Side Hustlers (2024) s02e05 Episode Script
One Pitch Away
1
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-la-la ♪
La-di, da-di, da, ooh-la-la ♪
I'm the queen of the kingdom now ♪
ASHLEY:
Ah, the final pitches are happening soon.
I'm a little bit nervous.
Oh, hey, girl.
(Iaughing)
-Mwah. Mwah.
-Mwah. Mwah.
This is where everybody's life
can either change drastically,
or you learn that you have a ways to go.
-What a ride we are on right now.
-I know.
How are your hustlers doing?
Well, all right, so let's start
at the top. Brune Kitchen.
I mean, Tania and Jahan
they are everything you want
from two entrepreneurs.
These girls are golden.
So, I think we have a little bit of time
to do Brune stuff
-before we have to go back.
-Yeah.
EMMA:
For Tania and Jahan,
what is going to be so difficult
is to leave their jobs.
These two come from families
where you don't make cookies for a living.
But at the end of the day,
it's going to be really key for me
to know that they are not questioning
the plan,
and that they're going to go full force
into what they know
is a business set up for expansion.
Tania, we are so close.
Like, I know
this has been the hardest time
ever, probably,
but we're getting to what we've envisioned
-for, like, the past five years, really.
-I know.
This is actually about to happen.
Like, we would
quit our jobs and go full-time with Brune.
Pretty much immediately,
everything might change.
Totally.
Honestly, I love them.
-But it ain't
-However
-It ain't all like that. (laughs)
-(laughs)
-However, dot, dot, dot.
-Okay, so, All Better Co.
Here's the thing.
Product aside, I think so much
of this, like, entrepreneurialism is
about the individuals, right?
-Mm-hmm.
-So you go from these two women
that are such self-starters
that are doing things, calling me,
asking questions,
to essentially two people
-that are like, "What do we do?"
-Mm.
EMMA:
Oh, my God. All Better Co.
It's been a frustrating one
because I really love this business.
But at some point,
they have to get true to the vision
and start putting their money
where their mouth is,
put the product development in line
with the mission statement of the company,
and actually fulfill their potential.
Are they expecting you to come in
and just be the savior?
I think that is exactly
what they're expecting,
and I'd so want to help them,
and I so want it
to be like a turnaround story,
but I'm starting to worry.
Okay, so I have Fay with Bonbuz.
Bonbuz tastes so good.
-It does.
-But it's such a crowded category.
-She's got two SKUs of cans.
-Mm-hmm.
-And I'm like, "Pick a lane.
Are you going mocktail,
or are you going, like, functional drink?"
-Totally.
-But here's the problem.
She's really, truly both.
We need to know why Bonbuz.
Looking at this, is it clear what it is?
Like, these call-outs, like 900
milligrams of nootropics and adaptogens.
Like, can we call out
the active ingredients versus
just put them under an umbrella where
no one knows what those terms are anyway?
To make it more clear,
to give people a reason to purchase,
-a compelling reason.
-Yeah.
My only hesitation in Fay is that
this is really an oversaturated market.
And I believe that this drink
is set apart because of the flavor.
But I also really need to know
that the business aspect
behind the liquid is really there.
And then, of course
-Gloria.
-Oh. Gloria.
I think of everyone I'm working with
right now, you know, she is less typical.
-Yeah.
-Like, she's a little shy.
She's very humble, which I love about her.
I know.
Tomorrow's a big final pitch.
I have to show up as Gloria 2.0 because
Emma and Ashley want
to see a confident woman.
They want to see a woman
who believes in herself.
If this doesn't work out, I will feel
like my dreams would be shuddered.
You only get confident
when you say it enough.
I feel like she's got a little ways to go.
-Time is a-ticking, honey.
-Time is ticking.
Time is really, really ticking.
Beat of a drum ♪
JAHAN:
Hi!
-TANIA: Hey!
-Oh.
-How are you?
-Good. How are you?
-Hi. Hi, Jahan.
-It's so nice to see you.
Nice to meet you.
We're having dinner at my mom's house,
and I'm just really excited that we get
to have Tania's parents come over, and
to share this moment with them
before the big pitch.
This week is one of the biggest weeks
that we've had in a while,
and we're thinking
that it might be time to
take a little bit of a step back
from the legal world for a bit
and divert our energy towards Brune
to make sure
that it gets to that next level.
-Mm.
-JAHAN: And that's something that
we just can't juggle when we're also
working on our legal work all day.
TANIA: Growing up,
I saw my dad build his own business
from the ground up, and
I respect his advice so much
because he's someone that
has accomplished
more than I could ever dream
to accomplish.
Are you keeping your job?
-Are you doing part-time? Are you?
-(Tania laughs)
What's-what's the plan on that?
We have discussed, you know,
going full-time with Brune
and potentially reducing our hours
first at our law firm.
But I think once we get on the shelves
of one of these bigger retailers,
-we'd need to fully
-TANIA: Yeah.
quit our jobs and transition
to running Brune.
JAHAN:
I think once
we get on the shelves
of one of these bigger retailers,
-we'd need to fully
-TANIA: Yeah.
quit our jobs and transition
to running Brune.
Every new business
it will take a few years
to get it off the ground.
It's going to be a couple of years
of probably hardly any income.
Are you ready for that?
It's definitely scary.
It's not something
that we're taking lightly, but
I think what is motivating is,
we have these markers that are
all pointing in the right direction.
Every entrepreneur,
every story that we've heard,
there is a period
when they have to forego earning money
in order to grow their business,
and we are ready to do it, I think.
KAMAL:
You're lawyers, you're doing great.
You're doing
You're making good money
and prestigious and all that stuff, but
It makes sense. You know, you have proven
that this product is in need.
It's doing very well,
and I believe that you could do
whatever you put your mind to do.
So, we support you 100%,
and I have no doubt in my mind
that's going to lead to a very
successful product and business.
-Thank you.
-Your vision is coming true, so,
I'm proud of you guys,
and we support your decision,
and inshallah, it will happen.
-Thank you guys so much.
-Thank you.
This is exactly what we needed
before the big pitch.
-This is so nice.
-Cheers.
-Congratulations, Brune. Cheers.
-Thank you.
To Tania and Johan and to Brune's success.
-Yes.
-TANIA: Aw.
-Yeah.
Cheers.
City of lights ♪
Millions of faces ♪
Filling up every street ♪
Everything bright ♪
So many places ♪
EMMA:
Today is the final pitches,
and I am ready to do some business.
What I'm looking for
is progress. Have they been able
to take what they came to us with
and what they pitched us
in the beginning and move it on?
So all they've got to do now
is come through in that final moment,
and I'm so rooting for them.
ASHLEY:
These last few weeks of mentoring
have been equally exhausting
and rewarding.
But now, it's go time.
These final pitches are the make-it
or break-it for each of the hustlers.
I think I'm just feeling, like, nervous.
Ashley and-or Emma could
change my life.
I can see you want it, want it ♪
Said I'm okay, I'm okay,
but I'm not okay ♪
On the inside,
there's a deer in the headlights ♪
I'm just getting in my head.
I can't do this interview right now.
(sniffles, sighs)
(sniffles)
(sniffles, sighs)
Out of the shadows ♪
Over the sea ♪
I don't know what to expect, but
I know my business.
You are the light ♪
Torch and the flame ♪
(sighs)
Let's do this!
Fighting away how to get through ♪
This is the biggest moment of my life.
I've never been so nervous.
I've worked so hard on this.
I'm just going to give it my all,
and hope that they see the vision
and the opportunity
to make a lot of money in the journey.
-Hi, Fay.
-Hi.
-Hi. How are you?
-Got two cold ones for you.
-EMMA: Oh!
-Yes.
-Thought you might need a pick-me-up.
-Thank you, Fay.
-Thank you, darling.
-Of course.
-Cheers, darling.
-Cheers, darling.
-Oh!
-I do love this. It's so good.
ASHLEY:
Oh!
FAY:
Thank you. Yeah. As you can tell,
-I am a little nervous.
-ASHLEY: That's okay.
-FAY: And, um
-That's all right. It matters.
-Yeah!
-That's why you're nervous.
-Yeah, it really does matter.
-ASHLEY: You're pitching.
-You're pitching your baby.
-FAY: And just to refresh,
you know, Bonbuz is an alcohol-free
mind and mood-enhancing beverage
that's pioneering the future of drinking.
Bonbuz uses
naturally stimulating ingredients
to give you a bit of a pick-me-up
when you need it most,
but without the comedown
-or hangover ever.
-Love that.
And, Ashley, you kind of took me
out of the weeds
'cause I've been so focused on the,
just operating the day-to-day
and keeping Bonbuz afloat,
and you gave me
this higher-level critical thinking
to allow me to really look at the business
as a whole
and make sure that what we're doing
is resonating with the masses.
Are they non-alc?
Are they functional?
Or are they a mixture right now?
We did the blind taste test,
which was really
to identify what people think
of our product
and the taste of our product
against competitor brands.
What we found out is,
98% of the time, people chose
Bonbuz on a blind taste test.
So our product tastes amazing,
the functionality is there
and then a very small percentage of people
would use it strictly
as an alcohol replacement.
You need to follow
what the market's telling you.
If a retailer is ready
and they're looking at this space
of, like,
non-alcoholic drink replacements,
then you'll go that way. But you also have
this huge opportunity, and you don't want
to close yourself off to either.
Yeah. And then outside of that,
you know, the education, Ashley,
which I know
has been a huge thing for you.
Look at all this stuff on here.
-(chuckles)
-It's hibiscus, yuzu, lime,
and it says that it's a functional fizz.
I have been telling Fay
I want to have the education
on social media.
So, just in terms of the actual marketing
and messaging on the cans,
we're updating that as we speak.
We've brought on Dr. Buz
to add to, kind of, the credibility
of being this, like, function-forward,
science-backed brand.
Okay. Great.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Talk to me just about your financials.
Like, where are you
in the life cycle of this business?
Year-to-date, we're at 330K.
We're projected to hit 800
by the end of the year.
Good for you, girl.
Thank you.
Fay, honestly, like,
ever since you pitched,
I have fallen in love with you.
I love people that are different,
that are set apart from the norm.
I am attracted to businesses that help me
as a mom, as a businesswoman,
as a woman in general.
But with all of that,
I think that this is
an incredibly crowded space.
I think this has a lot of hurdles
that it has to go over.
And I want to challenge you
to take constructive criticism
or any just
honestly, sometimes free advice
and go and implement it.
You're right, Ashley.
You know how ready I am. Like, I spend
200% of my time on Bonbuz,
and I never had those role models
growing up
in my family of women who are self-made.
So I was intimidated.
I have spent the last several weeks
mentoring you.
And now it's time for me
to make a decision.
♪
♪
ASHLEY:
I have spent the last several weeks
mentoring you.
And now it's time for me
to make a decision.
Hold on.
(whispering indistinctly)
-Mm-hmm.
-Okay.
So, right now, what I want to do,
I really would like to start off
with a joint investment, actually.
(squeaks, laughing)
(laughing)
-RACHEL: So
-Sick!
-(laughing)
this is just the beginning. Um
but Emma and I want to go in
and give you $100,000.
-Oh, my God.
-I think that we can talk
about equity later.
This is just one phase of the investment.
This is gonna go so much farther.
And I want to help you.
I want to mentor you.
-Thank you so much.
-Ah!
-So excited!
-Yes. (laughs)
It's a celebration. ♪
-Well done, my darling.
-(laughing)
FAY:
I definitely feel that this experience
got me closer to feeling
like I am the successful, powerful
female leader and role model
that I want to be.
The goal is for Bonbuz to really grow.
And
with Ashley and Emma coming on,
I know we're gonna get there really soon.
(laughing)
-(chuckles, squeals)
-(squeals)
Yes.
(laughing)
Babe! They both invested!
(giggles)
Can you believe it?
And they're like,
"Yo, this is just the beginning."
Oh, my God.
It's the best day of my life.
And I can't wait for us
to take this to the moon.
Like, seriously.
Let's make magic, baby!
(laughing)
Reach up.
And now you're gonna push
energy down.
Overwhelmingly, we feel really proud
of what we are walking in with.
But when we walked into our first pitch,
we walked in with a full business
that has been underway for a year,
and now we're faced
with the next iteration
of our business.
But we have not made
physical products yet.
I feel ready.
I don't feel ready
if they ask for projections.
Well, the answer is,
we don't have projections.
We have use of funds.
We don't have projections.
We don't have enough data.
STACY:
There's still a lot
of work to be done
to make this a reality.
All right.
But
But this is a really solid start.
It's a great, solid start.
-Hi!
-You look amazing!
How are you two?
We're so great.
And when we sat in front of you weeks ago,
we presented All Better Co.,
a plant-powered first aid brand.
But we were selling you bug bite products,
and we're so much bigger than that.
So, we're gonna give you something.
-Presents.
-ASHLEY: Yay!
-EMMA: Love presents.
-Love presents.
-Thank you.
I would like for you to please take out
your first aid kit.
EMMA:
"All bodies. All days. All better."
This is so cute.
So, you'll see just that.
-Oh, oh, oh. Got it. Got it.
-Okay, so don't, don't.
-ASHLEY: Got it. Got it.
-This is what it will be.
-Yes.
-We're using
-our imaginations.
-MERAV: That's right.
-Okay.
So, in front of you,
you have what we envision as
our first version
of All Better Co.'s first aid kit.
The four products we started
are right in front of you.
So, Soothe Operator
is our replacement
for traditional hydrocortisone
that does the same thing
-of protecting the area, calming the itch.
-Okay.
But without the potential side effects.
-Ouchy Ointment.
-Ouchy Ointment is a replacement
for a traditional
antibiotic oat ointment.
And Witchy Spray is the witch hazel.
It's a witch hazel spray.
And then Better Bandages are our
first version of better-for-you bandages.
They're bamboo bandages
that are biodegradable,
that are cleaner and easier on your skin.
So, I love what I'm seeing here.
Like, love, love, love, love, love.
Because when I think
about a plant-powered first aid kit,
this is exactly it.
What I'm reacting to right now
is that it doesn't include
any of the products
that are in your current product range.
And I'm wondering,
where does that leave you guys today
in terms of current business?
Because none of these products yet exist.
And I'm assuming that you've not been able
to suddenly fast-track them
in the last couple of weeks.
So the idea is that we are going to
almost reintroduce ourselves to the world
as a first aid brand with the offering
that you see in front of you.
These products are not gonna go away,
but they will be reintroduced
through the lens
of an existing line of products that
clearly sit within the first aid category.
ASHLEY:
I do wonder about the numbers.
What is it that you guys
have actually sold year-to-date?
So, in our current model,
we've sold about 55,000 year-to-date.
You guys have made some sales,
but you raised a bit of money
to get there, right?
You've raised $300,000.
At the end of the day, you took that money
to be able to return at some point
-down the line to your investors
-At some point. Yes.
-hopefully ten times that amount.
-Yeah.
And right now, you're not in a position
to return, because you're restarting.
So, where are you now? Because right now,
we're talking about a pretty big pivot.
Do you have any, you know, presumptions
or calculations or forecast on what you
need to do to get the first aid kit out?
So we went under the assumption
of trying to raise around $500,000.
$500,000 would take us
from this point
through the middle of the next year.
Wow.
MERAV:
And that would be launching
these four SKUs.
EMMA:
Merav, why is why is that run rate
so quick?
Why d why does that only get me
halfway through next year?
Because that was the number we picked
and we looked at what we've got.
♪
EMMA:
Half a million dollars
is half a million dollars.
So I want to be totally real
with you guys.
-Yeah.
-You ask for half a million dollars,
you've got to expect the question
that is like, what are you gonna do
with the half a million dollars
and how are you gonna spend it?
I-I look at this and I go,
"When do the investors start to see
either some scalable growth
or something on the horizon that tells us
this brand is starting to check?" Right?
It's one or the other.
Your mission is amazing.
You're an incredible business.
On paper.
Literally, like, in paper.
Because it's not a real thing
at this point.
It's like, anyone can have an idea,
but we need proof of concept.
It's like cart before the horse, right?
It's like, why is anyone gonna give you
anything when you're giving nothing?
♪
EMMA:
Anyone can have an idea,
but we need proof of concept.
It's like cart before the horse, right?
It's like, why is anyone gonna give you
anything when you're giving nothing?
And I am really concerned that if I invest
in you guys today, you've got to go make
those products.
Those products need to test.
Then they've got to get out
in the marketplace.
Then they've got to start working.
And at the moment, we're sitting here
with a fantastic-looking presentation,
but it doesn't actually tell me
where you're going to track.
Here's what I honestly, honestly think.
You two are fantastic ideas people,
and you can run marketing.
It's, like, clear to me
what you actually need is somebody
who is going to be able to be
almost like a third partner
that can think
about the mechanics of the business.
Like, how do we create
a credible commercial opportunity
that is going to work?
But you know what we also need?
-Money.
-Yes. We also need
someone that is gonna
is going to take a chance.
And it doesn't have to be $500,000.
But we need someone that's gonna write us
some sort of infusion, lump sum,
and go to work and collaborate with us
-and help us and guide us.
-Yes, you do.
-Stacy, I-I agr I agree with you.
-And the challenge
-is the access.
-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm. You do.
-You do.
-You need that.
-You do. And-and I get that.
But I'm not giving away
someone else's money.
It's my money. I made my money.
I went to work every day.
And so for me to part with money,
I better be absolutely certain
that I believe in those people
and I think that they have a path
to creating something.
Not a path to making me
a billion dollars
I'll do that myself.
But I need to know
that you are thinking about it,
and you haven't demonstrated
that thinking.
♪
I don't disagree with anything
that you've said, but I also feel like
we followed the direction
the best we could
with the information we've been given
with the time fr
the time frame we've had
and the things
happening in our own lives
It's-it's emotional.
Listen, I totally I actually understand.
This means a lot to you.
You put so much in this, right?
I get it. I get it.
You're not supposed to be all things,
and I know
that everywhere you go,
there's a roadblock, right?
I understand how you feel.
But that's business.
If it were easy, everyone
would be out here killing it.
-Yeah.
-It's really difficult
to be an entrepreneur.
The only thing that you can't do
is just give up.
Don't feel down and battled
and, like-like, like, this is so bad.
It's not. You just hit a roadblock.
It's totally normal.
We've had more life in the last weeks.
We've had major floodings.
We've had broken water pipes.
This is just life.
And in truth, again,
while we can't use words
-like "unfair"
-(softly): I know.
I think the ask
in the time that we've had,
it feels unreasonable to have all of that.
And what you're asking for us to do,
we can do.
And in fact,
we can probably do it quickly.
But we're also just trying
to get this to be ready for today,
to have our children,
get them back to school, all the forms.
We've had three jobs
in the last seven weeks.
EMMA:
You are talking to somebody that,
at this very moment,
is sitting in their side hustle.
I have four children,
I have three businesses,
I have two side hustles.
And I do absolutely understand.
I honestly wish you guys the best.
This is just not investable for me
right now.
What's great is that you're gonna be able
to walk away from this conversation
knowing a little bit more.
Emma chose you
because she really believes in you guys.
I think you guys
have a great business idea, 100%,
but th take this for what it is.
You're getting free advice,
and you got your hand held
for the last seven weeks
on what to do and how to do it.
And now you're gonna be able
to take everything that you were just told
-and go and implement it.
-Yeah.
-EMMA: I'm sorry, ladies.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-ASHLEY: Thank you so much.
STACY:
In a weird way, as hard,
overwhelming and as
especially these last 24 hours
how hard they have been,
I am grateful
that you came on this journey with me.
Stepping into this next iteration
of All Better Co.
"first aid, made better"
is what makes sense,
and that's what we're walking away with.
-And towards.
-And towards.
STACY:
It is
not the end.
This is now the new chapter
and the next chapter,
and we are coming out of this
with something new.
(softly):
Are we coming out of it better?
One could say we're coming out of it
-better.
-Better.
(sighs)
GLORIA:
I'm nervous that I'm going to just shrink
and not come across confident,
because I know they want me to show up,
they want me to believe in my business.
Ashley and Emma
want me to talk like
I know what I'm saying.
All my wishes, hopes and dreams,
all the things I know
I'm capable of accomplishing,
it's just right here.
And it's all for the taking.
All or nothing. I know I'm ready.
I just don't know why I'm so nervous.
(exhales)
-Gloria!
-GLORIA: Hello, Ashley and Emma.
Hi, Miss Shito.
-Gloria!
-GLORIA: Hello, Ashley and Emma.
EMMA:
Hi. How are you, my dear?
GLORIA:
I'm well. How are you?
-I'm so happy to see you.
-This here
ASHLEY:
Okay.
GLORIA:
May I show you a media digital asset?
EMMA:
I'd love to see.
GLORIA:
Three, two, one.
Moving across continents,
I quickly realized my homeland's cuisine
was missing from global culinary spaces.
Yearning to share the rich,
complex flavors of my home, Ghana,
I created Gloria's Shito.
It is the taste of home
with endless culinary possibilities.
Gloria's Shito.
Welcome to an entirely
new world of flavor.
No passport required.
-Oh, my God, I love that.
"No passport required."
-I love
EMMA:
So cute.
So, Ashley and Emma,
I'm here today to present to you
the vision,
the present and the future of my business,
Gloria's Shito,
a beloved Ghanaian chili oil,
and how we are about to take it
on a global domination.
The vision is clear.
-It is
-Who is that?
-EMMA: Sorry.
-Who is that?
-Where did they put Gloria?
-Gloria, is that you?
-EMMA: Where did they put Gloria?
-I'm so excited!
Gloria is confident today!
-GLORIA: The vision is clear.
-Tell us about the clear vision.
It is bringing Ghanaian flavors,
West African cuisine,
to the global forefront.
I have scaled the brand
to commercialization
and are ready to put it on stores
across the country.
Our sales are at 64%
from the previous year,
and just the month of August, hit 562%
in sales compared to the year before.
-Yes, Gloria with
the percentage increases.
-Yes. Get it.
-Get it.
-Okay.
Yes, and
Did you see behind me?
We talked about diversifying,
adding additional SKU.
So, I talked to my manufacturer.
We can quickly do mild, medium, spicy.
And not just that,
I worked on a dry shito.
ASHLEY:
Oh Awesome.
GLORIA:
I am ready to add additional SKUs
on the current shelf landscape.
Ashley and Emma
the vision is grand.
I'm here to ask
for your investment partnership,
because with Gloria's Shito,
we are about to flavor the world.
-Yes, Gloria.
-ASHLEY: Yes!
That was phenomenal.
Your pitch was phenomenal.
And you stopped us in our tracks
-ASHLEY: I know.
-because the woman that we met
was not the woman that just presented.
Like, honestly, like, transformation.
No, I've just been watching you
-(laughs)
-emulating you,
trying to just stick my chest out
-This is what it is.
-It's out!
-You know, like, the power pose,
all of that.
-ASHLEY: Yes.
I love a power pose.
-And it's really working
for you, Gloria
-Yeah.
because you gave a very convincing
and very compelling pitch.
ASHLEY:
Your product is there.
-Yeah, your product is there.
-Your vision is there.
Like, even your branding is there.
-EMMA: Gorge.
-And you have listened
to every piece of advice I have given you.
You have gotten the social media person,
you've given us the numbers,
you have proven that you can change
the recipe within the blink of an eye.
And there's something
that I really enjoy about you, Gloria.
But what do you feel like
your challenges are today?
I need a team to help me.
When I received the $15,000,
I saw how I was able
to quickly hire experts to help me
in areas of my business
that I cannot manage.
Tell me about your main hustle.
How far are you from sharing
your side hustle with your employer?
♪
Uh, that's something
I have to go back and revisit.
EMMA:
Listen, I think that
it's just about finding that sweet spot
of when makes sense,
because at this point,
I feel like you can feel that out
-Mm-hmm.
-and get to that point as it comes.
You know, Gloria, every time
I think about this business, like,
it's an amazing product,
I love what I see.
I think, yes,
you could definitely be successful.
But there is a long way to go
-Yeah.
-before there are any proof points
around this business.
And so, I don't know what's gonna happen
in this business, to be perfectly honest.
♪
ASHLEY:
So, this is what I think we should do.
Because Emma and I
are incredibly passionate
about you and Gloria's Shito chili oil,
Emma and I want to go in together
as we came in, and we want
to invest $20,000 into your business.
You did such an impressive job
with managing that $15,000 I gave you,
I know you even have money left over.
And, yes, it's not this big, grand number,
but it's something big
for how small your business is.
And what I'm excited about
is to talk to you this time next year
and see where you've scaled.
EMMA:
What I'm interested in doing
is you having a sounding board.
The money at this early stage
is secondary.
-Yeah.
-You need some guidance.
You need that mentorship
that we've had over the last month or so
to actually continue
so that you can feel confident
about what you're building.
And I think that that is, honestly,
priceless at this point.
-Yeah.
-The thing that I love that Bozoma said
was that this is the ketchup of Ghana.
-It really is.
-And then she called me,
because she ordered pizza
and she said she cannot eat pizza
without your Gloria's Shito
on top of it now.
And that is speaking volumes,
that you have somebody from your country
who is now elated
with a flavor and a taste
that you've brought here.
So adding to this whole
amazing excitement,
Bozoma wants to invest in you.
She's not sure about what number yet,
but she would love
to have a full pitch from you
and also be a sounding board
for things to come for Gloria's Shito.
So, do we have a deal?
This is what I needed.
I needed people to look up to,
people who have done this before.
And so, having the both of you,
to be able to check in with you,
I know this is what I need.
And I know the vision is grand,
and I am not gonna give up,
I'm gonna keep going.
And with you being in my corner,
I just know I'm gonna succeed.
-Sky's the limit, Gloria. We love you.
-Sky's the limit.
-Congratulations, honey.
-GLORIA: Thank you so much.
I love you, Gloria.
-Thank you so much.
-(laughs)
-So happy for you.
-I'm so happy for you.
-Thank you.
-You're so welcome.
You deserve everything.
You really, really do.
I'm so, so, so happy this worked out.
-Mwah. Go thrive, sis.
-EMMA: Good for you, Gloria.
This is unreal.
EMMA:
I cannot believe the transformation
of that woman.
-I know.
-I mean, it's crazy.
GLORIA:
I honestly didn't think that sharing
something I loved so much
will give me this access
to, um, these brilliant entrepreneurs.
I feel validated.
And knowing that
it deserved the recognition,
it deserved for people to, um
It just makes me feel proud
that I set out with this business
to shine light
on my cultural cuisine and create
generational wealth for my family.
I know I have the work cut out for me,
but I just know it's worth it.
And I'm not gonna give up.
JAHAN:
How are you holding your hands?
Okay, I think I'm gonna do
a combination of this.
JAHAN:
This is going down as one of those
really big days in our lives.
I'd say the bar exam was up there.
-TANIA: Yeah.
-JAHAN: And now we're pitching
Emma and Ashley.
And it's not just money.
It's a partnership with two people
that we really want to have
as part of our company.
When we started off here,
our biggest question was,
are we even going to be able
to make enough cookies to scale?
Brune is at a really critical stage.
We've been saying this since day one,
and we've made a lot of progress,
but we're still so close
to getting to that next step.
And getting an investment today
could make a world of difference
for our business.
It can catapult us to the next level.
Is this sacrifice going to pay off?
Or did we just set ourselves back
and waste years of our life?
♪
-TANIA: Hello.
-Hi, girls. How are you?
How are you two?
TANIA:
Well, it's been quite the journey.
We'd love to give you a little refresher
about what we're all about.
-Damn right.
-Yes, please. I know I need a refresher.
We make indulgent, decadent cookies
that have an impeccably clean label,
yet they taste like they just came out
of your grandma's oven.
And that is the sense of comfort
that we want
to bring into the clean eating space.
JAHAN:
When we started off here,
we had a big question.
Are we even gonna be able
to make enough cookies to scale?
But our co-packer run worked,
and we can now
produce enough cookies for any retailer
that comes our way, no matter their size.
TANIA:
The next step is product development.
We are excited to share
N'oatmeal Raisin and Birthday Cake.
Oh, I love birthday cake anything.
We expect to be able to get these
to hit the shelf as early as next quarter.
-We're very excited.
-Great work.
So, this is one of the big things
that I was worried about
is, on the journey to all of this growth,
you have to be
-really mindful of your cash.
-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.
Like, can you actually afford to scale
at the pace you're going?
Here we have financial projections
that give us a road map
all the way out to 2026.
-You're so good at this type of stuff.
-ASHLEY: This is so cool.
EMMA:
I think that this level of thought
into how your brand is gonna
show up in the world,
it tells me so much about you, too.
In the financial projections booklet,
we have a list of retailers.
Starting in 2024,
we are either in all of the retailers
that are on the list or we have made
positive, meaningful
interaction with them.
They have samples of our product.
We're in contact with their buyers.
You'll see a column where it has
the number of stores and the volume
that we expect to do in each store.
In 2024, we are looking to hit
that $1 million mark.
2025, we want to double that,
get to $2 million.
2026, we are expecting to hit
$5 million in revenue.
ASHLEY:
You've got a projection of $5 million
in essentially two more years.
-How much does the cookie retail?
-$3.99.
ASHLEY:
$3.99.
-It is expensive.
-EMMA: It is expensive.
I'm just curious, like, how are we going
from just like in three years
to $5 million?
JAHAN:
Well, the first step is,
we are going to be phasing out
from our job as lawyers
so we can give our full energy to Brune.
You're quitting your attorney job?
We're definitely ready
to scale back our hours now.
-Oh, wow.
-And any time that we get back
is going straight into Brune.
So we want to make sure we can be there
during business hours
to be able to pick up the phone calls,
make sure everything's running smoothly,
and get it off the ground.
Up until this point, we've shown
that everything that we have
set out to do,
we have accomplished and we are
really a team that's worked together
for now almost ten years.
EMMA:
Honestly, the idea
of investing in two founders like you
is, like, what I wake up for.
Like, that is why I do what I do.
It's where I'm happy to put my money.
It's why I'm happy
that I've been successful,
because I look at you two and I'm like,
you are literally the American dream.
-(chuckles)
-And so I'd be really, really happy to be
a small part of your success story.
And I'd love to give you $100,000
-(whispers): What's going on?
-Oh, my goodness.
to kick it off.
For that $100,000
I'd really like to see
15% of the business.
TANIA:
In terms of your offer
(chuckles nervously)
it is incredibly appealing.
But the way
that our company is set up now,
we are a pre-seed C corp,
and we don't have shares issued
that would translate into equity.
The type of fundraising instrument
that we would be using
is something called a simple agreement
for future equity.
EMMA:
Mm-hmm. Yep.
So we do like a convertible note.
This is about us taking debt
that will convert into equity
as you guys go on the journey
-to start raising more money.
-Yes.
Which is totally normal,
standard start-up stuff.
So I am happy to do this on the basis
that we have an understanding
where we're going,
that as you bring in additional equity,
you will understand that I put the money
into this business first
and we'll work it out.
How does that sound to you guys?
-Am-Amazing. Amazing.
-That sounds amazing.
-A thousand ways to say yes.
-ASHLEY: And I'll tell you what.
I think I want to eat this cookie
with a coffee every morning.
-So I want to invest $15,000.
-EMMA (squealing): Ah!
-Ashley!
-Yeah. And we can talk about the equity
and all that stuff later.
JAHAN:
Oh, my gosh.
-Oh, my goodness.
-This is a dream come true.
-This is great.
-This is a dream!
-I'm so excited about you guys.
I love it!
(Ashley laughs)
-Come on, come on, come on.
-TANIA: We're all part
of the-the Brune family now.
ASHLEY:
Yay!
EMMA:
I'm so happy for you guys.
You really, really, really deserve it
more than anything.
-ASHLEY: Oh! Come here, love.
-Are you happy?
JAHAN:
Thank you. I'm so happy.
You really have done a fabulous job.
-I'm so happy.
-TANIA: Oh, my God.
-ASHLEY: Cookie time,
-cookie time, cookie time.
-EMMA: Brune for the win.
Bye, girls. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Well done, you two.
JAHAN:
It could not have gone better.
TANIA:
It literally couldn't have gone better.
Whoo!
I feel like my brain's gonna explode.
(laughs)
(whispers):
My God.
-Emma and Ashley.
-We got Emma and Ashley.
This is two people that are so impressive,
that are so successful,
that understand our brand
and believe in us.
To have those type of strategic partners,
that is more valuable
than the money itself.
JAHAN:
They're not any other investor.
They are the perfect partners for Brune.
(line ringing)
-HAFIZAH (over phone): Hi, Jee-Jee.
-Hi, Ma.
So, Tanya and I just finished the pitch.
And?
And both Emma and Ashley invested
in our business.
-No.
-(laughs)
Oh, my God. When I say it,
it actually makes me want to cry.
I can't believe we just got to do that.
Are you so happy?
I love the numbers.
I love the projections.
I love the confidence.
I love the ingredients.
My boys are gonna be obsessed.
I mean, you just invested
in a cookie company.
-Well, this is my second cookie
-The whole family could be
Yeah. This is my second cookie company
I've invested in.
Oh, once again, greedy Ashley.
I don't know why they call me Ms. Greedy.
-(laughing)
-No idea.
ASHLEY:
This has been an incredible journey.
All these women,
they came with a hustle in mind,
with determination.
-I'm ready to rock and roll, baby.
-Yes.
-Yes. (laughs)
-Let's do this.
And this just goes to show
that we have exactly what it takes
to make this world a better place.
You were meant to be here,
and you worked your ass off to be here.
With the help of Ally, we really feel like
our side hustlers have come out
on the other side renewed,
refreshed, confident in themselves
and their business.
And I know that I'm gonna be hearing
from some of these side hustlers
in the future
because the grit and the tenacity
that a lot of these women have
is unmatched.
-Oh, hello. (laughs)
-(squeals)
What's so incredible
about this whole process
is that it isn't just about
businesses growing,
but it's about these individuals growing
into who they're going to become.
We should do this together.
And when you give people opportunities
who wouldn't ordinarily have them,
what do they do with that?
We've seen time and time again
that investing in women
is absolutely critical.
The ideas that they're putting
into the world,
the things that they can do,
are completely limitless.
I'm so proud to be just a small part
of any of these women's journeys.
(both laughing)
-Aw
-(exclaims)
I, for the past 15 years,
have worked as a cosmetic chemist.
Gloria's Shito is my 100% commitment.
It's my 100% safety net.
It's what I, um,
commit into and drive in
to continue to make sure
I am not giving up
on bringing the flavors of West Africa
to the global forefront
and creating that accessibility.
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh,
hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh ♪
The only way to go is up, yeah ♪
Crash right through the ceiling ♪
Up, yeah ♪
Don't care 'bout your feelings ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Me and my girls puttin' in the work ♪
-The only way we go is up ♪
-Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh,
hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh ♪
Hit a low ♪
But it don't last long, no ♪
No, no ♪
-You know how it goes ♪
-You know how it goes ♪
How we always do the most ♪
'Cause when you're on the floor ♪
-You know ♪
-You know ♪
The only way to go is up, yeah ♪
Crash right through the ceiling ♪
Up, yeah ♪
Don't care 'bout your feelings ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Me and my girls puttin' in the work ♪
The only way we go is up. ♪
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-la-la ♪
La-di, da-di, da, ooh-la-la ♪
I'm the queen of the kingdom now ♪
ASHLEY:
Ah, the final pitches are happening soon.
I'm a little bit nervous.
Oh, hey, girl.
(Iaughing)
-Mwah. Mwah.
-Mwah. Mwah.
This is where everybody's life
can either change drastically,
or you learn that you have a ways to go.
-What a ride we are on right now.
-I know.
How are your hustlers doing?
Well, all right, so let's start
at the top. Brune Kitchen.
I mean, Tania and Jahan
they are everything you want
from two entrepreneurs.
These girls are golden.
So, I think we have a little bit of time
to do Brune stuff
-before we have to go back.
-Yeah.
EMMA:
For Tania and Jahan,
what is going to be so difficult
is to leave their jobs.
These two come from families
where you don't make cookies for a living.
But at the end of the day,
it's going to be really key for me
to know that they are not questioning
the plan,
and that they're going to go full force
into what they know
is a business set up for expansion.
Tania, we are so close.
Like, I know
this has been the hardest time
ever, probably,
but we're getting to what we've envisioned
-for, like, the past five years, really.
-I know.
This is actually about to happen.
Like, we would
quit our jobs and go full-time with Brune.
Pretty much immediately,
everything might change.
Totally.
Honestly, I love them.
-But it ain't
-However
-It ain't all like that. (laughs)
-(laughs)
-However, dot, dot, dot.
-Okay, so, All Better Co.
Here's the thing.
Product aside, I think so much
of this, like, entrepreneurialism is
about the individuals, right?
-Mm-hmm.
-So you go from these two women
that are such self-starters
that are doing things, calling me,
asking questions,
to essentially two people
-that are like, "What do we do?"
-Mm.
EMMA:
Oh, my God. All Better Co.
It's been a frustrating one
because I really love this business.
But at some point,
they have to get true to the vision
and start putting their money
where their mouth is,
put the product development in line
with the mission statement of the company,
and actually fulfill their potential.
Are they expecting you to come in
and just be the savior?
I think that is exactly
what they're expecting,
and I'd so want to help them,
and I so want it
to be like a turnaround story,
but I'm starting to worry.
Okay, so I have Fay with Bonbuz.
Bonbuz tastes so good.
-It does.
-But it's such a crowded category.
-She's got two SKUs of cans.
-Mm-hmm.
-And I'm like, "Pick a lane.
Are you going mocktail,
or are you going, like, functional drink?"
-Totally.
-But here's the problem.
She's really, truly both.
We need to know why Bonbuz.
Looking at this, is it clear what it is?
Like, these call-outs, like 900
milligrams of nootropics and adaptogens.
Like, can we call out
the active ingredients versus
just put them under an umbrella where
no one knows what those terms are anyway?
To make it more clear,
to give people a reason to purchase,
-a compelling reason.
-Yeah.
My only hesitation in Fay is that
this is really an oversaturated market.
And I believe that this drink
is set apart because of the flavor.
But I also really need to know
that the business aspect
behind the liquid is really there.
And then, of course
-Gloria.
-Oh. Gloria.
I think of everyone I'm working with
right now, you know, she is less typical.
-Yeah.
-Like, she's a little shy.
She's very humble, which I love about her.
I know.
Tomorrow's a big final pitch.
I have to show up as Gloria 2.0 because
Emma and Ashley want
to see a confident woman.
They want to see a woman
who believes in herself.
If this doesn't work out, I will feel
like my dreams would be shuddered.
You only get confident
when you say it enough.
I feel like she's got a little ways to go.
-Time is a-ticking, honey.
-Time is ticking.
Time is really, really ticking.
Beat of a drum ♪
JAHAN:
Hi!
-TANIA: Hey!
-Oh.
-How are you?
-Good. How are you?
-Hi. Hi, Jahan.
-It's so nice to see you.
Nice to meet you.
We're having dinner at my mom's house,
and I'm just really excited that we get
to have Tania's parents come over, and
to share this moment with them
before the big pitch.
This week is one of the biggest weeks
that we've had in a while,
and we're thinking
that it might be time to
take a little bit of a step back
from the legal world for a bit
and divert our energy towards Brune
to make sure
that it gets to that next level.
-Mm.
-JAHAN: And that's something that
we just can't juggle when we're also
working on our legal work all day.
TANIA: Growing up,
I saw my dad build his own business
from the ground up, and
I respect his advice so much
because he's someone that
has accomplished
more than I could ever dream
to accomplish.
Are you keeping your job?
-Are you doing part-time? Are you?
-(Tania laughs)
What's-what's the plan on that?
We have discussed, you know,
going full-time with Brune
and potentially reducing our hours
first at our law firm.
But I think once we get on the shelves
of one of these bigger retailers,
-we'd need to fully
-TANIA: Yeah.
quit our jobs and transition
to running Brune.
JAHAN:
I think once
we get on the shelves
of one of these bigger retailers,
-we'd need to fully
-TANIA: Yeah.
quit our jobs and transition
to running Brune.
Every new business
it will take a few years
to get it off the ground.
It's going to be a couple of years
of probably hardly any income.
Are you ready for that?
It's definitely scary.
It's not something
that we're taking lightly, but
I think what is motivating is,
we have these markers that are
all pointing in the right direction.
Every entrepreneur,
every story that we've heard,
there is a period
when they have to forego earning money
in order to grow their business,
and we are ready to do it, I think.
KAMAL:
You're lawyers, you're doing great.
You're doing
You're making good money
and prestigious and all that stuff, but
It makes sense. You know, you have proven
that this product is in need.
It's doing very well,
and I believe that you could do
whatever you put your mind to do.
So, we support you 100%,
and I have no doubt in my mind
that's going to lead to a very
successful product and business.
-Thank you.
-Your vision is coming true, so,
I'm proud of you guys,
and we support your decision,
and inshallah, it will happen.
-Thank you guys so much.
-Thank you.
This is exactly what we needed
before the big pitch.
-This is so nice.
-Cheers.
-Congratulations, Brune. Cheers.
-Thank you.
To Tania and Johan and to Brune's success.
-Yes.
-TANIA: Aw.
-Yeah.
Cheers.
City of lights ♪
Millions of faces ♪
Filling up every street ♪
Everything bright ♪
So many places ♪
EMMA:
Today is the final pitches,
and I am ready to do some business.
What I'm looking for
is progress. Have they been able
to take what they came to us with
and what they pitched us
in the beginning and move it on?
So all they've got to do now
is come through in that final moment,
and I'm so rooting for them.
ASHLEY:
These last few weeks of mentoring
have been equally exhausting
and rewarding.
But now, it's go time.
These final pitches are the make-it
or break-it for each of the hustlers.
I think I'm just feeling, like, nervous.
Ashley and-or Emma could
change my life.
I can see you want it, want it ♪
Said I'm okay, I'm okay,
but I'm not okay ♪
On the inside,
there's a deer in the headlights ♪
I'm just getting in my head.
I can't do this interview right now.
(sniffles, sighs)
(sniffles)
(sniffles, sighs)
Out of the shadows ♪
Over the sea ♪
I don't know what to expect, but
I know my business.
You are the light ♪
Torch and the flame ♪
(sighs)
Let's do this!
Fighting away how to get through ♪
This is the biggest moment of my life.
I've never been so nervous.
I've worked so hard on this.
I'm just going to give it my all,
and hope that they see the vision
and the opportunity
to make a lot of money in the journey.
-Hi, Fay.
-Hi.
-Hi. How are you?
-Got two cold ones for you.
-EMMA: Oh!
-Yes.
-Thought you might need a pick-me-up.
-Thank you, Fay.
-Thank you, darling.
-Of course.
-Cheers, darling.
-Cheers, darling.
-Oh!
-I do love this. It's so good.
ASHLEY:
Oh!
FAY:
Thank you. Yeah. As you can tell,
-I am a little nervous.
-ASHLEY: That's okay.
-FAY: And, um
-That's all right. It matters.
-Yeah!
-That's why you're nervous.
-Yeah, it really does matter.
-ASHLEY: You're pitching.
-You're pitching your baby.
-FAY: And just to refresh,
you know, Bonbuz is an alcohol-free
mind and mood-enhancing beverage
that's pioneering the future of drinking.
Bonbuz uses
naturally stimulating ingredients
to give you a bit of a pick-me-up
when you need it most,
but without the comedown
-or hangover ever.
-Love that.
And, Ashley, you kind of took me
out of the weeds
'cause I've been so focused on the,
just operating the day-to-day
and keeping Bonbuz afloat,
and you gave me
this higher-level critical thinking
to allow me to really look at the business
as a whole
and make sure that what we're doing
is resonating with the masses.
Are they non-alc?
Are they functional?
Or are they a mixture right now?
We did the blind taste test,
which was really
to identify what people think
of our product
and the taste of our product
against competitor brands.
What we found out is,
98% of the time, people chose
Bonbuz on a blind taste test.
So our product tastes amazing,
the functionality is there
and then a very small percentage of people
would use it strictly
as an alcohol replacement.
You need to follow
what the market's telling you.
If a retailer is ready
and they're looking at this space
of, like,
non-alcoholic drink replacements,
then you'll go that way. But you also have
this huge opportunity, and you don't want
to close yourself off to either.
Yeah. And then outside of that,
you know, the education, Ashley,
which I know
has been a huge thing for you.
Look at all this stuff on here.
-(chuckles)
-It's hibiscus, yuzu, lime,
and it says that it's a functional fizz.
I have been telling Fay
I want to have the education
on social media.
So, just in terms of the actual marketing
and messaging on the cans,
we're updating that as we speak.
We've brought on Dr. Buz
to add to, kind of, the credibility
of being this, like, function-forward,
science-backed brand.
Okay. Great.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Talk to me just about your financials.
Like, where are you
in the life cycle of this business?
Year-to-date, we're at 330K.
We're projected to hit 800
by the end of the year.
Good for you, girl.
Thank you.
Fay, honestly, like,
ever since you pitched,
I have fallen in love with you.
I love people that are different,
that are set apart from the norm.
I am attracted to businesses that help me
as a mom, as a businesswoman,
as a woman in general.
But with all of that,
I think that this is
an incredibly crowded space.
I think this has a lot of hurdles
that it has to go over.
And I want to challenge you
to take constructive criticism
or any just
honestly, sometimes free advice
and go and implement it.
You're right, Ashley.
You know how ready I am. Like, I spend
200% of my time on Bonbuz,
and I never had those role models
growing up
in my family of women who are self-made.
So I was intimidated.
I have spent the last several weeks
mentoring you.
And now it's time for me
to make a decision.
♪
♪
ASHLEY:
I have spent the last several weeks
mentoring you.
And now it's time for me
to make a decision.
Hold on.
(whispering indistinctly)
-Mm-hmm.
-Okay.
So, right now, what I want to do,
I really would like to start off
with a joint investment, actually.
(squeaks, laughing)
(laughing)
-RACHEL: So
-Sick!
-(laughing)
this is just the beginning. Um
but Emma and I want to go in
and give you $100,000.
-Oh, my God.
-I think that we can talk
about equity later.
This is just one phase of the investment.
This is gonna go so much farther.
And I want to help you.
I want to mentor you.
-Thank you so much.
-Ah!
-So excited!
-Yes. (laughs)
It's a celebration. ♪
-Well done, my darling.
-(laughing)
FAY:
I definitely feel that this experience
got me closer to feeling
like I am the successful, powerful
female leader and role model
that I want to be.
The goal is for Bonbuz to really grow.
And
with Ashley and Emma coming on,
I know we're gonna get there really soon.
(laughing)
-(chuckles, squeals)
-(squeals)
Yes.
(laughing)
Babe! They both invested!
(giggles)
Can you believe it?
And they're like,
"Yo, this is just the beginning."
Oh, my God.
It's the best day of my life.
And I can't wait for us
to take this to the moon.
Like, seriously.
Let's make magic, baby!
(laughing)
Reach up.
And now you're gonna push
energy down.
Overwhelmingly, we feel really proud
of what we are walking in with.
But when we walked into our first pitch,
we walked in with a full business
that has been underway for a year,
and now we're faced
with the next iteration
of our business.
But we have not made
physical products yet.
I feel ready.
I don't feel ready
if they ask for projections.
Well, the answer is,
we don't have projections.
We have use of funds.
We don't have projections.
We don't have enough data.
STACY:
There's still a lot
of work to be done
to make this a reality.
All right.
But
But this is a really solid start.
It's a great, solid start.
-Hi!
-You look amazing!
How are you two?
We're so great.
And when we sat in front of you weeks ago,
we presented All Better Co.,
a plant-powered first aid brand.
But we were selling you bug bite products,
and we're so much bigger than that.
So, we're gonna give you something.
-Presents.
-ASHLEY: Yay!
-EMMA: Love presents.
-Love presents.
-Thank you.
I would like for you to please take out
your first aid kit.
EMMA:
"All bodies. All days. All better."
This is so cute.
So, you'll see just that.
-Oh, oh, oh. Got it. Got it.
-Okay, so don't, don't.
-ASHLEY: Got it. Got it.
-This is what it will be.
-Yes.
-We're using
-our imaginations.
-MERAV: That's right.
-Okay.
So, in front of you,
you have what we envision as
our first version
of All Better Co.'s first aid kit.
The four products we started
are right in front of you.
So, Soothe Operator
is our replacement
for traditional hydrocortisone
that does the same thing
-of protecting the area, calming the itch.
-Okay.
But without the potential side effects.
-Ouchy Ointment.
-Ouchy Ointment is a replacement
for a traditional
antibiotic oat ointment.
And Witchy Spray is the witch hazel.
It's a witch hazel spray.
And then Better Bandages are our
first version of better-for-you bandages.
They're bamboo bandages
that are biodegradable,
that are cleaner and easier on your skin.
So, I love what I'm seeing here.
Like, love, love, love, love, love.
Because when I think
about a plant-powered first aid kit,
this is exactly it.
What I'm reacting to right now
is that it doesn't include
any of the products
that are in your current product range.
And I'm wondering,
where does that leave you guys today
in terms of current business?
Because none of these products yet exist.
And I'm assuming that you've not been able
to suddenly fast-track them
in the last couple of weeks.
So the idea is that we are going to
almost reintroduce ourselves to the world
as a first aid brand with the offering
that you see in front of you.
These products are not gonna go away,
but they will be reintroduced
through the lens
of an existing line of products that
clearly sit within the first aid category.
ASHLEY:
I do wonder about the numbers.
What is it that you guys
have actually sold year-to-date?
So, in our current model,
we've sold about 55,000 year-to-date.
You guys have made some sales,
but you raised a bit of money
to get there, right?
You've raised $300,000.
At the end of the day, you took that money
to be able to return at some point
-down the line to your investors
-At some point. Yes.
-hopefully ten times that amount.
-Yeah.
And right now, you're not in a position
to return, because you're restarting.
So, where are you now? Because right now,
we're talking about a pretty big pivot.
Do you have any, you know, presumptions
or calculations or forecast on what you
need to do to get the first aid kit out?
So we went under the assumption
of trying to raise around $500,000.
$500,000 would take us
from this point
through the middle of the next year.
Wow.
MERAV:
And that would be launching
these four SKUs.
EMMA:
Merav, why is why is that run rate
so quick?
Why d why does that only get me
halfway through next year?
Because that was the number we picked
and we looked at what we've got.
♪
EMMA:
Half a million dollars
is half a million dollars.
So I want to be totally real
with you guys.
-Yeah.
-You ask for half a million dollars,
you've got to expect the question
that is like, what are you gonna do
with the half a million dollars
and how are you gonna spend it?
I-I look at this and I go,
"When do the investors start to see
either some scalable growth
or something on the horizon that tells us
this brand is starting to check?" Right?
It's one or the other.
Your mission is amazing.
You're an incredible business.
On paper.
Literally, like, in paper.
Because it's not a real thing
at this point.
It's like, anyone can have an idea,
but we need proof of concept.
It's like cart before the horse, right?
It's like, why is anyone gonna give you
anything when you're giving nothing?
♪
EMMA:
Anyone can have an idea,
but we need proof of concept.
It's like cart before the horse, right?
It's like, why is anyone gonna give you
anything when you're giving nothing?
And I am really concerned that if I invest
in you guys today, you've got to go make
those products.
Those products need to test.
Then they've got to get out
in the marketplace.
Then they've got to start working.
And at the moment, we're sitting here
with a fantastic-looking presentation,
but it doesn't actually tell me
where you're going to track.
Here's what I honestly, honestly think.
You two are fantastic ideas people,
and you can run marketing.
It's, like, clear to me
what you actually need is somebody
who is going to be able to be
almost like a third partner
that can think
about the mechanics of the business.
Like, how do we create
a credible commercial opportunity
that is going to work?
But you know what we also need?
-Money.
-Yes. We also need
someone that is gonna
is going to take a chance.
And it doesn't have to be $500,000.
But we need someone that's gonna write us
some sort of infusion, lump sum,
and go to work and collaborate with us
-and help us and guide us.
-Yes, you do.
-Stacy, I-I agr I agree with you.
-And the challenge
-is the access.
-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm. You do.
-You do.
-You need that.
-You do. And-and I get that.
But I'm not giving away
someone else's money.
It's my money. I made my money.
I went to work every day.
And so for me to part with money,
I better be absolutely certain
that I believe in those people
and I think that they have a path
to creating something.
Not a path to making me
a billion dollars
I'll do that myself.
But I need to know
that you are thinking about it,
and you haven't demonstrated
that thinking.
♪
I don't disagree with anything
that you've said, but I also feel like
we followed the direction
the best we could
with the information we've been given
with the time fr
the time frame we've had
and the things
happening in our own lives
It's-it's emotional.
Listen, I totally I actually understand.
This means a lot to you.
You put so much in this, right?
I get it. I get it.
You're not supposed to be all things,
and I know
that everywhere you go,
there's a roadblock, right?
I understand how you feel.
But that's business.
If it were easy, everyone
would be out here killing it.
-Yeah.
-It's really difficult
to be an entrepreneur.
The only thing that you can't do
is just give up.
Don't feel down and battled
and, like-like, like, this is so bad.
It's not. You just hit a roadblock.
It's totally normal.
We've had more life in the last weeks.
We've had major floodings.
We've had broken water pipes.
This is just life.
And in truth, again,
while we can't use words
-like "unfair"
-(softly): I know.
I think the ask
in the time that we've had,
it feels unreasonable to have all of that.
And what you're asking for us to do,
we can do.
And in fact,
we can probably do it quickly.
But we're also just trying
to get this to be ready for today,
to have our children,
get them back to school, all the forms.
We've had three jobs
in the last seven weeks.
EMMA:
You are talking to somebody that,
at this very moment,
is sitting in their side hustle.
I have four children,
I have three businesses,
I have two side hustles.
And I do absolutely understand.
I honestly wish you guys the best.
This is just not investable for me
right now.
What's great is that you're gonna be able
to walk away from this conversation
knowing a little bit more.
Emma chose you
because she really believes in you guys.
I think you guys
have a great business idea, 100%,
but th take this for what it is.
You're getting free advice,
and you got your hand held
for the last seven weeks
on what to do and how to do it.
And now you're gonna be able
to take everything that you were just told
-and go and implement it.
-Yeah.
-EMMA: I'm sorry, ladies.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-ASHLEY: Thank you so much.
STACY:
In a weird way, as hard,
overwhelming and as
especially these last 24 hours
how hard they have been,
I am grateful
that you came on this journey with me.
Stepping into this next iteration
of All Better Co.
"first aid, made better"
is what makes sense,
and that's what we're walking away with.
-And towards.
-And towards.
STACY:
It is
not the end.
This is now the new chapter
and the next chapter,
and we are coming out of this
with something new.
(softly):
Are we coming out of it better?
One could say we're coming out of it
-better.
-Better.
(sighs)
GLORIA:
I'm nervous that I'm going to just shrink
and not come across confident,
because I know they want me to show up,
they want me to believe in my business.
Ashley and Emma
want me to talk like
I know what I'm saying.
All my wishes, hopes and dreams,
all the things I know
I'm capable of accomplishing,
it's just right here.
And it's all for the taking.
All or nothing. I know I'm ready.
I just don't know why I'm so nervous.
(exhales)
-Gloria!
-GLORIA: Hello, Ashley and Emma.
Hi, Miss Shito.
-Gloria!
-GLORIA: Hello, Ashley and Emma.
EMMA:
Hi. How are you, my dear?
GLORIA:
I'm well. How are you?
-I'm so happy to see you.
-This here
ASHLEY:
Okay.
GLORIA:
May I show you a media digital asset?
EMMA:
I'd love to see.
GLORIA:
Three, two, one.
Moving across continents,
I quickly realized my homeland's cuisine
was missing from global culinary spaces.
Yearning to share the rich,
complex flavors of my home, Ghana,
I created Gloria's Shito.
It is the taste of home
with endless culinary possibilities.
Gloria's Shito.
Welcome to an entirely
new world of flavor.
No passport required.
-Oh, my God, I love that.
"No passport required."
-I love
EMMA:
So cute.
So, Ashley and Emma,
I'm here today to present to you
the vision,
the present and the future of my business,
Gloria's Shito,
a beloved Ghanaian chili oil,
and how we are about to take it
on a global domination.
The vision is clear.
-It is
-Who is that?
-EMMA: Sorry.
-Who is that?
-Where did they put Gloria?
-Gloria, is that you?
-EMMA: Where did they put Gloria?
-I'm so excited!
Gloria is confident today!
-GLORIA: The vision is clear.
-Tell us about the clear vision.
It is bringing Ghanaian flavors,
West African cuisine,
to the global forefront.
I have scaled the brand
to commercialization
and are ready to put it on stores
across the country.
Our sales are at 64%
from the previous year,
and just the month of August, hit 562%
in sales compared to the year before.
-Yes, Gloria with
the percentage increases.
-Yes. Get it.
-Get it.
-Okay.
Yes, and
Did you see behind me?
We talked about diversifying,
adding additional SKU.
So, I talked to my manufacturer.
We can quickly do mild, medium, spicy.
And not just that,
I worked on a dry shito.
ASHLEY:
Oh Awesome.
GLORIA:
I am ready to add additional SKUs
on the current shelf landscape.
Ashley and Emma
the vision is grand.
I'm here to ask
for your investment partnership,
because with Gloria's Shito,
we are about to flavor the world.
-Yes, Gloria.
-ASHLEY: Yes!
That was phenomenal.
Your pitch was phenomenal.
And you stopped us in our tracks
-ASHLEY: I know.
-because the woman that we met
was not the woman that just presented.
Like, honestly, like, transformation.
No, I've just been watching you
-(laughs)
-emulating you,
trying to just stick my chest out
-This is what it is.
-It's out!
-You know, like, the power pose,
all of that.
-ASHLEY: Yes.
I love a power pose.
-And it's really working
for you, Gloria
-Yeah.
because you gave a very convincing
and very compelling pitch.
ASHLEY:
Your product is there.
-Yeah, your product is there.
-Your vision is there.
Like, even your branding is there.
-EMMA: Gorge.
-And you have listened
to every piece of advice I have given you.
You have gotten the social media person,
you've given us the numbers,
you have proven that you can change
the recipe within the blink of an eye.
And there's something
that I really enjoy about you, Gloria.
But what do you feel like
your challenges are today?
I need a team to help me.
When I received the $15,000,
I saw how I was able
to quickly hire experts to help me
in areas of my business
that I cannot manage.
Tell me about your main hustle.
How far are you from sharing
your side hustle with your employer?
♪
Uh, that's something
I have to go back and revisit.
EMMA:
Listen, I think that
it's just about finding that sweet spot
of when makes sense,
because at this point,
I feel like you can feel that out
-Mm-hmm.
-and get to that point as it comes.
You know, Gloria, every time
I think about this business, like,
it's an amazing product,
I love what I see.
I think, yes,
you could definitely be successful.
But there is a long way to go
-Yeah.
-before there are any proof points
around this business.
And so, I don't know what's gonna happen
in this business, to be perfectly honest.
♪
ASHLEY:
So, this is what I think we should do.
Because Emma and I
are incredibly passionate
about you and Gloria's Shito chili oil,
Emma and I want to go in together
as we came in, and we want
to invest $20,000 into your business.
You did such an impressive job
with managing that $15,000 I gave you,
I know you even have money left over.
And, yes, it's not this big, grand number,
but it's something big
for how small your business is.
And what I'm excited about
is to talk to you this time next year
and see where you've scaled.
EMMA:
What I'm interested in doing
is you having a sounding board.
The money at this early stage
is secondary.
-Yeah.
-You need some guidance.
You need that mentorship
that we've had over the last month or so
to actually continue
so that you can feel confident
about what you're building.
And I think that that is, honestly,
priceless at this point.
-Yeah.
-The thing that I love that Bozoma said
was that this is the ketchup of Ghana.
-It really is.
-And then she called me,
because she ordered pizza
and she said she cannot eat pizza
without your Gloria's Shito
on top of it now.
And that is speaking volumes,
that you have somebody from your country
who is now elated
with a flavor and a taste
that you've brought here.
So adding to this whole
amazing excitement,
Bozoma wants to invest in you.
She's not sure about what number yet,
but she would love
to have a full pitch from you
and also be a sounding board
for things to come for Gloria's Shito.
So, do we have a deal?
This is what I needed.
I needed people to look up to,
people who have done this before.
And so, having the both of you,
to be able to check in with you,
I know this is what I need.
And I know the vision is grand,
and I am not gonna give up,
I'm gonna keep going.
And with you being in my corner,
I just know I'm gonna succeed.
-Sky's the limit, Gloria. We love you.
-Sky's the limit.
-Congratulations, honey.
-GLORIA: Thank you so much.
I love you, Gloria.
-Thank you so much.
-(laughs)
-So happy for you.
-I'm so happy for you.
-Thank you.
-You're so welcome.
You deserve everything.
You really, really do.
I'm so, so, so happy this worked out.
-Mwah. Go thrive, sis.
-EMMA: Good for you, Gloria.
This is unreal.
EMMA:
I cannot believe the transformation
of that woman.
-I know.
-I mean, it's crazy.
GLORIA:
I honestly didn't think that sharing
something I loved so much
will give me this access
to, um, these brilliant entrepreneurs.
I feel validated.
And knowing that
it deserved the recognition,
it deserved for people to, um
It just makes me feel proud
that I set out with this business
to shine light
on my cultural cuisine and create
generational wealth for my family.
I know I have the work cut out for me,
but I just know it's worth it.
And I'm not gonna give up.
JAHAN:
How are you holding your hands?
Okay, I think I'm gonna do
a combination of this.
JAHAN:
This is going down as one of those
really big days in our lives.
I'd say the bar exam was up there.
-TANIA: Yeah.
-JAHAN: And now we're pitching
Emma and Ashley.
And it's not just money.
It's a partnership with two people
that we really want to have
as part of our company.
When we started off here,
our biggest question was,
are we even going to be able
to make enough cookies to scale?
Brune is at a really critical stage.
We've been saying this since day one,
and we've made a lot of progress,
but we're still so close
to getting to that next step.
And getting an investment today
could make a world of difference
for our business.
It can catapult us to the next level.
Is this sacrifice going to pay off?
Or did we just set ourselves back
and waste years of our life?
♪
-TANIA: Hello.
-Hi, girls. How are you?
How are you two?
TANIA:
Well, it's been quite the journey.
We'd love to give you a little refresher
about what we're all about.
-Damn right.
-Yes, please. I know I need a refresher.
We make indulgent, decadent cookies
that have an impeccably clean label,
yet they taste like they just came out
of your grandma's oven.
And that is the sense of comfort
that we want
to bring into the clean eating space.
JAHAN:
When we started off here,
we had a big question.
Are we even gonna be able
to make enough cookies to scale?
But our co-packer run worked,
and we can now
produce enough cookies for any retailer
that comes our way, no matter their size.
TANIA:
The next step is product development.
We are excited to share
N'oatmeal Raisin and Birthday Cake.
Oh, I love birthday cake anything.
We expect to be able to get these
to hit the shelf as early as next quarter.
-We're very excited.
-Great work.
So, this is one of the big things
that I was worried about
is, on the journey to all of this growth,
you have to be
-really mindful of your cash.
-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.
Like, can you actually afford to scale
at the pace you're going?
Here we have financial projections
that give us a road map
all the way out to 2026.
-You're so good at this type of stuff.
-ASHLEY: This is so cool.
EMMA:
I think that this level of thought
into how your brand is gonna
show up in the world,
it tells me so much about you, too.
In the financial projections booklet,
we have a list of retailers.
Starting in 2024,
we are either in all of the retailers
that are on the list or we have made
positive, meaningful
interaction with them.
They have samples of our product.
We're in contact with their buyers.
You'll see a column where it has
the number of stores and the volume
that we expect to do in each store.
In 2024, we are looking to hit
that $1 million mark.
2025, we want to double that,
get to $2 million.
2026, we are expecting to hit
$5 million in revenue.
ASHLEY:
You've got a projection of $5 million
in essentially two more years.
-How much does the cookie retail?
-$3.99.
ASHLEY:
$3.99.
-It is expensive.
-EMMA: It is expensive.
I'm just curious, like, how are we going
from just like in three years
to $5 million?
JAHAN:
Well, the first step is,
we are going to be phasing out
from our job as lawyers
so we can give our full energy to Brune.
You're quitting your attorney job?
We're definitely ready
to scale back our hours now.
-Oh, wow.
-And any time that we get back
is going straight into Brune.
So we want to make sure we can be there
during business hours
to be able to pick up the phone calls,
make sure everything's running smoothly,
and get it off the ground.
Up until this point, we've shown
that everything that we have
set out to do,
we have accomplished and we are
really a team that's worked together
for now almost ten years.
EMMA:
Honestly, the idea
of investing in two founders like you
is, like, what I wake up for.
Like, that is why I do what I do.
It's where I'm happy to put my money.
It's why I'm happy
that I've been successful,
because I look at you two and I'm like,
you are literally the American dream.
-(chuckles)
-And so I'd be really, really happy to be
a small part of your success story.
And I'd love to give you $100,000
-(whispers): What's going on?
-Oh, my goodness.
to kick it off.
For that $100,000
I'd really like to see
15% of the business.
TANIA:
In terms of your offer
(chuckles nervously)
it is incredibly appealing.
But the way
that our company is set up now,
we are a pre-seed C corp,
and we don't have shares issued
that would translate into equity.
The type of fundraising instrument
that we would be using
is something called a simple agreement
for future equity.
EMMA:
Mm-hmm. Yep.
So we do like a convertible note.
This is about us taking debt
that will convert into equity
as you guys go on the journey
-to start raising more money.
-Yes.
Which is totally normal,
standard start-up stuff.
So I am happy to do this on the basis
that we have an understanding
where we're going,
that as you bring in additional equity,
you will understand that I put the money
into this business first
and we'll work it out.
How does that sound to you guys?
-Am-Amazing. Amazing.
-That sounds amazing.
-A thousand ways to say yes.
-ASHLEY: And I'll tell you what.
I think I want to eat this cookie
with a coffee every morning.
-So I want to invest $15,000.
-EMMA (squealing): Ah!
-Ashley!
-Yeah. And we can talk about the equity
and all that stuff later.
JAHAN:
Oh, my gosh.
-Oh, my goodness.
-This is a dream come true.
-This is great.
-This is a dream!
-I'm so excited about you guys.
I love it!
(Ashley laughs)
-Come on, come on, come on.
-TANIA: We're all part
of the-the Brune family now.
ASHLEY:
Yay!
EMMA:
I'm so happy for you guys.
You really, really, really deserve it
more than anything.
-ASHLEY: Oh! Come here, love.
-Are you happy?
JAHAN:
Thank you. I'm so happy.
You really have done a fabulous job.
-I'm so happy.
-TANIA: Oh, my God.
-ASHLEY: Cookie time,
-cookie time, cookie time.
-EMMA: Brune for the win.
Bye, girls. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Well done, you two.
JAHAN:
It could not have gone better.
TANIA:
It literally couldn't have gone better.
Whoo!
I feel like my brain's gonna explode.
(laughs)
(whispers):
My God.
-Emma and Ashley.
-We got Emma and Ashley.
This is two people that are so impressive,
that are so successful,
that understand our brand
and believe in us.
To have those type of strategic partners,
that is more valuable
than the money itself.
JAHAN:
They're not any other investor.
They are the perfect partners for Brune.
(line ringing)
-HAFIZAH (over phone): Hi, Jee-Jee.
-Hi, Ma.
So, Tanya and I just finished the pitch.
And?
And both Emma and Ashley invested
in our business.
-No.
-(laughs)
Oh, my God. When I say it,
it actually makes me want to cry.
I can't believe we just got to do that.
Are you so happy?
I love the numbers.
I love the projections.
I love the confidence.
I love the ingredients.
My boys are gonna be obsessed.
I mean, you just invested
in a cookie company.
-Well, this is my second cookie
-The whole family could be
Yeah. This is my second cookie company
I've invested in.
Oh, once again, greedy Ashley.
I don't know why they call me Ms. Greedy.
-(laughing)
-No idea.
ASHLEY:
This has been an incredible journey.
All these women,
they came with a hustle in mind,
with determination.
-I'm ready to rock and roll, baby.
-Yes.
-Yes. (laughs)
-Let's do this.
And this just goes to show
that we have exactly what it takes
to make this world a better place.
You were meant to be here,
and you worked your ass off to be here.
With the help of Ally, we really feel like
our side hustlers have come out
on the other side renewed,
refreshed, confident in themselves
and their business.
And I know that I'm gonna be hearing
from some of these side hustlers
in the future
because the grit and the tenacity
that a lot of these women have
is unmatched.
-Oh, hello. (laughs)
-(squeals)
What's so incredible
about this whole process
is that it isn't just about
businesses growing,
but it's about these individuals growing
into who they're going to become.
We should do this together.
And when you give people opportunities
who wouldn't ordinarily have them,
what do they do with that?
We've seen time and time again
that investing in women
is absolutely critical.
The ideas that they're putting
into the world,
the things that they can do,
are completely limitless.
I'm so proud to be just a small part
of any of these women's journeys.
(both laughing)
-Aw
-(exclaims)
I, for the past 15 years,
have worked as a cosmetic chemist.
Gloria's Shito is my 100% commitment.
It's my 100% safety net.
It's what I, um,
commit into and drive in
to continue to make sure
I am not giving up
on bringing the flavors of West Africa
to the global forefront
and creating that accessibility.
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh,
hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh ♪
The only way to go is up, yeah ♪
Crash right through the ceiling ♪
Up, yeah ♪
Don't care 'bout your feelings ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Me and my girls puttin' in the work ♪
-The only way we go is up ♪
-Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh,
hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh ♪
Hit a low ♪
But it don't last long, no ♪
No, no ♪
-You know how it goes ♪
-You know how it goes ♪
How we always do the most ♪
'Cause when you're on the floor ♪
-You know ♪
-You know ♪
The only way to go is up, yeah ♪
Crash right through the ceiling ♪
Up, yeah ♪
Don't care 'bout your feelings ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, hey, hey ♪
Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh, baby ♪
Me and my girls puttin' in the work ♪
The only way we go is up. ♪