I’d rather have a life of “oh wells” than a life of “what ifs”
My reflections from pitching Nudie Glow at the MAP Accelerator Launch.
“Hi, I am Ruby, the Founder of Nudie Glow…”, something I never would have thought I’d say 2 years ago, let alone going on stage and saying it to an audience of 1000!
It was probably the 647th time of repeating my pitch and it was starting to just roll off my tongue. “I’ve got this!” I thought on the day of the MAP18 Accelerator Launch. Fast forward a few hours, I was anxiously waiting for my cue to step out onto stage, with my heart beating so fast, hands and legs shaking uncontrollably, and words going through my head in lightning speed.
“Oh no, I can’t remember my script anymore!” was the exact thought I had when I heard my name, followed by a round of applause.
I took a deep breath and walked slowly onto stage, wishing there was a pause button so I could go over my script one last time. Time obviously didn’t pause, but I immediately felt like I was transported to another world with no one around me. (The darkness of the room definitely helped!) It made me feel at ease, and I was able to start my pitch, just like all those practices, for the 648th time.
3 minutes flew by, I didn’t forget my script and I managed to make the audience laugh, mission accomplished!
The whole experience felt so surreal and joining MAP has been one of the best decisions I’ve made since starting Nudie Glow.
As a solo female founder with no previous experience in startups, the most difficult part of my journey was finding like-minded people to share the experience and having access to a network of supportive people.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the MAP family and being surrounded by so many great people who are all here to make a difference in the world.
People often tell me how brave I am to have given up a comfortable and secure job for something I’ve never done before, and that they will never have the courage to do so. After all the experiences I’ve gone through, I would say don’t underestimate your abilities and take some risks! In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.
I’d rather have a life of “oh wells” than a life of “what ifs”
