on this particular section is a small pull-off area where tourists can
stop and park their cars before trekking over the American River by way of a narrow wooden
pedestrian bridge.
Three will have to walk over the bridge in order to gain access to the original site
of Sutter's Mill.
Professor Hawthorne looks around and points toward the pedestrian bridge several meters
away and says, we'll need to cross that bridge as the original location of Sutter's
Mill sits opposite us on the other side of the river.
However, the original mill is not there anymore.
The State Parks Commission built a replica which sits on the same site as the original
mill did.
At least that's what the sign says.
Hawthorne's familiar with this area as he's been here before several times, mainly as
a tourist, to visit the original site of Sutter's Mill where the first gold was found, the place
where the historic California Gold Rush all started.
As the three are walking to the site, Hawthorne continues explaining other details about Old
Man Sutter's property to Ava and Sierra.
He continues, a small front portion of the property has been designated as a National
Historic Landmark and is taken care of by the California State Park Association.
Tourists are allowed to access about half acre of the front part of the property which
butts up against the river.
This half acre is open to the public from I think 10, 1030 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
I think the State Park Rangers take care to open and close the gate at the bridge every
day.
Professor Hawthorne continues talking as they reach the other side of the river and continue
trekking along a small trail along the bank of the river that leads to the replica sawmill
site.
I bet there have been some tourists out here this week because the annual gold rush festival
happening in town, the professor mumbles.
Ava sees the mill structure ahead and says, oh yeah, I remember coming here a long time
ago with my grandparents when I was a kid.
I don't remember much else but I think my grandma still has some photos of me standing
up on the mill overlooking the river below.
I don't think I've ever been here before.
I mean I've seen signs on the road to this place but we never stop to check it out.
It's kind of interesting that when you grow up in a place that tourists come to, you don't
really go see the sites yourself.
Professor Hawthorne continues, so true Sierra, I've noticed that with some of the places
I've lived.
Ok, we're here.
Let's climb the stairs to the mill platform and that will give us a view over the back
fence at some of the property.
The three climb the stairs that go up about 12 feet off the ground to an open raised and
covered platform.
From this vantage point, the three can look out over the back part of the half acre and
see a little over the back fence that separates the half acre public access area from the
other 30 plus acres, which is private property and not open to the public.
The remaining 30 some acres is all fenced in and extends up the side of the mountain.
The slope of the property is not steep but gradual.
There are a lot more rocks, boulders, and trees on the restricted area of the property.
The property is somewhat a rectangular shape as it extends up the mountain and the last
five plus acres can be quite steep.
The professor points toward the back right corner fence area of the half acre lot and
says Old Man Sutter said there's a small locked gate back there we can access in order
to get onto the back 30 acres.
He gave me the padlock code.
If I were to take a guess and if that tunnel system is actually here, it would be on the
private property, probably hidden from sight and maybe obscured a bit by natural surroundings.
If you were to hide something, whatever it is, Eva says after a moment, her shrewd eyes
sweeping across the landscape, it would be this place.
The circle, sight, and tourist attraction and all, they're smart.
They might have done bad things but they're smart.
I'll give them that.
Sarah nods, a look of worry on her face.
You're right.
The only thing is, that's bad for us.
The smarter they are, the more dangerous I feel we can get into.
Eva swallows, thinking to herself, and the bigger this story will be for the bee.
She keeps quiet, however, before speaking up.
Okay, Professor, should we go and try to access the property?
Yes, we didn't come all this way just to look at it from up here.
I mean, this is quite unsettling and we need to find some more answers and evidence so
we can get the FBI involved.
The Professor says as he climbs back down off the replica mill platform.
Besides, we didn't come here as tourists.
Sarah and Eva follow Professor Hawthorne as they make their way to the back of the half
acre and finds the small metal fence gate at the right corner of the fence as described
by Old Man Sutter.
She looks around and realizes that they were the only people in the property and says,
we're really lucky to be the only ones here right now.
Otherwise, tourists would definitely have questions for us.
Yeah, for sure, Eva says before glancing down at her watch.
Alright, it's a little past 10, so we should hurry up as there may be some more showing
up soon.
Professor Hawthorne nods, unlocks the padlock with the code that Old Man Sutter gave him
and opens the squeaky fence door.
After all three of them make their way through the fence door, exiting the public access
area and entering the private property, the Professor secures the fence door shut and
locks the padlock.
Don't be alarmed, but I need to shut the fence door and lock the padlock.
We don't need any curious tourists accidentally wandering back here where they don't belong.
They begin hiking around and exploring areas of the back property, areas that are not flat,
rock formations and other natural formations that may hide an entrance to a tunnel system.
They continue doing this as they trek upwards towards higher elevation.
After about 30 minutes of hiking around and exploring, slowly and methodically, their
efforts seem fruitless.
Suddenly, Ciara spots a large rock formation jutting out of the side of the mountain, some
25 or so meters up ahead of the tree.
The large rocks were partially covered by underbrush and obscured by several large pine
trees.
The rock formation included two large boulders which rested next to each other with a small
space left between them.
It looked like a shallow cave at first glance from the distance she was at.
She yells out to the Professor and Ava.
I see something that looks to be an entrance to either a shallow cave or something else.
She starts walking towards it and notices Ava and the Professor moving to where she
was at and then following her.
After several minutes, they reach the large rock formation.
Ciara peers through the space between the boulders at the shallow cave and sees nothing,
just the back of the cave which was just some muddy dirt.
Ava and the Professor walk around to the back of the rock formation where the rocks seem
to go into the side of the mountain.
Ava is out front and notices right away that there are no trees or underbrush growing around
this area.
Maybe this is on purpose for some reason, she thinks herself.
Ava looks back at Professor Hawthorne who is right behind her and says, hmmm, there
doesn't seem to be any sort of entrance around here but it does look a little suspicious
as if the underbrush and trees were cut down on purpose and recently.
I agree, Professor Hawthorne says, now walking past Ava as Ciara is now standing there as
well.
The Professor continues and says, I wonder how they would have…
Professor Hawthorne stops mid-sentence.
Ciara watches in slow motion as his left foot trips over something, making a metal clanging
noise.
He then loses his balance and starts to fall forward.
Ciara and Ava, both standing close to him, reach out and grab his arm and backpack, steadying
the Professor on the ground before he falls.
Oh, I'm alright, thank you.
You've returned the favor from the other night at the reservoir, thank you.
The Professor says as he bends down and rubs his shin he just bruised.
I think we just literally stumbled upon a metal door or entrance.
That said, he walks over to the spot where he tripped, carefully this time, to reveal
that amidst the grass and cut underbrush stood a metal lever.
It was U-shaped and it clearly did not belong.
Ava and Ciara now stand next to the Professor as he carefully pulls the lever and slowly
a metal door comes into view.
As it turns out, the grass and underbrush had concealed the door which seemed to lead
directly into the mountain when open.
Ciara is amazed at the sight of a door on the side of the mountain.
Once the Professor pulls the heavy door open and the sunlight glimmers in a bit, Ciara
and Ava are able to see the faint outlines of what looked like to be wooden stairs that
lead downward.
The stairs were narrow and the wood used for the stairs looked quite old and worn.
She is suddenly overcome with fear.
Alright, look at that, Ava says, light shining in her eyes.
Are you ready to explore?
Ava, Ciara starts and she puts a hand on her now fiercely beating heart.
I don't know if we should go in there.
Professor Hawthorne nods, peering down at the darkness below.
Ava, I think Ciara is right.
I don't know if we should.
We need to move ahead cautiously and be smart about our next decisions.
However, this may or may not be the evidence we need in order for a warrant to be issued.
On the other hand, we need to remember that Chen and Lily are still missing and those
people are still out there.
We have no idea what is down in this tunnel.
Besides, these are the people who took Lily and Chen.
I don't know how safe it is.
Professor Hawthorne thinks about his family and the girls' families.
I really don't want anything to happen to either one of you or myself.
Ava bites her teeth, thinking less about the danger and more about the excitement in her
veins and the article for the beat.
I mean, she used a sign.
I know where you two are coming from and it's definitely dangerous.
But the only thing is, this wouldn't be enough evidence.
The most we can do without going down is take some photos.
That's probably not going to be enough.
Besides, the FBI could easily dismiss this as some old storeroom or, I don't know, a
door to some weird cellar in the forest on an old guy's property.
Ava, you do have a point.
But let's not deny this could happen if we proceed.
Think about it.
We're going down into an underground tunnel without knowing where it leads.
We may run into someone from that bad guy meeting you observed the other night.
Then what?
The professor asks.
That's true.
But you know who might also be down there?
Lily and possibly Chen.
You're right, it's dangerous.
But Lily and Chen, they're also in danger.
Every minute we wait or hesitate, they may be closer to a terrible ending, Ava says.
That's true, Sierra says, before thinking of something.
And honestly, I'll want to have known that I tried helping the best I possibly could.
And doing the best isn't standing in front of the tunnels, where she's kept and choosing
to go home.
I'm a little scared, but I'll be okay.
I'm in if you are.
Professor Hawthorne sighs, torn between his curiosity and the responsibility he feels
for these two girls with him.
Alright, let's do this very cautiously, the professor says, ignoring the unsettling feeling
he feels in his gut.
With that said, the professor pulls the door open again slowly and all three peer down
into the dark entrance of the tunnel.
As the professor holds the door open, Ava and Sierra turn on their phone flashlights
and one by one they carefully climb down the narrow staircase, some eight rungs down toward
the dirt ground.
Ava first, then looking up to give Sierra the thumbs up sign.
Sierra follows and then reaching to the bottom looks up at the professor who is still holding
the door open and gives him the thumbs up.
The professor climbs down the stairs and carefully closes the door above him which makes a metal
latching sound.
With that, they transcend into the darkness, save for two faint rays of light from their
phones that might not be enough to save them.
The light from the phone is enough to see just a few meters in front of them and when
Ava tilts her phone downwards, they notice freshly made footprints under their feet leading
into the dark, dark tunnel.
Unbeknownst to Ava, Sierra, Professor Hawthorne, or Liddy herself, the underground room that
Liddy is locked in is not far from where the others were.
Liddy, after being questioned by Professor Sharpton and then watching him leave her small
room, she takes a moment to study her surroundings better.
To the right, through the metal closed gate, down the corridor that Professor Sharpton
left from, is a silhouette of the larger man she saw.
Still standing there, she assumes this person is a guard or something.
Looking forward and toward the opposite wall that she is sitting against, she notices that
what looks like a dirty piece of clothing.
She gets up and grabs it.
It's a sweatshirt, she thinks to herself.
It's a college sweatshirt and the initials on this inside tag spell C-H-E-N.
This is Chen's sweatshirt.
He must either still be here somewhere or maybe they moved him.
As she is thinking this, she looks to her left toward the other corridor that blocks
off with the metal gate.
She looks closer and notices that the metal latch and lock on that gate is not properly
fastened.
She lets out a soft gasp.
As we end this episode, I hope our first segment about the topic and stages of entrepreneurship
was helpful and informative.
Are you thinking about starting a business?
Maybe you want to take that leap and be your own boss.
Well, follow the five stages in the process as they can be your guide through that journey.
And as always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our International
Student Production Team.
All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives
sharing copyright free images, videos, and music.
And we are signing off until next time.
We are Students Incorporated.
Because your voice matters.