Temi: So this was back in 2022. We’re both from South London so we heard from a friend that Black Seed Ventures and NatWest were hosting a packed tech weekender in Brixton and we were super eager to attend. And like we mentioned, we were excited by Karl Lokko’s involvement. We’d been working on KARR for a while at that point but were finding connecting with industry leaders/governmental representatives difficult. We attended the first day of the Start-up Weekend when the panellist session was held, and it was like a bolt of energy had struck us. Their stories were so inspiring, and it felt like it was genuinely possible to make it, looking at the impact the panellists had made in their own entrepreneurial journeys. That’s when we decided we’d actually go for it and take part in the pitch competition. We also recognised the stark contrast between the amount of women in the room compared to men and thought, let’s represent for the ladies.
Estelle: That entire weekend we practised our parts non-stop, brushing up on all our facts and everything we’d worked on to get to the stage we were at. It was really reassuring as it was the first time in a while we went back to the very beginning, recollecting all the work we’d done to get to that point. We had put a lot of effort into KARR. When the day came it was genuinely impressive. Every idea pitched was a worthy one, with so many entrepreneurs who had clearly dedicated themselves to their crafts, so it was really validating to be amongst them. But to win!? That was everything. As soon as we got up there, simply from the crowd’s reaction, we could tell we had a big idea on our hands.
Temi: Yes, everyone was reacting as soon as we mentioned parking fines!
Estelle: Exactly! The win catapulted us to the next level. It felt like we were being rewarded for all our hard work and that validation alone was a win in itself. I’m pretty sure we cried.
Temi: Yeah, it was super emotional.
Q. How has winning the pitch event fund helped KARR?
