In case you missed it, our Founder & CEO, Sashee Chandran was selected as one of ten Tory Burch Fellows (out of 800 applicants) as part of the 2018 Tory Burch Fellowship Program!
The Tory Burch 2018 Fellows with the Pitch Judges: (from left to right) - Stephanie Mehta of Fast Company, Adam Glassman of O Magazine, Tory Burch, Tony Tjan of Cue Ball, Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures
This honor came with a $10,000 grant and a three-day workshop in NYC at Tory Burch headquarters learning from some of the most amazing brands and leaders including Chobani, Google, and Seth Godin. The opportunity also came with a chance to pitch in front of Tory Burch, herself, for a $100,000 business grant grand prize. Her judging panel consisted of Adam Glassman, creative director or O Magazine; Stephanie Mehta, chief editor of Fast Company; Jesse Draper, Managing Partner at Halogen Ventures; and Tony Than, CEO of Cue Ball (an investment firm).
Sashee shares more about her experience:
"I was incredibly honored to share this week with some amazing female entrepreneurs learning, laughing, and pitching our little hearts out. The work that the Tory Burch Foundation is doing for women-owned businesses is astounding. They are instrumental in evening the playing field and making access to resources/capital easier for female business owners.
Our curriculum this past week was a balance of creative and business sessions. We got to tour Tory Burch headquarters and see how all of the creative magic happens. Tory let us hang out in her office and we asked her tons of questions around entrepreneurship and building an enduring brand. What sticks out most is her assurance that yes -- you will make mistakes. But, that in her 15 years of running Tory Burch -- there was no mistake so great she could not recover from. That is very assuring, especially when you consider she runs a $3B company! Our days were packed with sessions with amazing experts like Seth Godin, to fun nights out at a JLo Concert!
Pitching to Tory and her stellar panel of judges was amazing and nerve wracking at the same time. This was more intense for me than being on National TV (HSN)! We each gave a 3 minute pitch to the judges followed by a 5 minute Q&A session. I went first out of the group. I definitely forgot some of my lines when delivering the pitch, but the group was so kind and Tory herself has a very calming presence.
I was truly taken aback when I was announced the winner of the $100K grant! I could not believe it, and I still remain in shock even now. The other fellows were incredible and this was truly anyone's prize. It took me a few seconds to realize and come back to earth when Tory called my name and presented me with the award.
This is truly OUR award as a community. I cannot thank each of you enough for voting for me when I was a finalist. Your votes helped in getting me the fellowship and the opportunity to experience such a life-changing week! I cannot wait to use this grant to continue our mission of fostering community and connections through tea. XO, Sashee"
We love being able to share this milestone with you! You can read about our win in detail in this recent WWD feature.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
