How not being myself COST ME a spot on SHARK TANK (literally).
About two years ago I went to a Shark Tank open-call in San Francisco. It was one of the greatest experiences as an entrepreneur that I’ve ever had. The anticipation, the day dreaming, the preparation, all of it, it was awesome. There were hundreds if not thousands of other people there ready to pitch their companies and ideas to the producers, it definitely crossed my mind that “who would want to hear about my Brew Journal and Wine Journal?” but there I was, standing confident with my products ready for my 60-second pitch.
Everything faded away when it was my turn to pitch.
I looked the producer in the eyes and started talking. The whole thing was over in less than 5 minutes.
“How did it go?” my wife asked, “I’m not sure. Everything is kind of a blur right now.” I replied.
They said that if they wanted to move Kegs & Code to the next phase of casting, I would likely hear from them in the next 8 weeks. Well, for the next 8 weeks I had my phone glued to my leg and answered every call after the first ring. I was just a little bit anxious… It was on week 5 that I get the call. What????
They wanted to move me to the next phase of casting! I was screaming out loud in the car! It was such an exciting moment!
I was feeling super confident (maybe overly confident). I shot a 10-minute video to showcase Kegs & Code and all of my products. I did my best to make that video as perfect as possible…
as perfect as possible…
By trying to do that, I lost sense of who I was. I lost the authenticity that I put on my products. I never heard back from them. Honestly, I can’t watch that video. I just can’t get myself to press play when I come across that video on my computer, but it’s like I can play it in my mind as if there is a TV screen right in front of me. And the more I replay that video the more I notice that I wasn’t me. I tried to portray an image that it wasn’t what Kegs & Code is all about. I tried to be as perfect as possible…
When you think about the greatest people we know. They are so great because they are themselves, they are not trying to be someone else.
If Steve Jobs had tried to be like Bill Gates, Apple might not have existed. If Mark Zuckerberg tried to be like Elon Musk, maybe Facebook would never have been the biggest social network on the planet.
When we try to be like someone we are not, we end up robbing the world from the best thing we could ever give anyone, and that is to be you.
You have a combination of gifts and skills that only you have. There was a 1 in a trillion chance of you being born you. Embrace your uniqueness. Express yourself in ways that only you can.
Start Today
Being yourself in a world of filters and “perfect lives” everywhere is not easy. I had the opportunity to interview the effective communication coach, Gina Molinari, on my podcast. She talks about little baby steps that we can all take today to start finding our authentic voice. If you feel like that’s something you are striving towards, feel free to check out her episode.
About the podcast
I started the Dusk to Dawn podcast to share the stories of people who are in the process of building their dreams. When I started Kegs & Code I felt alone. I felt alone because people around me didn’t understand my desire to become an entrepreneur. Every week I bring on a guest to talk about the behind the scenes of their journey to become an entrepreneur and live life by design.
Your journey matters and you are not alone.
