GREENWOOD — Sometimes it only takes one great pitch to open the right doors for you to excel.
On Thursday, the Small Business Expo will host its "Best Pitch Exhibit Event" to help businesses craft their own pitches with help from a three-time elevator pitch champion and Shark Tank contestant.
"This is more than I ever thought when I started pitching because no one believed in me," said Precious Williams of Shark Tank's eighth season. "I was fat, Black, and they said I had no Ivy League degree. Well, a month ago I taught at Harvard University."
It's a success story that goes far beyond luck for Williams, a native Midwesterner with big dreams.
"So, when that second door opened and I saw the sharks, everything in me was like, this is your time," Williams recalled. "That look on their faces when Robert Herjavec said, "Watching you is like watching a master at their craft," and even when Mark Cuban said, "You go girl!" I was like, I'm from St. Louis, Missouri! I never thought that this would happen."
In Sept. 2016, Williams stepped out on faith, went all the way to California to seek funding for a brand new company, Curvy Girlz Lingerie. From there, her career skyrocketed. She's now a 13-time elevator pitch champion, a three time #1 bestselling author, and widely considered a Shark Tank success story. Her brand has even attracted global brands.
"My biggest clients you'll never believe are not individuals," Williams said. "It's Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Federal Reserve Bank, George Washington University, college universities all over the the world, and I've become an international speaker.
Her success caught the attention of Kelly Sparks with Indiana Small Business Connection and Indiana Small Business Expo.
"I was on LinkedIn and found the "Killer Pitch Master" and decided to give her a phone call, tell her my mission, my heart," Sparks explained. "I said, hey, I'm a single mom. I'm in the trenches here in Indianapolis for small businesses and I would like you [Williams] to come speak."
On Thursday, Indiana Small Business Expo's "Best Pitch Exhibit Event" will connect small businesses with tools to thrive and hopefully bounce back.
"When I say pitching can take you never been, so I'm going to train and teach them tomorrow," Williams said. "Real tricks, tips and advice. And I'm also going to show you that everything that people say is wrong with you, you use it as your secret weapon because they never see you coming."
The expo already has more than 50 businesses participating. Tickets are still available for $10, at the Nest Event Center in Greenwood from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
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