Winning the Pitch

This International Women’s Day, I had the opportunity to do something both exciting and a little nerve-wracking: pitch my business, Harmony & Jay, at a women’s day event alongside 25 incredible women entrepreneurs.

Each of us had the chance to share the story behind our businesses, our vision and the problems we’re working to solve. Being surrounded by so many talented women building their own ventures was inspiring in itself, and I felt genuinely honored just to be selected to be in that room.

I was truly honored, and a little surprised, when Harmony & Jay was named the winner of the pitch competition. Yet the real takeaway was not the prize. It was this: the people who move forward, who make things happen, are the ones who just begin, even when everything is not perfect.

Since launching Harmony & Jay in October 2025, I have learned more by doing than I ever could have by waiting.

I have learned from conversations with customers at markets. I have learned from small mistakes. I have learned what people love, what they need, and how the business can grow.

None of that learning would have happened if I stayed in the “planning” stage forever.

Starting something new always feels uncertain. But clarity often comes after you begin.

The People Who Win Are the Ones Who Show Up

Standing on that stage, pitching Harmony & Jay, I noticed something, everyone in that room shared one thing in common: we had all decided to try.

Some businesses were just getting started. Some had been growing for years. But every single person there had taken that first, often scary, step…they started.

Winning the pitch was amazing, don’t get me wrong. But the real moment for me was not the prize, it was seeing what unfolds when you actually take action on your idea, even if you don’t have all the answers yet. That’s where the magic happens.

If You Have an Idea, Start

Your idea does not have to be perfect.

You don’t need to know every step yet.

What matters is beginning.

Start small. Learn as you go. Adjust along the way.

Because the truth is, most people who succeed are not the ones who had everything figured out at the beginning.

They are the ones who decided their idea was worth trying, and started building it.

And sometimes, that first step leads to places you never expected.