How I used AI to win $35K in startup funding

Dear Community,

Some of you know that my team launched a coffee startup a little while ago called BVP Coffee Co., which began as a simple ecommerce brand drop shipping specialty-grade coffee sourced from all around the world.

One of our existing products is a whiskey barrel-aged bag of beans from Guatemala. The green coffee beans are aged in retired bourbon barrels for 30 days prior to being roasted and shipped fresh when our customers order them.

One day, I had an idea to elevate our product line from a simple offering of whole and ground coffee to a ready-to-drink cold brew cocktail.

I wrote the name on a dirty bathroom mirror, which like the other muck, stayed there for quite some time afterwards…

“1867 Reserve: Whiskey Barrel Aged Cold Brew.” (Courtesy Garry Johnson III)

Months later, I discovered an innovation challenge that was accepting applications. The organizers were looking for new products to potentially be launched in the spirits industry. Groups that submitted an application and advanced to the finals would receive $10k, and the winning team would take home $35k in grant funding.

As an entrepreneur, I apply to every relevant opportunity to secure non-dilutive capital to grow my business, and I coach other founders to do the same.

I was already overloaded with other priorities in running our business, and the application deadline quickly approaching. There was a plethora of questions to be addressed on the application — including an overview of our Business Model, Target Audience, Market Size, Launch Strategy, Competition, etc.

Hours could be spent scouring the internet and researching each of these areas, but being the resourceful founder I am, I turned to my artificially intelligent assistant — ChatGPT.

I’ve been building a stronger relationship with my AI companion to help me efficiently tackle everyday tasks and take some of the load off when my brain is overthinking. This happens quite often.

For some, ChatGPT is simply a “better Google,” but for entrepreneurs who know how to maximize this tool, it can change the trajectory of your business.

Knowing this, I decided to train ChatGPT to know everything about 1867 Reserve, BVP Coffee Co., and the spirited innovation challenge.

Everyone I coach knows to tailor their pitch to the audience in front of them.

I have various brand documents for times like this, so we’re always ready to apply for new opportunities. I didn’t yet have a document outlining what I wanted 1867 Reserve to be, but I had a picture in my head, so I just started typing out my vision into the chat box.

Next, I copied the list of application questions from the innovation challenge and put them right into ChatGPT, which it then magically answered line-by-line using my guidelines and vision. The full application was complete in less then 60 minutes!

Now, I take pride in my writing, but it takes me forever most times, and this opportunity had to be seized expeditiously.

I hit the “Submit” button and got back to work.

A short few weeks afterwards, we heard back from the organizers that our team advanced to the finals, and would pitch our idea on stage in Miami.

The acceptance. (Courtesy Pronghorn)

Here’s where things get real…

To win, we have to stand in front of a room of spirits industry experts and convince them that our concept will become a winner in the market.

As we begin to prepare, I again turned to ChatGPT to help me consolidate our startup’s elaborate business plan into an illustrative 10-slide pitch deck. It broke everything down by giving me titles and bullet points for each slide.

Although it can produce images using DALL·E, ChatGPT is not a pitch deck designer, so all the information it spits back to me is in the form of plain, boring text.

I then did what AI can’t currently replace.

I recruited my other best friend, Canva, to concoct “BVP Spirits” — the latest disruptor in the spirits industry with its flagship product, 1867 Reserve.

We did further market research to develop a nuanced and culturally-relevant narrative about two of the world’s most “Historically Black” discoveries, which we planned to combine into a single, tasty beverage.

1. Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia before becoming one of the world’s top traded commodities and desperately-needed beverages. Although its origins are in Africa, the continent financially benefits from just a fraction of global coffee consumption.
2. Nearest Green was a formerly enslaved man who would teach Jack Daniel how to distill his billion-dollar whiskey. Green’s legacy has only recently begun to gain the recognition it deserves.

BVP Spirits’ graphic on coffee and whiskey’s historically Black roots. (Courtesy Garry Johnson III)

Once in Miami, it was time to tell our story.

We got into character — boots, black jeans, branded tees, and those infamous cowboy hats.

The stage was ours, and our job was to bring the audience into our imagined universe where 1867 Reserve took the industry by storm because BVP Spirits was the best team for the job.

A product overview slide, outlining the unique value 1867 Reserve offers. (Courtesy Garry Johnson III)

We brought samples for the judges to both show AND tell. Even though our ideal product didn’t exist yet, we made mockups using ground coffee, blank whiskey bottles, and BVP stickers.

This proved to be a key differentiator…

The competition’s master of ceremonies tries a sample of the product. (Courtesy Pronghorn)

Finally, the hardest part of every pitch competition came when we had to answer questions from the judges. Remember, these are experts and influencers in the industry with decades of experience. They know everything…

…But they don’t know coffee.

After a flawless execution by each team member — B covering sales strategy, Alex tackling legal implications, and myself suppressing supply-chain concerns — BVP Spirits emerged as the grand prize winner of $35,000.

The big check was ours!

Today, you can make our award-winning product for yourself to try at home.

Tools like ChatGPT are incredibly powerful, and can help us transform those fictional dreams in our heads into tangible realities. What AI can’t do is get in front of real people, speak from the heart, and capture an audience’s imagination — only we can do that.

Since 2017, I’ve been helping other dreamers use technology and storytelling to build businesses on their own terms as well. Many have gone on to become much more successful entrepreneurs than I am, but I take pride in playing a small role in their journeys. One day, I too will have millions in the bank.

If you’re ready to start leveraging tools like ChatGPT and creative storytelling to further develop your own ideas, I’d love to coach you 1:1.

Feel free to email me at coach@bv.partners, or simply click the button below to get started. Let’s make 2024 the year we work smarter, not harder, in the pursuit of our own happiness.