…or that time I was on TV with a client and friend!
Last February, I spent the day with Jenn of Akroche Tatuk at French CBC’s studios (Radio-Canada). This would conclude (almost), months of working in the dark, while taking care of a new baby, never knowing if all of the efforts would lead to a spot on Dans l’Oeil du Dragon, our version of Dragon’s Den.
I was mostly there for moral support. Sujata of Attitude Orange was also there. Should Jenn get an offer, we would be in the bunker to discuss it with her.
On arrive à Radio-Canada ! Jenn, Julie et Sujata
Before that day, during those loooong months, I tried to calm Jenn’s worries; helped her brainstorm; found business coach options to contact right before Christmas; helped practice her pitch; prepped her website; prepped her advertising campaign.
It’s a lot of prep work for not knowing whether there will be a taping, whether your segment will air. Each step along the way is only that : a step. It could end at any point and you’d have never known that this was your last step.
Oh and by the way… it’s a loooong day of work to film a 1-hour show! We were there from like, 11 to 6. And of course, Jenn was the last one to be filmed! We’d had breakfast at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth – why not? But thank goodness for snacks!
So what did the day consist of? Well, we set up a kiosk so that it could be photographed, taken down, and set up again somewhere else, exactly the same. We ate. Talked. Got made-up. Waited.
Des vedettes ! Jenn se fait maquiller ! Ma passe de visiteure
Jenn got her chance to pitch and she did a GREAT job. She didn’t get an offer, but all of the comments from the investors were more than positive. They concluded that she actually didn’t need them. After that… more waiting. Between February and May, she could only wait. We couldn’t mention the show, the taping, anything.
On May 13th, she got the news that her company would be part of the May 22nd episode. We had 9 days to get ready and put into practice all our prep work. I am not ashamed to say that I was exhausted the day after the show aired! Every new day brought new questions and uncertainties. You only get one chance to impress the people who discover you that night.
Bravo à ceux qui m’ont reconnue ! Jenn en mode PITCH !
I will let you guess what business was the last to be featured on May 22nd. I kinda figured it would be the case since of the 2 previews, the one that got the most comments (almost 800 as I write this) was a whole minute of Jenn!
The site pretty much exploded after her feature. I was distractedly listening to the episode on my laptop… looking at stats in real-time when the numbers started increasing dramatically. The web-show is a minute behind the TV version. I was NOT mentally prepared, let me tell you!
In the end, what this did for crochet generally, and for Jenn’s company specifically is awesome, even without a deal. To have been a behind-the-scenes part of it fills me with pride and gratitude. Jenn works hard and that work deserves to be seen. And to be there as it happened was fantastic.
Julie
See the episode here: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/dans-l-oeil-du-dragon/site/episodes
