UW Business Plan Competition

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Six days before the deadline…

Kathy: “Are you interested in turning NASTEA & Co. into a real business?”

Minnie: *Turns to Kathy with a smile* “I think I’m ready to hire myself.”

This is how it all started. Til this day, we still don’t know how we got the courage and ambition to participate in the competition. All we knew at the time was that we were up to something great, we had each other, and we knew we could make it happen.

Looking back, we do not regret any part of participating in the competition and the process. We are so grateful for all of the support and encouragement we got from the community along the way. Advancing into the investment round (top 32 teams) really took our dreams and ambitions to the next level, and further validated our idea. In preparation for the “big day”, we pulled a tea-brewing-allnighter to brew an unrealistically large amount of samples for the 400 judges that we were anticipating to meet (yes, we were crazy!). We ended up pitching our idea to around 100 judges. Throughout the four intense hours we were highly caffeinated and powered by our white coffee dirty chai.

“Wow, you girls really LOVE your product!” was the compliment we got from all the judges. Yes, we love what we do, and we are not shy to share it with others. Even though we did not advance into the next round (listed as alternates though.. woohoo!), we were encouraged by all the local entrepreneurs we met and how they believed in the future of our company. Thank you, BPC- for the valuable connections we made, the useful workshops, mentors, and resources we were provided, and most importantly, the experience.

BPC 2018, we will be back!

-- Minnie