Intro: broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios, it’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Women in Motion, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women in Motion, we’re focusing in on the National Black Business Pitch. We have some of the people who participated, along with their mentors. And on today’s episode, we have April Kelly and her mentor, Deborah Mackins. Welcome.

Deborah Mackins: Thank you.

April Kelly: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn about each of you. And we’ll kick it off with April. April, please tell us a little bit about your company.

April Kelly: Absolutely. So, I am the CEO and Startup Supermom of Sure. We are a plant-based infant formula startup company trailblazing with our allergen-centric approach. So, we’ve been on this journey for about five and a half years now, and we are gearing up to launch our very first product out into the market. And so, the funding that we receive from the Pitch competition is actually helping us to do that. And so, it was a great opportunity working with Deborah, and I’ll pass it off to her to introduce herself as well.

Lee Kantor: All right. Deborah, do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in the NBBP?

Deborah Mackins: Sure. And I’d just like to say thank you for the opportunity, Lee. My name is Deborah Mackins. I’m Senior Manager of Vendor Diversity with Arrow Electronics. I have been in this role for about a year and a half now to stand up our program. And I had the pleasure of meeting April Kelly and being her mentor for the National Black Business Pitch. This is my second year being involved with this. And for me personally, it was just a great experience, not only working with April, but just being involved with the National Black Business Pitch overall.

Lee Kantor: Now, April, can you tell us a little bit about this Pitch contest? Why was it important for you to get involved? And what did you kind of get out of going through it, obviously, other than the seed money and the victory or the second-place victory?

April Kelly: Yeah, absolutely. Well, when I first learned about the National Black Business Pitch, I definitely felt a need to participate and at the very least, shoot my shot because as a black female founder, that is one of our biggest pain points and obstacles is the funding piece. And so, that was the first reason. But after learning more about who they are as an organization and what they do and just some of the previous winners, it just seemed like a no brainer. And then, so after winning, coming in place, second place, just shy of about a full point. So, we did a great job, Deborah, working together to get me geared up for that. But the mentorship was really what made the difference for me because not only was it… did it help me to really refine my pitch, but it also boosted my confidence. Just having that additional layer of support, the expertise that Deborah was able to bring about, it really helped me to do things and see things from a different perspective than I had before.

And so even the pitch that we… our winning pitch, we continue to use that same pitch. So, it’s definitely a great wealth of relationship that I feel like I’ve been able to accomplish with Deborah. And then, also just getting better… well, more well versed on how to articulate, you know, our value proposition and what makes us different, what makes us stand out. And, you know, at the very end of the day, why should people support what we have going on with their time, with their connections and with their funding?

Lee Kantor: So, I’m going to ask you each this, and I’d like kind of your angle on it, but what are some of the key factors that make a successful pitch? Let’s start with you, April. Like what do you think was the thing that helped you get the victory that you got or the second-place victory that you got?

April Kelly: It’s definitely the authentic storytelling. That’s what always stands out. It doesn’t matter how well my deck is put together or the different visuals or even the stats, the numbers, it’s all about how it ties back into my own personal story as a founder and the why behind what it is that I’m doing. And that’s always been my secret sauce. And I think if I could speak for most entrepreneurs, it’s everyone’s secret sauce because no one can tell your story like you can. And all of our stories are a little different. And so, that’s what makes it interesting and makes you competitive in the market.

Lee Kantor: And, Deborah, when you’re mentoring folks, how do you help them kind of build this successful pitch? And what are the kind of key elements that you’re looking for when you’re helping them?

Deborah Mackins: Well, for me, it’s very important for me to do the research to understand what the products or services are that the business owner has developed, just to understand that and it’s really very close to having a very powerful elevator pitch. You know, I go to a lot of conferences and meet many business owners, and typically you have about 30 to 45 seconds to capture someone’s attention that they’re going to want to know more about your products or services. So, you know, just discussing that with April to ensure that she had that elevator pitch that was crisp, sharing her personal story. You know, April has a lot of passion on the product that she has developed. It is her own personal story, and it’s very impactful to large communities. So, I think when you tie that elevator pitch, as well as personal stories, passion, I think that can be very impactful. And also, the visuals. I think April mentioned having visuals, so that people can see your logo, see… you know, possibly see your product, something to capture someone’s attention and keep it. And April, she did a fantastic job doing that.

Lee Kantor: Well, April, let’s get kind of into the weeds about your product. Can you share us a little bit about your backstory and maybe a little bit about how this came to be?

April Kelly: I’d be happy to. So, as I mentioned, when I introduced myself, I refer to me as a startup supermom. And so, that would have to mean that I’m a mom and I am of four. And so, with my youngest daughter, when I brought her home from the hospital, I planned to nurse her, and I did for a very short period of time. Unfortunately, I started to struggle with postpartum depression and prematurely had to switch over from nursing full time to completely supplementing with the formula, a very well-known formula on the market. And so, about maybe 24 to 48 hours, somewhere in between that, into us transitioning over into the formula, my daughter ended up having a severe allergic reaction.

And so, at this point, I was really frustrated and holding on to what little sanity I had left. Because we were a vegan family at the time, it was very difficult to find a formula that was plant-based and that had, you know, more natural, recognizable ingredients than the preservatives and the fillers. And so, my husband and I really were kind of at a lost initially and didn’t know, you know, what the next best option would look like. And so, we kind of pulled our family together and we were, you know, just saying, “Hey, just be on the lookout for different formulas or if you come across a safe, healthy recipe that’s been published, please do share it with us.” We, then, begin to just research and spend hours honestly in the grocery stores looking for formula, but not only looking for formula, also educating ourselves on what’s actually in formula, which is a question that I had never asked myself prior to this experience. I kind of just took, you know, what worked for other moms or what the doctor recommended, but I never turned the container to the back to really look at the ingredients that are in formula.

And one thing that I found that was kind of mind blowing was that the number one ingredient in most formulas is corn syrup. And so, we think about, you know, some of the issues that we see our kids having or our infants having when we’re feeding them formula, and one of those is constipation. And corn syrup, actually, causes or attributes to that. And so, we were able to thankfully come across a recipe that had been published and that partnered with the research that we had already been doing gave us enough confidence to go into our own kitchens, and really start to dig into ingredients, and think about, you know, what do we want our baby to eat? Like, how do we want to make sure she’s gotten that complete nutrition?

And so, we started to look at, you know, what… which of these ingredients can be substituted for plant-based, natural, recognizable, store-bought ingredients? And so, once we came up with a recipe that we felt was pretty satisfactory, we went to our pediatrician and kind of told them what our plan was and what we had been doing, and we actually let them screen our recipe, and he ended up giving us the go ahead to feed it to our daughter for the first year of her life. And so, once we made that switch to our recipe, the symptoms that she had started to have as far as the allergic reaction, they started to subside within that first 24 hours. Within 72 hours, she was completely free from all of the symptoms. They had all gone away.

And so, we would continue to monitor her for the first couple of weeks to the next few months, and she started to gain weight. She started to become regular with her bowels and everything was great. And so, I had planned to go back to work. I was actually working in corporate America at the time. And so, I was on my way back in to work. But shortly before that, I decided to hop on to Facebook, and I was going on a mom community at the time, and I started to just… that mom group was really just for moms to come together in a safe space to share some of the more taboo things that we don’t always get the opportunity to discuss in open forum. And so, I talked about my postpartum. I talked about how we came up with this, you know, new recipe for milk for our baby and how she was doing. And while I was doing that, I was making the actual recipe on the live, and I had my daughter wrapped, how they do the baby wearing. I had her wrapped around me and she was asleep.

And so, once I got off that live, I started to get pinged left and right from other viewers that had watched it or that were on during the time that I was or during the live, and they were saying things like, “Hey, I wish I had something like this around when my kids were babies,” or “I could use it now. Is it safe for me to follow your recipe?” and “Thank you so much for sharing your story.” And that, Lee, was my aha moment that led me to believe that “Okay, I thought this was a personal problem, but it sounds like it might be much more of a bigger problem.” And so, from there, we started walking in the dark and trying to put steps in place to figure out if our solution could be commercialized.

Lee Kantor: Now, were you or anybody on your early team food scientists? Like, how did you even like… Or you were just kind of fooling around in the kitchen, just mixing stuff up, and hoping that it tastes good, and it works?

April Kelly: We were literally just parents trying to find a solution for our child. And one thing I like to say is that I truly believe that moms are the world’s best problem solvers, because on a day-in and day-out basis, there’s so many issues that we come about with our little ones, and we have to just throw on the hat and figure it out as we go. However, I will say, after having that success with our pediatrician and being given the green light and then deciding that “Okay, we’re now wanting to see how we can commercialize that,” we very quickly got in contact with the experts because we wanted to make sure that safety was our first and main priority. So, we then partnered with universities like NC State and UNC Chapel Hill and graduate students from their marketing or that were studying marketing and things of that nature, market research, and food scientists, manufacturers and they were able to help us to tweak it just a bit. But I’m proud to say that our recipe is still about 98% the same as it was when we first started. So, we got it almost close to being exactly right.

Lee Kantor: So, at what stage are you at now? Do you have it out in the marketplace?

April Kelly: So, no, we don’t have it out in the marketplace. What we’re doing, we have to do somewhat of a pivot. And because the infant formula industry has such high barriers to entry, and we truly are a startup company building it from the ground up, we noticed that it was going to take a little bit longer to get the infant formula out into the market and to be able to market it as that, as an infant formula. So, we have to continue to do some additional animal studies, human studies and other research before we can get the FDA approval to do that. And so, we pivoted into a toddler beverage, a complete nutrition toddler beverage, very similar to our infant formula recipe that allows parents to safely introduce allergens early and often to de-risk the chances of their child developing allergies later in life. And so, that product is complete and will be on the shelves in the first quarter of next year.

Lee Kantor: Deborah, you must be so proud of April and the progress she’s made.

Deborah Mackins: I am. I mean, it was a total pleasure working with April. Actually, I think I learned a lot just from the experience. I would say yes, I was the mentor but, in some ways, she was the mentor. So that in itself is just remarkable. I’ve never worked with anyone that was a startup owner or business for any type of food or beverage products. So, just learning about that, learning about the product. April also has a marketing background. So, she… and this is very natural for her to, you know, do her due diligence, you know, on the product and, you know, just understanding what customers are looking for, so on and so forth. So, I mean, it was just very, very easy to do. Just a total pleasure.

Lee Kantor: Now, Deborah, do you have any advice for other corporates out there that haven’t gotten involved with the National Black Business Pitch Contest or just any of these other kind of opportunities to mentor? I think that a lot of corporates like yourself, you mentioned you can benefit by learning about these startups and businesses of a smaller size, and that could bring insight to you and your work every day.

Deborah Mackins: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that some corporate members may feel that they don’t have anything to offer to these types of pitches and events, but you do. You know, you work with businesses, whether it’s small or large business every day, you hear some of the things that are going on within your company and others. And so, you have a wealth of knowledge to be able to bring to these entrepreneurs. So why not share it? You’re in these positions, you know, not only to be a benefit to your company, but I think also to entrepreneurs and small businesses. So, I just say just give it a try. And who knows, you may participate year after year, which is something that I’ve been doing for not only with the National Black Business Pitch but with other pitches for some years now. Just give it a try.

Lee Kantor: And would the same thing go towards kind of becoming part of the WBEC-West community? That’d be… I would think that if you’re a woman business owner, that’s kind of a no brainer.

Deborah Mackins: It is. WBEC-West. And actually, I’m on the board of directors for WBEC-West. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with this RPO. Some of the things that WBEC-West does, they certify women business owners. So, basically, if you say that you’re a woman-owned business, they validate that. They also provide opportunities for these businesses to connect with other women businesses to share best practices. WBEC-West also provides opportunities to build relationships with the women business owners and representatives from corporations such as Arrow Electronics, which is the company that I work for. And it’s a great opportunity to build relationships because why people do business with people they know, like and trust. And also, I’d say if you get involved with WBEC-West, get certified, really do get involved. So, that means participating in events, taking advantage of the webinars, perhaps even attending the regional conference. And I should say Dr. Pamela Williamson, who’s the president and CEO of WBEC-West, her and her staff are phenomenal and that’s a bonus as well.

Lee Kantor: So, April, what do you need more of? How can we help you?

April Kelly: Absolutely. As we are gearing up for first quarter and our product debut, we invite anyone who’s listening to check out our website. We are going through a rebrand, so we will no longer be known as The Sure Company. We will be changing our name now to Hello Tavi. And that’s T as in Tom, A, V as in Victor, I. hellotavi.com. Tavi is actually my daughter’s name. And so, just as a nod to her for being our first Sure baby, we are rebranding to fall under her name, and there will be several different micro brands that fall under that. For example, Tavi Babes will be the infant formula. Tavi Tops will be the toddler beverages. And then, as our product portfolio grows, you’ll see the names and the new brand names come out as well.

So, definitely check us out, hellotavi.om. And then, on Instagram follow us at @thetaviway. And we are looking for investors right now. We’re gearing up for our biggest trial run at the end of 2025. And so, every little contribution counts. So, no matter how big or small, we are actually entertaining serious conversations about or with angel investors as well. And so, we would love to have some introductions to investors that may be listening or that you may know of in your network. And then, lastly, introductions to different pediatric or different healthcare professionals in the pediatric and immunology space. We are looking for someone to come on board with us and lead the research project or partner with me in doing so for the human-centered studies that will be happening later on next year.

Lee Kantor: Well, April, congratulations again on being the second-place winner of the $10,000 microgrant from the National Black Business Pitch. And Deborah, thank you so much for your mentoring and all the service you do for WBEC-West and the community. And thank you both for doing the important work that you do. We appreciate both of you.

April Kelly: Thank you. Lee. Thank you for having me.

Deborah Mackins: Great.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on Women in Motion.