Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kat Weaver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kat, appreciate you joining us today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

Building a team has been one of the most rewarding – and humbling -parts of growing the business. We’re small but mighty, and that’s by design. I used to struggle with delegation because like many founders, I thought no one could do things quite the way I could. But I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about doing it all – it’s about empowering others to do their best work and find those who have skills stronger than mine!

I leaned heavily on leadership books and mentors to shift that mindset and build systems that set my team up for success. Today, we’re a team of five+ strong, each person owning their lane, and I’ve never felt more supported. The biggest challenge was letting go of control, but the biggest win was realizing that growth comes from trust, clarity, and the right people in the right roles.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I like to say I’m a 2x accidental founder. I started a company in college without any network or knowledge. To fund the business, I won 22 of 23 pitches I entered to survive, equating to six-figures in grant capital that I didn’t have to pay back. Pitching became a skill of mine, so I sold and exited my first company after 6 years to take what is now, Power To Pitch, full-time.

I met so many amazing founders who struggled to talk about themselves, what they do, and what they need, so it became my mission to support them.

Power To Pitch is a virtual course and community that specializes in helping early-stage, pre-seed to seed stage founders with their pitch and directly connecting them to capital sources, like grants, debt, and/or investors related to their industry.

We are the only program that doesn’t take equity in a founder and still helps them through the entirety of their current fundraise in securing capital from angels, VCs, grants, and more.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Before COVID, while running my first company, I was struggling to sell several thousand units of a headband product that wasn’t moving. I had a lot of money tied up in that inventory, but I didn’t know what to do with it.

When COVID hit, I saw stories of nurses struggling with ear and face pain from having to wear masks for hours on end.

My grandma helped me sew buttons on the sides of the headbands to take pressure of the ears and make wearing masks more bearable. I sold through the updated inventory in 1 week.

Repurposing this old inventory helped me get back the capital, purchase more button headbands, and donate headbands to nurses in need.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I successfully sold the first company I started out of my college dorm room.

It was one of the most draining things I ever experienced.

I was under contract FOUR times before officially selling. The third contract fell through the week of my wedding.

From ghosting me to saying they needed capital for another business fire, it was extremely exhausting to run the business while trying to sell.

The 3 biggest lessons I learned:
1) Use an accountant who understands your industry AND how to manage a startup’s books
2) Use an attorney who has worked with startups of your size
3) Know that you can’t have an emotional attachment to the rejections

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.powertopitch.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powertopitch/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katweaver/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBU0AhTBGePcgDnz1wfUxRw

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