Hear from Catherine Smart and Jacqueline Grady Smith, founders of Not Just, a line of sauces and dressings designed to transform a rotisserie chicken, can of beans, or box of pasta into a delicious dinner.
Hungry for some drama? On this episode of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, contestants serve up new business concepts aimed at bringing nutrition to the next level. They have the passion and the belief in their products — but will our picky panel of investors find their ideas mouth-watering or half-baked?
Hungry for some drama? On this episode of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, contestants serve up new business concepts aimed at bringing nutrition to the next level. They have the passion and the belief in their products — but will our picky panel of investors find their ideas mouth-watering or half-baked?
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to the elevator.
00:03Hi, I'm Catherine.
00:04And I'm Jacqueline.
00:05And we're the co-founders of Not Just Co.
00:07After 10 years as a personal chef and a food writer
00:10and a culinary instructor on TV,
00:12I wanted to build a food brand that would help
00:14people across the country get dinner done,
00:16not just folks who could afford a personal chef.
00:18So Not Just Co. is a line of meal-starting sauces and dressings.
00:21Not only is everything delicious and nutritious,
00:23but it's made with zero junk.
00:25Now that we have national distribution and strong velocities,
00:27we're here today to raise $250,000 on a convertible note.
00:31That will support our marketing and trade spend efforts
00:33and allow us to go into new grocery markets.
00:35No one understands the weeknight dinner.
00:37Ooh.
00:39They just had to bring it in, and they would have had a great pitch.
00:42So close. So close.
00:43I love their energy and chemistry.
00:46Ah, just not their timing.
00:48I thought they did a pretty good pitch.
00:49The question is, they're raising, what, $250,000 at what valuation?
00:52Yeah, on a note.
00:54Insane. But $750,000 in sales, 500 stores,
00:58pretty good market traction.
01:00Pitching with two people requires almost an extra level
01:04of coordination and effort to get that right.
01:06They were in unison, though.
01:07They were in unison.
01:09They practiced that pitch, for sure.
01:11I think they packed too much information into the pitch.
01:14I wonder if they put too much ingredients in their sauce.
01:18First of all, I love seeing female entrepreneurs,
01:20so congratulations.
01:24I'm stuck on the valuation.
01:26The $8 million cap, to me, in this environment,
01:29with only having raised $100,000,
01:32it just doesn't make sense.
01:34So, unfortunately, with that, I'm going to pass.
01:39Thank you so much for your consideration.
01:40We really appreciate the opportunity to be here.
01:42Best of luck with it.
01:44Rejection happens to entrepreneurs all the time.
01:46We get multiple no's a week.
01:47And at this point, you just have to grow kind of a thick skin
01:50and keep going.
01:51We're so excited to support families across the country
01:54with their weeknight dinner struggle.
01:55And it's too bad these investors missed out on a great opportunity.