On the morning of the pitch, I was calm and ready to go. That all changed when I got a call from my producer telling me that I was moved to tomorrow. I started freaking out as I thought it meant I wouldn’t get to film if I was getting bumped from the initial filming day. But my producer assured me that it was just a scheduling change, and to try and take the day to relax. Luckily, it happened to be the US Open Men’s final that day, so I distracted myself with the TV and did my best to reset.

 

The next morning, I held my breathe praying I wouldn’t receive another phone call from my producer (I didn’t). I was scheduled for the afternoon portion of filming, and my call time was 11:30AM. When I arrived to Sony Studios, I was taken to my dressing room and told it would be a few hours before I filmed. There were some snacks in the room, and around 12 someone came with lunch. Then began the long waiting game. 12pm rolled to 1pm, then 2pm, then 3pm.

 

I started to panic – I was constantly afraid I would be bumped from the schedule and not get to film. I distinctly remembered a Shark Tank episode where the entrepreneur told the Sharks she was supposed to be on the previous season, and moments before she was supposed to film, the producers pulled her from the schedule. I was terrified of this happening to me! Finally around 4pm, they pulled me for hair and makeup touchups, and then I was told to change into my pitch outfit. At 5pm, they led me to the set. It was wild as I could hear the previous pitch before mine, which absolutely did not help my nerves. I got some final hair and makeup touchups, and then was escorted to stand in front of the famous Shark Tank doors.

 

As I stood before the closed doors, moments before they opened, I thought I was going to faint. I felt like I was floating out of my body. It was all so surreal – I couldn’t believe I was actually about to go in front of the Sharks and pitch my business. I took a deep breath, told myself it was my moment, and the doors opened.

 

Continue reading for Part 3 detailing my pitch experience!