Local entrepreneurs Krista King and Meagan Ryan have thrown their business in the ring for a chance to win a new competition.
Build Her Business is a challenge organized by ATB BoostR, geared toward empowering female entrepreneurs across Alberta.
It’s a crowdfunding project, which has competitors launch their own online campaigns to reach a personal financial goal. Starting Feb. 1, competitors will have one month to get enough pledges from customers to hit their monetary goal.
Of those who exceed their goals, four will be selected for a final round.
A panel of judges – including Dragon Den’s Manjit Minhas – will judge the businesses and pick one winner on March 8. It’s an opportunity for the challengers to put their businesses in front of successful entrepreneurs and get honest feedback about their product and business plan.
King and Ryan, who recently started their business LumberJill Apparel, decided to apply for the competition after their ATB adviser encouraged them to.
“We were interested in doing (crowdfunding) anyway, and then it just kind of worked in conjunction with Build Her Business,” King explained.
While they haven’t officially announced their crowdfunding goal, King said they are leaning toward of target of $10,000, and are planning to offer rewards to sweeten the deal for customers.
For example, if someone pledges money towards the campaign, they could get a jacket, blanket, camping mugs or other trinkets, based on how much was promised. If LumberJill hits its goal, King and Ryan will be able to cash in the pledges and send out the swag.
King said they’re currently waiting to get enough money raised so they can order 100 coats from a production company in Calgary.
In November, ATB provided an information session on Build Her Business, where competitors learned what crowdfunding is and how to set up their campaigns.
Once the competition starts, King and Ryan plan to use the power of social media and in-person interactions to spread the word about their company, which specializes in outdoor apparel.
“It’s our idea, right, and you’re opening yourself up to criticism or judgment or whatever, so it's a little bit scary,” Ryan said.
Preparing for the campaign has been a “rollercoaster” for the two as they finish the final touches before Build Her Business launches, while still filling orders, working part time and taking care of their young children.
Shannon Pestun, director of women's entrepreneurship, business and agriculture with ATB, said Build Her Business was created to help women succeed.
Typically, women struggle with access to funds to start their business, confidence in being an entrepreneur and access to social capital, Pestun said.
According to the consulting firm PwC and The Crowdfunding Centre, women are 32 per cent more successful than men in reaching their target when crowdfunding. Women were also more likely to pull in a higher average pledge amount.
Seeing an opportunity, Pestun said ATB wanted to create a program empowering women to lead successful businesses.
“We recognize the barriers that women face, and we just recognize that as a financial institution, we could make a positive difference and make a meaningful difference to women by helping them build and start their businesses,” she explained.
King and Ryan have been chipping away at their crowdfunding strategy for the past several weeks and both say they’re excited to hit the ground running. They started planning the campaign back on Nov. 19, when the information session took place.
Not coincidentally, Nov. 19 happens to be Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and the winner will be announced on March 8, International Women’s Day.
To follow LumberJill Apparel's progress, follow their social media handle @lumberjill on Facebook and Instagram.
