Yes, it’s true! I am officially a pitcher! To investment animals that is, not in a batting cage or at a ballpark. Although I’ll say, equally if not more intimidating and frightening.
I’ll walk you through the journey, how it started, how I thought I did, how I actually did and what’s next. We can share some laughs and a high five at the end, because (and this was the premise as I went in to this situation), it didn’t matter what the outcome was going to be; I knew I was going to learn a great deal and walk away with incredible nuggets for my “next time” - cause yah, there’s gonna be a NEXT TIME!
Let’s start by acknowledging the obvious; it’s every entrepreneur’s dream to pitch to a group of people with money. And when I say money, I mean they rich rich. For brand awareness, feedback and recognition alone this is an experience every business owner wants to be in front of one day, and I was able to get to do this 10 months after launching my company.
It started with my alumni network and a current Queens University MBA Candidate reaching out to me to propose an idea he was marinating about gathering a group of wealthy Calgarians to listen to, grade and judge a pseudo-Dragon’s Den competition; the similarities were striking, down to the winner actually taking home angel funds. I told him it was the best idea ever, and then he said, “you need to pitch your deodorant”.
I paused. I knew this was something that was going to be on my path inevitably, but this soon? A million questions raced through my mind, but only one answer came through my mouth – “YUP I’M IN”. No pitch deck, no experience ever pitching, a feeble $10,000 in sales since launch and only 1 product with 3 variants. I still said yes. Why? Because my father taught me you NEVER turn down an opportunity, like NEVER.
What ensued was tremendous planning on my part, from creating a deck, completing a company valuation and going through my financials with something smaller than a fine-tooth comb (think needle). Then of course to add to this were the primary caregiver responsibilities of kids’s activities and logistics; we had to call in reinforcement (grandparents) to come stay with the kids & planned routes to soccer fields, schools, soccer games and potential play dates – all for a total of 72 hours away lol.
Queue in the live event in Calgary. Countless hours spent on the airplane ride there + in the hotel hallways practicing and timing my pitch – I had 7 minutes to tell my compelling story of why I deserved the funds. I felt ready walking into the event, appropriately called “Base Camp” (as we were the climbers reaching the Summit). I entered the room and immediately felt a sense of overwhelming defeat. I was in a room with 11other companies; ten of which were tech and AI driven, all led by men. I was one of 2 female leaders, and all I had was kids deodorant. I said to my husband “I don’t think I can do this”, and he looked at me and said “you’ve got this. And don’t forget, 75% of the reason you’re going to win is because of YOU”.
I pitched. End result? I came in SECOND. Second place, ahead of 9 of the 10 tech companies. I was elated, happy, excited, words cannot explain. More importantly this experience validated that I was in this for the right reasons; my company from day 1 has been values based, and purpose driven & we are building a strong and loyal following through community engagement and not going after fast sales.
My advice to other budding or tenured entrepreneurs? If you’re in it for a fast dollar, people will see right through you. Speak to your passion, not your product – you’ll win every time.
x
-Farzana