Something very recent and something we are very proud of.
This Blog is addressed to our supportive family, friends and fans but is also intended as encouragement for fellow entrepreneurs.
To Pitch or not to Pitch?
They asked “Are you ready to Pitch”? Of course not! You’re never really ready, we could use more time, we don’t have all the answers and this “start-up thing” is a journey and we’re somewhere near the beginning. The pros….. best to get quick and honest feedback from a panel of experts. The cons…… flame out like so many on Shark Tank / Dragons Den. Damn the torpedoes, Havlar decided to throw their hat in the ring.
This was a great opportunity to present our business to a panel of supportive business experts for their honest feedback and a chance for further exposure with the Ontario Angel Network, access to grant funding, continued business incubator and mentorship support from the good folks at the Henry Bernick Entrepreneur Centre at Georgian College, and of course the chance to win up to $2,500 in start-up funding. Limited downside.
However, there was an extensive gating process to even qualify to enter the competition. Attend a pre-pitch workshop, complete a Pitch application, complete a 5 minute pitch presentation covering 10 core subject areas (each of which could be a separate presentation) and of course pitch to the panel of experts. However, we qualified for one of the six available spots.
Our selection was based on our submission which included a summary of our business idea “theft prevention”, what problem our idea addresses “Havlar’s unique intellectual property”, our solution, and our business model and our business model canvas. We made the cut!
The Pitch
Daryl and I rehearsed our pitch for hours while Kyle and Sophie played the role of audience and devil’s advocate. 10 charts and a 5 minute pitch, good luck with that. We decided to ruthlessly focus our message around images and pictures of our vision and our business.
While we had this vision of Dragons Den in the back of our heads with the dragons picking holes in our venture, nothing could have been further from the truth. It turns out “our story” is very entertaining and compelling when pitched from the “criminal and law enforcement perspective”. This is real-life stuff and theft happens a lot! Many of the “experts in the room” had also been theft victims and were very interested in our product solution. In fact, everyone in attendance appeared to be entertained and informed by our business. Apparently if you get “the hook” at the very end because the moderator has to stop the questions, it’s a success. We got the hook!
We left feeling good about how our pitch went but you never really know, do you? The moderator said “we’ll let you know”. Thanks for coming out. Kind of like leaving that job interview knowing there were a few questions that could have been answered differently. Oh well.
And the Winner is...