Wait? We Won?!

The Monetary Journey to the USA

In January, Akuna’s business coach, Jonathan, let me know about an amazing opportunity at Southern called Hyve Creators. It was set to be early March and focused around a pitch competition called the "Lions Den." There would be investors judging Shark Tank style and he thought Akuna should pitch, plus there were a lot of people there that we could connect with. I jumped on the opportunity for two reasons, first of all, the connections and who would pass up a chance to visit the States!

I immediately texted the president and vice president of Enactus ready to pitch my idea. My proposition was that they would pay for half and I would fundraise/cover the other half, an equal investment. Well… that call did not go as I had expected. I got rejected pretty hard. The president had his mind made up that it made no sense for me to go when Akuna in the states could represent… My argument was that they would not have the depth of understanding in order to have real discussions with possible investors and clients.

Over the next two months I would get rejected more times than I can count. I would have a conversation and end up with: "I don’t know", or "maybe" or "let me discuss with the team," or "no." I love these people but I was so frustrated. It was 3 weeks before. I was in Cape Town asking once again to come to US for the convention. Prices were going up and we were running out of time. I sent a very direct email and was told that I would have an answer the next day. I was so close to just giving up. To deciding that I didn’t need to go. To say I wasn’t going to go even if they promised them $850 because they had waited so long. I had even started planning a trip to Zanzibar.

They ended up saying yes. And so the next day Steven, the student missions director, and I bought the ticket. (A huge shout out to Sarah Hasel who was able to sponsor the other half of my ticket through the money she had over fundraised.) Wow, I was going to the USA and I had 4 days to create slides, a pitch, a video and submit it. That Friday afternoon I figured out the slides and pitch, Sunday I got feedback, and Monday morning we took the video. Submitted.

It would be another 5 days before we knew if we would officially be accepted into the competition but I was still planning on running a booth for Akuna. On my flight over we were invited to the pitch competition! And let me tell you, Airplane wifi is awful to try and send emails on….

Flying over Qatar!

Realities of Living Abroad

Expectations are always so much different than reality. I expected that people would be thrilled to see me and that I would be so busy talking to my friends, finding ways to squeeze in social engagements. But 7 months overseas changes things. I am no longer a permanent fixture in my friends life. I’m not present but for the rare post on social media. I’m the person mentioned in passing. A thought, in and out of my friends heads in a matter of seconds... Or at least that’s how I felt.

Mexican Food with Victoria!

Hot chocolate date with Nyah

For the week and a half I was at Southern I got to spend a ton of time with my best friend Kate. I stayed with Adonna and we had a lot of fun catching up about all of the different people, life plans and dreams that had come about over the course of the year. When I got home for 3 days I also got to see Victoria for a whole day! I saw some of my camp friends and spent a lot of time with my friends who ran the entire Hyve convention. Let’s go Kelsie!

Discussion on Money and Scripture

Beyond seeing friends, culture shock was real. I do have to say my first bite of Taco Bell was surreal. The crunch of the tortilla and the perfect taste of the sour cream and nacho sauce. Absolutely iconic. Walmart was crazy too. Everything you could possibly need in one store. You don’t have to spend the day running around a massive capital searching for one little thing. Walmart has it all.

Once, during the pitch competition, the lights were turned off to get people’s attention. My immediate thought was that the power had gone out…. It was not loadshedding, it was normal lights doing normal things.

There were so many things that surprised me, like driving on the right side… they flipped the turn signal and the windshield wipers again. Or like the time I couldn’t figure out what time it was because I hadn’t used am/pm time in a hot minute. Or remembering I could drink the water in the sink. Or just how nice the roads were…. Even in Atlanta, which is saying something. And spending money that would go so much further in Zambia, sometimes it hurts a bit, but that's the way it is here.

The Competition

Back to the competition. The first night I got to meet my business coach in person and then got to show him my presentation. He said, “Good job padawan.” Which I thought was hilarious and the highest form of complement. I ended up helping out a fellow competitor get what she had in a better order. Unfortunately, we had to submit the final slides that night and I’m not sure she was able to figure it out. I loved talking to all of the different people and listening to the different speakers. It felt a bit like a dream to have everyone there be absolutely excited about missional business. Even some of the richest people in the room had a clearly defined way that they were using their companies to be used for missions. Not just them donating to mission trips but actionable ways they could make a difference.

Akuna's Booth!

Saturday night the energy felt so good. I felt prepared. I felt excited. But I was mostly thrilled to get to be on stage. I was the fourth to get on stage. I got up, David Asscherick introduced me and I began. I fumbled a ton. In Fact I even ended up with 30 seconds left! But to the audience apparently it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Then for the questions. I was ready.

Why do you want to sell in the States? -- The dollar goes further in Zambia?

What is the dollar to Kwacha? -- 19 to 1

What does it cost to produce? -- 7 Kwacha

You made $16,000 in revenue last year? Yes, I believe so.

You have palm oil in your ingredients…? Yes, but we are currently looking for a new formula at this very moment. We have a ton of sunflower oil in the factory.

Are you asking for a grant or investment? Um… Yes.

Note, at some point during this interview, David sniffed me and said I smelled good. Very weird, but the crowd loved it.

According to sources, of the 10 businesses on stage, I had the best and surest answers to the questions. After that it was just waiting for the “Lions” to finish their discussions. They came out onstage and Lauren, Kelsie and Roman brought out the big check. David and Doucomes started to get ready to announce the winners.

3rd place: Phoenicia Finesse

My thoughts: Well, I’m not third, so that’s a good thing, but also, could be bad… If they thought Phoenicia was better than me then it's over for me.

2nd place: Vempanadas

My thoughts: There's absolutely no way I win. There were so many incredible ministries on stage!

At this point I see one of my friends give me a sad look. I was so confused? Akuna had really not placed. I was wrangling my emotions to try and keep from crying. It was over.

1st place: The girl who smells good and AKUNA SOAP INDUSTRY!

“Oh my goodness! Akuna won!”

Winning!

I was in shock as I held the massive check on stage. I’ve won talent shows and competitions, but nothing felt as good to hold that check saying that people believed in the opportunities Akuna could give people. They believed in me.

It was such a great feeling to know that I had worked hard for this. Not only working on the pitch and presentation, but also the numbers, impact, and answers. I was here because you believed in me. My parents believed in me. Mentors and coaches believed in me.

The next day Craig and I worked on what I would pitch to potential investors, shipping an entire container of soap. While we didn't have any bites for a container, we were able to secure someone who was interested in doing a profit sharing of a pallet of soap, or roughly 8,000 bars!

I learned so much that weekend. I meet incredible people making a huge difference in the world. I am so glad that God gave the the gene of persistence. Of never giving up no matter what. Because without that I would be here. Having discussions that could change the direction of Akuna forever.

And now, I am struggling to figure out if I am supposed to stay for another year with Akuna. There's nothing stopping me and this business might not survive if I up and leave. I am hopeful that God is truly calling me to staying this next year because there are so many opportunities I want to pursue.

How Can You Help?

I am asking for prayer in discernment for my future. I want to make sure I am doing what He wants me to and not what I think. I am also asking for connections. Akuna needs help in both marketing and with connecting to small businesses that might be interested in selling our soap. Also! We have opened Akuna's website for pre orders! I'd love for you to support Akuna in this way too!

Contact me at kareenahansen@gmail.com!