LaunchX Innovation Program 2026: Following Through With Aanya Saberwal

Three years into Tae Kwon Do, Aanya Saberwal was one belt away from earning her black belt when an accident changed her plans. Broken glass left her with nine stitches in her foot and three months on crutches, forcing her to stop training just as she was approaching a milestone she had spent years working towards.

For the first time, she thought about walking away.

"I seriously considered quitting," she says. "I was only one belt away from earning my black belt after training for three years, and it felt like everything I had worked toward was slipping away."

After months away from training, returning wasn't easy. She had to rebuild her strength, catch up on the progress she had missed, and prepare for a twelve-hour black belt examination. Eventually, she earned her first-degree black belt, but what stayed with her wasn't the certificate. It was a reminder that stepping away from something doesn't erase the work you've already put in.

"Taking a break doesn't erase the years of hard work I've already put in."

Looking back, that idea has quietly shown up in many parts of Aanya's life.

Learning by Doing

When Aanya became interested in entrepreneurship, she didn't have a business background or a detailed plan. She opened a Poshmark storefront selling secondhand clothing and started learning as she went. At first, growth was slow. She spent hours photographing clothes, writing listings, and sharing products, often without seeing much return. Instead of abandoning the idea, she kept making small adjustments, experimenting with pricing, improving product photos, and rewriting descriptions to better connect with customers.

Over time, those small changes added up. Today, her storefront has more than 33,000 followers, something she sees less as a finish line and more as the result of consistently showing up.

"You learn by doing," she says.

That simple philosophy has shaped more than her business. It's how she approaches new challenges in general: start, learn, adjust, and keep going.

Bringing Those Lessons to LaunchX

That curiosity led her to LaunchX this summer, where she joined the Innovation Program and worked with students from around the world on a consulting challenge for MKE Tech Hub. The team explored ways to improve talent retention within Milwaukee's growing technology ecosystem, giving Aanya to conduct customer interviews, analyse market research, build financial projections, and present recommendations.

What surprised her most was how quickly the experience carried over into something she was already building. The frameworks she learned during LaunchX gave her new ways to think about her Poshmark business, from pricing and customer engagement to long-term growth. Just as importantly, working with teammates from different backgrounds challenged her to consider perspectives she hadn't thought about before.

"I'm a night owl," she laughs. "But collaborating with students from around the world and working on something that could make a real impact made it something I genuinely looked forward to."

For Aanya, LaunchX wasn't about having all the answers. It was another opportunity to learn by doing, this time alongside a global community of students tackling real business problems.

Making an Impact Close to Home

Outside the classroom, Aanya has also looked for ways to contribute to her community. As part of her Girl Scouts Silver Award, she created and delivered pedestrian safety workshops for elementary school students, teaching simple habits that could help children stay safer around traffic. She wasn't sure how much of the information would stick until, sometime later, one of the students approached her and repeated a piece of advice from the presentation: wear bright colours at night so drivers can see you.

"What made me happiest was that they remembered the lesson," she says.

The project reached nearly 1,000 children, but that brief conversation reminded her that impact isn't always measured by numbers. Sometimes it's knowing that something you shared stayed with someone long after you left the room.

Looking Ahead

When asked how she hopes people remember her in the future, Aanya doesn't talk about follower counts, black belts, or awards.

"I hope people remember me for my personality more than my achievements," she says. "I want to be remembered as someone who was kind, approachable, and always willing to help others."

It's a perspective that explains why she continues to make time for art, dance, and creative hobbies alongside entrepreneurship and martial arts. Rather than seeing those interests as competing with one another, she sees them as different ways to keep learning.

If she could go back and speak to herself after the injury, she knows exactly what she'd say: "Don't let one setback convince you that your journey is over. Progress isn't always linear." Whether she's returning to Tae Kwon Do after an injury, growing a business one listing at a time, joining LaunchX to explore entrepreneurship, or creating a project for younger students in her community, Aanya has built a habit of following through. And while she's still at the beginning of her journey, it's a habit that's already taken her further than she ever expected.