Friends, I am so, so excited to share that Alpine Parrot and I have been named a finalist for this year's Title Nine Movers & Makers Pitchfest competition! In case you're not familiar with Title Nine and the competition, let me explain:
Title Nine is a women-centered company that curates the best of the best when it comes to women's active gear. Each year, they host a pitch fest, where up and coming companies can pitch their products to be featured. Finalists (like us!) get to participate in the final two-day event which consists of activities with other finalists, talks and panels from well-established, badass entrepreneurs, and the main event, in which I will be telling Alpine Parrot's story and how we are making some serious moves in the industry. The event will be held later in September, and I absolutely cannot wait.
This competition means so much to me, in no small part because Alpine Parrot really is just getting started! Allow me to outline three major reasons why this event is so meaningful to me:
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Validation
Y'all. We don't even have pants for sale yet. Some of the other finalists have been in business for a while, fully engaging in commerce with the exchanging of money - we're not there yet, and that's okay! And yet, the fact that Title Nine believes in us so much that we were one of nine finalists selected from over 100 entries is saying something: this product and company is doing something bigger than just making pants. (But y'all already knew that 😉.)
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Representation
Most of Title Nine's pants max out at size 14. By being selected to be a finalist, Title Nine is vocally saying, "it's time to pay attention." Regardless of the outcome of this event, I will get to tell my story about being a plus-size woman of color and how I decided it was time to fill a hole in the market. Trust that I will be doing everything I possibly can to represent us all and make all of you proud 💖
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Connection
There are so few women at the helm of companies in the outdoor industry, so it's important that we find each other and stick together! As a community, we are a force to be reckoned with, and I'm really looking forward to meeting the other finalists and speakers at the event. I can't wait to share what I've learned while building Alpine Parrot, and y'all better believe I'll be furiously taking notes to absorb as much as I possibly can from everyone else! 📝
There's less than a month to the event, so I'm busy practicing my pitch while also iterating on another round of prototypes for fit testers to try on! I'll be meeting with fit testers located in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West areas of the country in October - if you're interested in potentially being a fit tester, apply here!
Read more about the Title Nine Movers & Makers event and the other finalists on the T9 blog: http://www.timeoutwithtitlenine.com/movers-and-makers/pitchfest-finalists-women-entrepreneurs-2020/
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