The Best Business Decisions Don't Always Begin with Winning

If you've been following The Remontant for a while, you might remember my very first Kirkland Pitch Competition back in 2025.

At the time, I wasn't pitching the business you know today.

I was pitching a dream.

A dream of opening our very first storefront in Downtown Kirkland—a place where people could shop our clean, handcrafted fragrance products and gather around a table to create something together.

I was pitching what would become Kirkland's first candle bar.

I wish I could tell you that first pitch went exactly as planned.

Instead...

I walked onto the stage, had a really strong start... and then completely froze.

Like a deer in headlights.

My mind went blank.

I started rambling about my business, skipped over the things I had spent weeks preparing, and before I knew it, I was walking off stage feeling completely embarrassed.

At the time, it felt like one of those moments you wish you could erase from your memory.

But looking back now, I'm actually grateful it happened.

Because if it hadn't, I don't know if I ever would have learned one of the biggest lessons entrepreneurship has taught me.

Growth rarely looks graceful.

(And honestly... if you know me in real life, you know I'm pretty clumsy anyway, so I guess this was kind of on brand. 😂)

 

 

Coming Back Was Harder Than the First Time

When this year's Kirkland Pitch Competition came around, I honestly questioned whether I wanted to do it again.

It's one thing to try something new.

It's another thing to willingly return to the place where you felt like you failed.

Every part of me remembered how nervous I had been the year before.

The racing heartbeat.

The shaky hands.

The fear that I'd freeze all over again.

But I also knew something else.

If I never got back on that stage, that first experience would become the story I'd tell myself forever.

So... I signed up anyway.

There's another part of this story that most people don't see.

Along with stage fright, I also live with dysautonomia, a condition that affects my autonomic nervous system. Things most people never have to think about—like regulating heart rate, blood pressure, circulation, and even staying upright—don't always come naturally for my body.

Stress doesn't just make me nervous.

It can make me physically sick.

The more anxious I become, the harder it is for my body to regulate itself. I can become dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseated. Eating beforehand is incredibly important because my body needs that fuel, but if you've ever been extremely nervous, you also know how hard it is to eat when your stomach is in knots.

It's a constant balancing act.

So when I say getting back on that stage was difficult, I don't just mean emotionally.

I mean physically too.

But I wasn't going to let that stop me.

So Much Can Change in a Year

One of my favorite things about looking back isn't just seeing how much I've grown.

It's seeing how much The Remontant has grown.

When I gave that first pitch in 2025, our storefront didn't exist yet.

I was pitching our vision for opening our very first storefront in Downtown Kirkland—a place where people could shop our handcrafted fragrance products and create their own candles through our candle-making classes.

We were pitching what would become Kirkland's first candle bar.

The funny thing is...

Whether we won the competition or not, we were opening that store anyway.

The pitch competition took place in February, and we opened our doors that May, just as we had always planned.

Winning would have been amazing, but it was never going to determine whether we chased our dream.

We believed in it enough to build it either way.

Since then, we've welcomed hundreds of guests into our candle-making classes, celebrated birthdays, date nights, bridal showers, corporate events, and so many special moments with our community.

Coming back to the Kirkland Pitch Competition this year felt completely different.

This time, I wasn't pitching our first storefront.

I wasn't pitching our candle-making classes.

I was pitching the next chapter of The Remontant.

Our vision of becoming Kirkland's first perfume bar.

Looking back now, it's kind of surreal.

The first time I stood on that stage, I was pitching a dream.

Today, that first dream has become a reality.

We opened our storefront.

We became Kirkland's first candle bar.

And now, the idea I pitched this year has become a reality too.

The Remontant is now proud to be Kirkland's first perfume bar.

I Didn't Win...

And honestly?

I'm okay with that.

Because something much more important happened.

This time, I gave my entire pitch.

I didn't freeze.

I didn't lose my place.

I stood on that stage, shared my vision, and walked away knowing I had done exactly what I came there to do.

For me, that was the real victory.

Would winning have been amazing?

Absolutely.

But conquering a fear that had followed me for an entire year felt even bigger.

The Best Business Decisions Don't Always Begin with Winning

Entrepreneurship has a funny way of redefining what success looks like.

Sometimes success is making your first sale.

Sometimes it's opening your first storefront.

Sometimes it's hearing your name announced as the winner.

And sometimes...

Success is simply having the courage to try again.

I think we spend so much time celebrating outcomes that we forget to celebrate growth.

The quiet kind.

The kind that nobody else really notices.

The kind that changes who you become.

Blooming Again

One of the reasons I named my business The Remontant is because of what the word means.

A remontant flower is one that blooms more than once in a single season.

I've always loved that idea.

Because life isn't made up of one perfect bloom.

It's made up of seasons.

Some seasons are exciting.

Some are painful.

Some are full of self-doubt.

And some ask you to do the very thing that scares you the most.

Standing on that stage again was my way of choosing to bloom.

Not because I wasn't afraid.

But because I was.

And I chose to do it anyway.

This Isn't the End

I still have a long way to go when it comes to public speaking.

I'm still learning.

I'm still practicing.

I'm still growing.

But if there's one thing this experience reminded me, it's that confidence isn't something you're born with.

It's something you build.

One uncomfortable moment at a time.

One presentation at a time.

One step back onto the stage at a time.

Thank You

To everyone who came to the first pitch competition...

Thank you.

To everyone who came back this year and cheered me on...

Thank you.

To every person who has encouraged me, supported The Remontant, believed in my vision, or simply reminded me to keep going when things felt hard...

Thank you.

Your encouragement means more than you know.

This year's pitch competition didn't end with a trophy.

It ended with something better.

A reminder that I am capable of more than I believed a year ago.

When I really stop and think about it, something kind of funny happened.

I didn't win the first Kirkland Pitch Competition.

A few months later, we opened our dream storefront anyway and became Kirkland's first candle bar.

I didn't win the second Kirkland Pitch Competition either.

And a short time later, we opened Kirkland's first perfume bar anyway.

Winning would have been incredible.

But it was never the thing that determined whether I kept building.

Maybe that's the lesson I hope someone else takes away from this too.

You don't have to be fearless.

You don't have to be perfect.

You don't even have to win.

Sometimes the best business decisions don't begin with winning.

Sometimes they begin with believing in your vision enough to build it anyway.

That's what The Remontant has always meant to me.

A flower that blooms more than once in a single season.

Sometimes you bloom.

Sometimes you stumble.

Sometimes you freeze on stage in front of a room full of people.

And then...

You bloom again.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Here's to whatever blooms next. 🌸