My first Week at ESpark

To say that my first week at Entrepreneurial Spark was a roller coaster ride, is an understatement.  It was filled with energetic ESpark facilitators, inspiring presentations and a little bit of drama.  Admittedly, I created said drama but more about THAT later.

My Entrepreneurial Spark journey began on the 8th February, with a two day bootcamp by way of introduction to the program.  It was also an opportunity to meet ‘n’ greet my fellow Chiclets.  All 79 of them, or thereabouts.

Upon arriving at the designated building (which is known as a ‘Hatchery’) I was given a name badge and a green sparkly egg.  I gotta admit the sparkles were a nice touch but unbeknownst to me, that egg, THAT BLINKIN’ EGG, would be central to my biggest, most PUBLIC fall from grace, E-V-E-R!  Again, MORE about that later.

The green sparkly egg that I should have incinerated, resting peacefully in my bag.

Initially, introductions with fellow Chiclets, consisted of a few tentative ‘hellos’ and an abundance of hands in pockets, whilst looking for a few stones to kick, but as the days progressed, there was chit-chat and networking opportunities aplenty!

The ESpark team, were without a doubt, an eager, enthusiastic and energetic bunch, who created an interactive, thought provoking and thoroughly engaging learning environment from the get-go. Whilst the bootcamp experience was pretty full-on (the clue is in the title, I guess!) and was crammed with all sorts of information and insights into the entrepreneurial world (and specifically what the 6 month ESpark program entailed), I learned heaps, not just about what lies ahead in my new entrepreneurial chapter but I also learned A LOT about ME.

The ESpark peeps!

Yes, this is where I talk about that evil, sparkly green egg.

ESpark places a lot of emphasis on delivering polished, structured and concise 60 second pitches.  Yes, they’re essential for investment seeking opportunities but they also help you focus on the purpose, objectives, results and vision of your business.  I know this, YOU know this but that doesn’t mean I would happily volunteer to stand in front of 79 people and talk the talk!

And I didn’t volunteer, that flippin’ sparkly green egg volunteered for me!  We were all told that Chiclets who had a green egg were required to pitch the following morning, on day two of bootcamp.

Strangely, I didn’t squeal with delight at hearing this news.  Either way, that evening I wrote my pitch and practised (whilst timing myself), until I was able to deliver the pitch in under 60 seconds.

I was good to go, or so I thought.

The next morning, those lovely, caring ESpark peeps stayed true to their word, half of the green egg brigade were asked to form a queue at the top of the room and one-by-one start pitching.

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty extroverted but the minute someone hands me a mic and hits ‘start’ on a stopwatch, I’m gonna wilt like a rose.

Within 30 seconds of starting my pitch, that’s exactly what happened.  In front of 79 people, the wilting was HARDCORE.  You guessed it, I forgot my pitch halfway through.  Have you ever witnessed an awkward silence in front of 79 people?

It’s kinda like this.

I mumbled incoherently for the last 5 seconds and then my time was up.

I. WAS. GUTTED.

To their credit, my fellow Chiclets were amazing, they approached me at different times afterwards to offer support and words of comfort but I was STILL so disappointed in myself that their kindness wasn’t really having the desired effect.

Then one of the ESpark team (John), suggested I put myself up for the second round of pitching that afternoon.  Crikey, did I really want to put myself through that AGAIN?  And more importantly, what about the poor 79 sods who would have to listen to it again?

To cut a long story short, I stood in line for a second time and managed to deliver the pitch in its entirety and was greeted with whoops and cheers for having done so.  What lovely people!

So yea, I kinda thought I was like, AWESOME!

Instead of the sympathetic gestures I received after my first pitch, now I was getting pats on the back by people congratulating me for having the guts to do it again!

If at first you don’t succeed…

I’m pretty sure it was a sympathy vote, but I received the prize for best pitch for the afternoon slot.  Did I care?  You bet I didn’t!  Drinks were on ME!

The rest of the week was spent familiarising ourselves (the Chiclets) with our new (FREE!) office for the next 6 months.  For someone with a background in Interior Design, this office is perfection!

I may have had a slight hiccup on my second day of bootcamp but I can say without a shadow of doubt, that signing up for the Entrepreneurial Spark program is one of the best decisions I’ve made for my fledgling business.

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NEWSLETTER