Mastering the Pitch with Kat Weaver—How Storytelling Secures Funding

Braving Business: Tales of Entrepreneurial Resilience and Courage in the Face of Adversity

Tal J Zlotnitsky

Entrepreneurship, How To, Business, Education

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In episode 3 of season 4 of Braving Business, we sit down with Kat Weaver, a 2x accidental entrepreneur who turned crisis into opportunity—twice. Kat launched her first business from a college dorm room, built it into a successful company, then faced a devastating fire that could have ended everything. Instead of giving up, she used storytelling to win 22 of 23 pitch competitions, secure six figures in funding, and eventually sell the business for a successful exit—but not before nearly losing the deal four times.

After a viral FedEx video featuring her pitch tips, Kat realized she had a gift for helping others. That’s when she founded Power to Pitch, a company that helps early-stage founders perfect their pitch, land investors, and secure funding faster. Now, she’s on a mission to help founders raise $100 million in grants and venture capital—and she’s well on her way.

In this conversation, Kat shares:

How losing everything to a fire transformed the way she thinks about storytelling in business.
The most common mistakes founders make when pitching—and how to fix them.
Why negotiation is everything—and how to turn a “no” into a “yes.”
What VCs are really looking for when they hear a pitch (and what they secretly hate).
The mindset shift that took her from college entrepreneur to expert in securing funding.

Kat’s tennis background taught her grit and sacrifice, and she applies that same relentless energy to helping founders win in the fundraising game.

Key Takeaways:

Every founder needs a great story—investors don’t just buy into numbers, they buy into vision.
Resilience is everything in entrepreneurship—persistence separates those who raise capital from those who don’t.
Everything is negotiable—you just have to know how to frame the conversation.

Connect with Kat Weaver:

LinkedIn: Kat Weaver

Contact Us: Visit www.bravingbusiness.com for more information, resources, and episodes.

Kat’s entrepreneurial journey is proof that storytelling isn’t just important—it’s the difference between securing funding and getting overlooked. Tune in to hear her secrets to winning pitches, raising capital, and turning setbacks into success.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of the Braving Business podcast is sponsored by, well, me.
0:04.8	I'm PJ Binwana. I've been in the domestic and international logistics space for over 30 years.
0:09.3	If you need any assistance with transportation or logistics, my team and I will jump at the chance to help.
0:14.8	Whether it be parcel shipments, e-commerce, pallets and freight, full truckload, international air and ocean, imports, exports,
0:21.4	warehousing, and distribution, or really anything under the logistics umbrella, we got you covered.
0:26.0	For more details, please go to shipwithpj.com. That's shipwithpj.com. Reach out to me there,
0:33.7	mention you found me on this podcast for a special surprise. And one last quick thing,
0:38.2	if you enjoy this episode, please stay on after the show to learn more about the Braving Business
0:42.7	podcast and other great episodes for you to discover. And now, let's get the show started. Well, hello there.
1:03.4	Hello, sir. I thought you were going to say hello there, Captain.
1:06.3	Oh, well, that's so true. That's so true. Someone in this conversation, not me, just bought a boat. All right, let's let's hear it. I always heard that the number one best day of a boat owner's life is selling the boat and the second best day is buying it. So where are we at? How's how's everything going? I thought it was the other way. I thought it was the other way. I said the best, well, man, I don't know.
1:28.2	Well, gosh, it's already been an adventure. I bought a boat, my first boat. I'm sort of excited about it.
1:35.9	And on the first trip, one of my engines overheated. So now that's going to need to be dealt with isn't that fun okay but if you're like an entrepreneur
1:47.0	that shouldn't surprise you uh we got to expect these kinds of things so i feel like you're
1:51.7	already prepared for it look at cat just bringing it on i love that she's right let's talk about
1:57.6	resilience immediately don't don't don't feel sorry for yourself just shake shake it off. Get back on there. That's right. You bought a boat.
2:04.1	Another check for a thousand bucks and you'll be right back in the game. That's how I get it. Well done, Kat.
2:12.2	Well, all right. So let's let's bring Miss wonderful Kat in to the conversation.
2:18.3	Learn more about this fantastic guest of ours.
2:21.3	Our guest today, of course, is Kat Weaver, a two-time accidental entrepreneur,
2:27.3	whose journey is as inspiring as it is instructive.
2:30.3	Kat launched her first company from her college dorm room,
	...

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