Start-up to Scale-up with Channel 4 Ventures: Overcoming the Challenges of being an Underrepresented Founder with Grace Ubawuchi

Your Dream Business

Grace

Ubawuchi is

the trailblazing founder and CEO of the award-winning cocktail brand Xin and Voltaire. Grace shares her inspiring journey of creating a disruptive offering in the food and beverage industry, leveraging her youthful fearlessness and problem-solving mindset to over come the

challenges of being an underrepresented founder.

Grace shares her approach to securing investment,

demonstrating how persistence and creativity can open doors for entrepreneurs.

It is a must-listen for any aspiring entrepreneur.

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Transcript

Teresa:

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Your Dream Business podcast. This is the fourth. episode in the special Channel 4 Ventures series that I am doing. [00:01:00] And today I am interviewing Grace. Now, Grace is the founder and CEO of award winning cocktail brand Zinn Voltaire. And for years, Grace has been dedicated to pushing boundaries and redefining the cocktail drinking experience, harnessing innovation in food technology, science to create a disruptive offering in the world of F& B. Now, the thing that struck me the most when interviewing Grace is She's in her 20s and it made me feel very old being a 45 year old woman and having only started my business 10 years ago. But what was so fascinating about her and what was so inspiring about this conversation and something that I have seen all the way through with, you know, Tom, the conversation yesterday, Tom almost said something identical. Sam says or something almost identical the day before was they identified a problem and they thought. Why isn't someone fixing this? And this is exactly what Grace did. She saw a problem [00:02:00] that she wanted to elevate the kind of cocktail experience and where you could access cocktails and what they were about. And she couldn't understand why anybody wasn't doing this already. So she decided that she would fix it. And what was just amazing was imagine Now, I have stepchildren who are 21 and 27, I think she is now, and my daughter is 15. And if you are a parent, you will know that, like, they get to that age and they think, like my daughter thinks I'm an absolute stupid idiot and she knows everything. She's way smarter than me. And also they take different risks or they're not bothered as, as other things. It's like. I think as you get older, what I'm trying to say is as you get older, I think you get really conscious of like, okay, what if this goes wrong? What will happen? And I think what was one of Grace's best advantages is that she was young. So she thought nothing of just thinking, right, I'll [00:03:00] fix this. I'll make this. I'll do this. She talked about, the stories of how she guessed people's email addresses and just reached out to them. And when you find out some of the companies that she was having conversations with, and some of the people that she was in front of, it's wild to think that she just thought, screw it, I'll just send them an email. And I think sometimes as business owners and as humans, we don't want to take that risk because the thought of being told no, the thought of being turned down, the thought of being ignored. And I think her age helped her have that. And I think also there is, one thing I talked about her and, and And Tom, I felt the same, was like, their brain must work in a certain way that makes them just go, let's fix this. I think there are lots of people who wouldn't think that, that wouldn't look at a problem and think, how can I fix this? There's a lot of people that would just moan about the problem. And both of them really inspired me from, they just went, how am I going to fix this? And I wonder whether there's like a certain trait or something in [00:04:00] those, people that they have, their brain works in a certain way. Anyway, I digress slightly. So we talk about the random emails that she sent and how she got in front of some huge people. She also talked about the fact of how she basically pitched the product when there was no actual product. She hadn't even done a prototype to a massive company and how she got through the door, which was fascinating. And then we talk about the fact of, did she know she needed to start. Did she know she needed investment from day one and that and what like? I think it's really interesting the businesses that kind of go day one, I need investment and the ones that don't even think about investment being an option where she knew she had this amazing idea and she had this brilliant company thought, but she needed money to get started. So she knew from day one, she needed to have investment and how she went about finding that being in a world where. She didn't know that existed. So it's a really fascinating conversation. I found her super inspiring. I think you'll [00:05:00] love her. I did. I thought she was awesome. So without further ado, here is the lovely Grace. Grace, welcome to the podcast. How you doing?

Grace:

I'm good. I'm good. Thank you for having me. I'm very excited about this.

Teresa:

My pleasure. So am I. So Grace, let's start off just for my listeners. Tell us who you are and what you do, and how you kind of got to do what you do today.

Grace:

Amazing. I've always found that to be the hardest question. I feel like now it's such a philosophical thing, but briefly, so I'm Gracie Ubawuchi, obviously I am the founder of Stina Walter's Pair. We are an avant garde alcohol brand, and we make what we've referred to as high proof sorbet cocktails, which are essentially high proof frozen cocktails. I was lucky enough to work with a very inspiring woman called Nina Mettier. For about two years to develop our products. And I think we have a really incredible range of flavors that we're proud to put out into the world with some more coming, of course. So how did I get here? Uh, putting one foot in front of [00:06:00] the other. I was a uni student. When I, when I started and now fast forward, like seven, eight years, it's well into well, not well into my twenties, but almost 30. Yeah. For me, it was just by inquisitive nature. I loved cocktails and like you do. And I wanted more, I wanted more outside of the bar. I wanted to be able to have it in all the different occasions that you do and you find yourselves in. And so for me, it was. Well, who's doing it? And I found nobody doing it. And so one person who was at Diageo at the time said, why are you asking us to do it? Why don't you just go do it yourself? And so I thought, actually, yeah, why, why don't I just go do it myself? And, and yeah, now here I am doing it myself, but luckily with an incredible team of people who are, who are kind of the foundations of the business.

Teresa:

So, I love the way you talk about, you know, yeah, I'm just doing it myself. Like, I definitely think there is something in someone's [00:07:00] brain that either has that or they don't. Like, lots of people don't think like that. Lots of people don't go, Oh yeah, no, why isn't this thing like this? Or let me change that. Let me create something. And also to be in a business that is like, this doesn't seem an easy thing to get into. When you first thought, okay, do it myself, had you already got people in place that you could talk to or what were you doing at uni just out of interest?

Grace:

So I was studying business and international relations. So I was on my second year and to, do you want me to dive into the question? Because I think, yes, to be honest with you, yeah. Basically, for me, it was quite, I've always been a problem solver, so I called myself at the time, which seems so silly, but I called myself a solutions provider, which was whenever I see an issue, it would frustrate me to just bang on about it, right? I just [00:08:00] loved, so what's the solution here? Oh, you know, this is going wrong. So how do we fix it? And so I've always been that person. And so for me, I hated when I didn't have an answer to everything. And so if I didn't have one, I just went out and found it myself. Cause I just, I think, I think that's the naivety that you find in young people. We, we kind of just feel like the world is our oyster and we can just do everything. And And so I think that was the thing because I wasn't so concerned or I didn't even really know what the potential issues were. It was just like, Oh, well, I'll just, I'll figure that out on my, on my journey. And so, yeah, that was pretty much how I, how I did it now, how I physically did it. I didn't know anybody. I was coming at it as a consumer. And so, you know, I had a love for cocktails and it was like, well, who do I need to know? to be able to answer this question for me, who's doing it? So who owns all the cocktails and all the alcohol brands out there? And so once I kind of started going down that Google wormhole, [00:09:00] I couldn't fight myself out of it. And so, and this is something I don't actually shout about. I used to guess people's emails. I was actually very, very good at it. And so I would construct an email and say, okay, you're the person I need to know. Okay, cool. Use LinkedIn, find out who they are. And just write them an email and be like, Hey, you know, you're who I need to speak to. Do you have a moment? And crazy enough, they did. And they, they actually made time for me, which was, I think about it now. I'm like, these are some of the busiest people in the world at Diageo, at Beam Suntory, you know, and they made time for me and I'll never forget that.

Teresa:

And that is huge for so many reasons. One, there are so many of us in business that would it. One of the biggest things that I deal with, with my, in my world and in the coaching I do is the fear element, that fear that holds us back, that stops us from doing those things, that puts us off [00:10:00] sending that email because, oh, we can't find the email address or they probably won't read it. Oh, then definitely not going to reply. And I love that. The thing that you came in and said is that you just did like an almost an and I hear what you're saying in terms of an age thing. I'm 45. I have my daughter's 14 and my my stepchildren like in their 20s. So I get the like where they come from of Oh, no, I just this should just come to me, right? Like I just expect But in this instant, that is such a superpower because you just went, well, why couldn't I, why shouldn't I, you know, why couldn't that, why wouldn't that person respond to me? Was there any part of you that was like, no, I'm super scared to do that? Or what if it didn't respond?

Grace:

I think that, okay, I'll tell you a little bit more about me in the way that I think when I had my surgery, when I was younger, I wasn't afraid until I got into the operating tables that, oh my God. They're going to cut into my hand and like [00:11:00] things like that. I have a very delayed reaction. I only have a look at the opportunity and then when it's time to actually do it, I'm like, Oh crap. Now I actually have to talk to this person because they, you know, they've given me the opportunity. And I think that's the thing. It's like. Be careful what you wish for. I don't mean it to sound so ominous, but because you might get it, if you do, can you, can you handle it? And so for me, it was like, oh, right now I, you know, the last thing would be that they don't respond, right? So I don't actually have what I went out to go and get, but I'm the exact same as when I sent the email, right? The best thing that could happen is that they listen and they respond. And so my motto at the time was, if you don't try, you don't get. So you might as well try because you might. potentially get what you're asking for. And, and I think that was the thing. So I didn't have the nerves when I was doing it. It was only when that call, and this was before Zoom. So thankfully they couldn't see me. They didn't know who I was, you know, it was [00:12:00] just a phone call. And I think the earliest call I had was like five in the morning when I, there was an investor. in Australia who was open to having a conversation with me and I was like, Oh my God, now I have to have this call and it is a stupid time and I, so I would write a script that I was going to say and I was so nervous and I would read that script and they were so kind to listen to me from the beginning to the end and I realize now that actually that was kind of my training from the very beginning, you know, to be able to, to be able to have those conversations and be, to be open and confident in them. Because I was like 21 during these conversations,

Teresa:

which, you know, like that blows my mind from a Well, at 21, my brain was not working that way, but like, you know, that you were able to get in front of these people and hold these conversations. And would you say they took you seriously? I don't want to assume and go, they took you [00:13:00] seriously.

Grace:

Yes. If anything, I would say my entire career was built on this particular way of working. So I got my investor from a cold email. You know, I got business. from cold emails. And so actually they did take me seriously. If anything, I'm talking the president of like these huge organizations who would get their whole innovation team, like there'll be four or five people on the call. So they definitely did. And now that I think about it, I'm like, that was such an opportunity. Yeah. I wish I had, you know, I do, I guess I do have these opportunities now. It's not so daunting, but you know, when you're 21, you really don't know who you're speaking to. And you, you don't have a clue how serious it is.

Teresa:

A good thing in some ways, because you'd never have done it if you had. You'd have been like, no way, too big.

Grace:

But I knew, I knew what was working against me. And I think that's what I always knew, which was I lived in [00:14:00] Manchester. No one's going to find me here. You know, I don't have any presence. I don't have any experience. And I, I needed to put myself in positions of opportunity. And the only way to do that was for me was to create my own opportunities. So it was kind of breaking those walls down. I, I think it was until like two years later, I realized these people had PAs. I didn't even realize they had blockers because I was directly sending these emails to them. So, yeah, I'm glad they took me seriously because I think it instilled this hope for a future that had, had they not done that, I think I would have probably quit. Because you realize that actually in life, you know, unless people help you on the journey, you, you kind of, Don't believe that there is something to, to like look forward to because that hard work is kind of going nowhere. No one's receiving it. No one's kind of really taking it in a way where they, they take you seriously. So I'm kind of glad that they did. I think [00:15:00] so. There was someone who asked me at one point, how do you know our president? And I was like, how am I going to tell them? I have no idea who he is. Can I guess to be wrong? And then it's okay for me to say now, because you know, many, many years down the line, But back in the day I was like, I don't want to tell anyone because they're going to think I'm a crazy person.

Teresa:

Yeah, like, how did she even get here? Like, you know, we've just let her into the world. She's in like part of our world and no one actually knows how she got here. That's brilliant. So let me just talk about the, the business and the investment side. So did you pretty much know straight off the bat you would want to grow this business to a point where you needed investment?

Grace:

Yes, and it was from the very beginning because there's, like I was saying about the email thing, one of, when I got the idea that this was something I wanted to do, I was like, well, who would buy it? And I was on a flight actually with British Airways and I saw that they had all these spirits and all these wines. But they [00:16:00] had no cocktails and as a uni student, our definition of cocktails at the time was really Jack Daniels and Coke, right? That's just a mixer, but that was our cocktail. That was us getting a mixer and mixing it and that's how we were doing it. And so, you know, I felt like that's all they had, but they have all this sophistication and all this budget. Why are they not doing anything? So what? I sent, I reached out to Kelly Stevenson at the time and she, she received me with open arms. She was like, this is what we need. Cause I, I basically saw it as a portfolio. I was like, you have this, but you don't have that. And I'm sure you're having the conversation about how you get from A to B and how you get this cocktail solution. I have your, I have your solution here. Like this is, this is an incredible product. It's a frozen product and you just need to add alcohol to it. That was my first iteration at the time. Flavored ice. Yeah. And so you have your cock, you have your spirits, I have the flavor, let's work together and make cocktails. And so she was like, yes, come in, you know, and I went right to the top. It was British [00:17:00] Airways letting me into a meeting kind of almost two months after I decided I was going to do it. And she's telling me numbers of like, we have 90, 000 footfall and, you know, we, oh my God, I only have 90.

Teresa:

And to this point, there wasn't the product.

Grace:

There wasn't even a product. So I had to then find, you know, my parents were nice enough to kind of gimme the money to, to go create this, this, this prototype. And then within a month I had a prototype to go to the, to go to the meeting. So it, it was literally like, okay. She said, yes, now I need to actually go make the product. Yeah. And so I got into the meeting and it was like, this is something. And this,...