My name is Nola Todd, and I am the founder of Goldenrod Kitchen, a small food pop-up and catering business offering vegan and vegetarian breakfast food and baked goods.
Pitching and Getting Started
I did my first LaunchLab pitch competition in October of 2023, so almost two years ago now. At that very first pitch competition, it was the very beginning of conceptualizing my business and it would be years before I would officially launch. So it was nerve-wracking to stand up in front of a room of people and tell them my idea. I didn’t really have a lot of solid information about what the business would actually look like in reality. Since then, I’ve pitched, I won around $3,000. That was some of the very first money I ever earned for Goldenrod Kitchen and I went and opened a bank account at Chase locally and got to put my money towards something, which felt awesome. Since then, I pitched last October at the LaunchLab, and through them, I was connected with a competition at Marshall University which was in April of 2024. So I’ve pitched three times now.
Pitching is definitely a little bit intimidating, but it feels good to stand up in front of a room of people and confidently tell them about your concept, brand, idea and explain why it is worth investing in. That feeling really validates you and solidifies your idea, especially when you’re in the very early stages of your business. Even more so, if you win any pitch money and they do decide to invest, it feels really rewarding to get that validation even further.
How the LaunchLab has Helped
The LaunchLab has helped so much in a million ways. I think I mean overall beyond pitch competitions. The LaunchLab has just been my go-to place when I’ve had questions, when I’ve been struggling with something, when I’ve needed to bounce ideas off of people, whether or not it’s something that I need specific kind of technical assistance with, like creating a website, which is what I am currently working on at the LaunchLab or if it’s just I need to come in and bounce some ideas off of people and say, “Hey, this is what I’m thinking, What do you guys think? What does that sound like?”. I think a lot of times entrepreneurship can be something kind of isolating if you’re not an entrepreneur. It can be hard to relate to somebody who is trying to start their own business and I think through the LaunchLab, I’ve been connected with other entrepreneurs as well as just people with that entrepreneurial mindset who work with entrepreneurs everyday and kind of understand what it looks like to actually run a business. Overall, I think just that support and ecosystem of people who get it really helps you from feeling isolated.
My Advice
My advice would be to come in and talk to people and see what it’s about. If you have an idea, if you’re just interested in entrepreneurship, even if you don’t have a specific idea. When I first came to the LaunchLab for my very first appointment, I didn’t entirely know at all what my concept looked like. I knew that I was passionate about food and about providing options to a more underserved customer segment. My advice would be to come talk about your ideas and don’t feel embarrassed to say them out loud even if they seem unrealistic or absurd. The LaunchLab is here to help you kind of dial those in and figure out what that could actually look like in practice. Even if you haven’t you know generated any revenue, even if your concept is years from being actualized, now is the time to start. All you can do is make an appointment and start and just talk about it.
Future Plans
Now I’m a senior and I will graduate in a couple of months in December. So, after I graduate, it’s kind of a situation of really full sending it with Golden Rod Kitchen.In the next year, I’d really like to see what it looks like to run a business more full-time. Now that I’m graduating from school, I kind of have that opportunity. So, my goal is definitely to really get out there and start building a community with locals and establishing our name as a food business here in Morgantown.
To find out about future pop-ups, see tasty food or book for catering follow @goldenrodkitchen_ on Instagram and Goldenrod Kitchen on Facebook.
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