{"id":7675,"date":"2021-07-22T10:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/?p=7675"},"modified":"2026-01-07T13:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:42:10","slug":"sound-advice-patents-products-solveiga-pakstaite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-patents-products-solveiga-pakstaite\/","title":{"rendered":"Patents, products and pitching for small business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here are the show notes for episode five of Sound Advice, get year one in business right, brought to you by Sage.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re bringing you real stories from some brilliant entrepreneurs. Sound Advice is all about finding those practical tips that you can take away when you set up your small business.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to be there to help you through challenging times and give you a little lift when a problem seems too big to solve on your own.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if you have a fantastic invention or genius idea that you haven\u2019t seen developed by anyone else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re looking at a fascinating startup conundrum \u2013 how do you take a brand new innovation or technology and turn it into a viable venture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117 is a remarkable entrepreneur and the inventor of Mimica<\/a>, a unique food expiry labelling technology that reduces waste<\/a> by telling the user how much food has spoilt, simply by touching it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did she develop her idea, and how did she secure a patent to protect it? And when she wanted to build her university idea and turn it into something that could work for a full blown business, what did she do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navigate out show notes to quickly find the information you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick an every day problem and solve it. Hey presto, a USP
\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step outside of your comfort zone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t let anything stand in your way<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out if your idea is commercially viable<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re doing it, you\u2019re an entrepreneur<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apply for grants \u2013 you don\u2019t necessarily need a traditional bank loan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road to market might be long, keep adding value to consumers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find a good mentor to save you light years in time and pain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create the right partnerships<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go for small events, rather than big trade shows<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was ghosted by an investor, but I emerged the stronger for it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charge money for your time<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensure your business plan takes a bottom-up approach<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under sell and over deliver to investors<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use visual shortcuts to make people remember you<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow your passion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take time to research and understand your industry<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to think big<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work out how you will get to market<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to apply for a patent, and protect your idea<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to understand compliance in your relevant industry<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business valuation is a made-up figure; it\u2019s based on growth, value and risk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Develop your confidence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return the favour and share your expertise<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the path that works for you<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick an everyday problem and solve it. Hey presto, a USP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If, like me, you\u2019ve ever looked at that pack of mince in the fridge, seen it\u2019s a couple of days past expiry and wondered, \u201cdare I?\u201d, then you\u2019re going to absolutely love Mimica.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga has created food expiry labelling technology that tells you when things are off \u2013 goodbye arbitrary expiry labels, hello massive reduction in food waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I studied industrial design at Brunel University, which is another way of saying product design, which people are more familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was always interested in the idea of inclusive design. I did a year in industry, where I got the chance to work with people with visual impairments on a transportation project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While observing people on long train journeys, I got the chance to ask some nosy questions, which was fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned that a huge issue for people with visual impairments is knowing when food spoils because now, expiry dates are all visual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in my final year, I decided that this would be an interesting topic for my final major project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quickly realised that we\u2019re all blind to when our food spoils, which is why we waste so much. 60% of the food we throw away here in the UK is still perfectly edible, so the expiry date system has needed an overhaul for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I ended up developing a label that tells you exactly when food spoils by changing its texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the label is smooth, it\u2019s still perfectly safe and fresh to eat, and only when you feel bumps, that\u2019s when you know the food shouldn\u2019t be consumed anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way it works is that inside the label there\u2019s a gel which spoils at the same rate as food. We can calibrate that spoilage by mapping and matching the spoilage characteristics of a specific food as beef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By making the gel as temperature-sensitive as a piece of beef, it\u2019s going to respond to temperature in the same way, as the product travels through the supply chain and into our homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step outside of your comfort zone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That sounds like magic. You had to come up with that the solution, and then actually find the right material with those properties, so you can adjust and tweak to mimic the food in the packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that you were studying that at university, but are you just incredibly good at problem solving? Where did you start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I got the idea through looking at an old banana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The banana\u2019s skin was changing and was turning brown and spotty and a bit bumpy. It was clear that the banana was not as young and fresh as it used to be, and needed to be eaten soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be interesting if our packaging could respond like an old banana, letting us know some key information about its freshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew from that point that I would have to step outside of my comfort zone of product design and step into the world of chemistry and biology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reached out to a chemist on campus, who suggested that I look into the field of gels. He said it was an unexplored material and could have some interesting properties for me, particularly as I was looking for a texture change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a case of playing around and studying books to understand what would change the gel\u2019s properties, and then just running loads of tests in the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course these days it\u2019s not only in my university kitchen. Mimica now has a lab team doing that 24 hours, running experiments seven days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t let anything stand in your way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I love that you weren\u2019t a chemist, and that didn\u2019t stand in your way. I think for many people starting businesses, especially when they have ideas like yours, they say, \u201cwow, why hasn\u2019t that been done before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People stop. They say, \u201cthat\u2019s not my specialism, I didn\u2019t go to university to study that.\u201d But you came up against that wall and instead of going, \u201cstop\u201d, you said, \u201cHey, I\u2019ll ask someone who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incredibly, you haven\u2019t let anything stand in your way. Is that very much part of your personality, that you knock on doors and push on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first thing we were encouraged on our programme to do was to become experts in whatever we were designing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took that very literally, and unofficially did an honorary science degree on the side! To achieve good design, you need to look at it from a multidisciplinary perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made me go forward with Mimica? I think for most of my life, I\u2019ve been willing to take a punt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking about where that all started, I was incredibly shy after moving to the UK as a very young child. I was a weird Lithuanian girl who had just moved from Norway, where I was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had this weird accent and stuck out like a sore thumb. There was no way of me blending in, and obviously, I was going to be the subject of some picking on and bullying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mum told me, \u201cyou need to stand up for yourself, as you\u2019re not going to change who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She permitted me to punch people if I needed to. Usually, your parents might tell you something else, but she said, \u201cIf your teachers tell you off for punching someone, they can speak to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I disagree entirely with that school of thought, I think that permission to punch made me realise from a young age that I didn\u2019t always have to follow the rules if it wasn\u2019t in my best interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out if your idea is commercially viable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, you started the Mimica project at university \u2013 when did you decide it could be a business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that from day one, or did you have a eureka moment where you thought, \u201cthis is commercially viable\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There were two main steps in turning Mimica into a company. The first was a mid-final year exhibition where we would get advice from industry people on how we should finalise our projects and put them forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was talking to this packaging designer about a very early concept of Mimica Touch, and at the end of listening to me, we talked about it, and he said, \u201cYou should protect that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the first time anyone had planted a seed in my head \u2013 that this idea might be worth protecting and doing something with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was luckily enough to have some leftover scholarship money from the James Dyson Foundation, which we could use to take our projects to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because my materials were so cheap, I hadn\u2019t spent much of it at all towards the end of the year, so I decided to spend the rest of it on filing a patent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought: \u201cThis is just for me to learn how patents work. It\u2019s another string to my bow, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be filing a few during my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By then, the James Dyson Foundation encouraged me to apply for their award, the James Dyson Award, which looks for the best solution that solves ideas every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I applied, forgot about it, started an internship. In my second week, I got a call telling me that I\u2019d won the award, which was an utter surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went through an intense and odd few weeks of being in the press and radio doing all these interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, quite a few people were finding out about my concept. Food retailers and food producers started getting in touch with me asking me for meetings, for me to write proposals, and asking me, \u201cCan we trial this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, my reaction was, \u201cWhat are you talking about? This is just a concept. I\u2019m a graduate just trying to get on with my internship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I was sneaking out at lunchtimes from this internship to have meetings at the head office of Coca-Cola and other companies, so it was quite a crazy time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re doing it, you\u2019re an entrepreneur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I finished that internship but had been busy doing Mimica stuff on the side. I was telling my friends, \u201cGosh, I haven\u2019t lined anything new up after my internship.\u201d And they said to me, \u201cWhat are you talking about? You\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I was in denial about the fact that I was starting to be an entrepreneur, and for me, it was \u201cLet\u2019s just see what happens with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to give it six months and see where it went \u2013 we\u2019re still here, and now I\u2019ve got 10 people in my team, which is fantastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That is serious denial, given that James Dyson, probably the most famous British inventor of recent years, was giving you wedges of cash and telling you, \u201cYou\u2019ve got a great idea,\u201d while you\u2019re saying \u201cno, that\u2019s not right for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s an incredible story. So, how did you get on James Dyson\u2019s radar in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dyson had a close connection to the top design schools at Loughborough University and Brunel University and gave away six \u00a31,000 scholarships to final year students every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You just had to apply and explain why your project was interesting, and why it deserved the extra funding and the extra push. They selected me for one of those scholarships that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s amazing. Basically that \u00a31,000 was your startup pot, and was that enough to get you going?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apply for grants \u2013 you don\u2019t necessarily need a traditional bank loan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The \u00a31,000 paid for the early materials that I used in my final year and for finalising the patent. That\u2019s not going to get you very far, and I needed to apply for some more grants after the James Dyson Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, I was in denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d met a business consultant called Kristina at my graduate show, and she asked me, \u201cHave you protected this idea? This is incredible.\u201d And I said, \u201cyeah, I filed a patent last week.\u201d So she replied, \u201cHere\u2019s my card. We should bring it forward to market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t think it was serious, so I was thinking, \u201cyeah, yeah, yeah.\u201d But I took her card anyway. And then, a few months down the line, I\u2019d won the award, and all this madness was happening to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these food producers wanted to talk to me. I dug out her card which, thank goodness, I hadn\u2019t thrown away. I called her, and I said, \u201cKristina, help me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She helped me write my first grant applications because she said that\u2019s what I needed to do first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We won about, in the early days, 75% of them. So, that brought in a real chunk of cash that I could start doing something with, and we set up a lab partnership with the University of Chester, which is still where our labs are today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That allowed me to start hiring my first team members, which, of course, were scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t realise there are so many grants out there, but that\u2019s excellent advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019ve got a new, ingenious invention that could make a difference to the mass market, you don\u2019t (necessarily) have to go down the traditional route of going to your bank manager, because there are lots of pots of money everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you find the grants? Did your business consultant already know the best places to look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

She knew where the grants were. So, I think, if you\u2019re starting and you\u2019re interested in grants, speak to an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the grants were for social impact ideas, so not every business type will be eligible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you\u2019re developing technology, there\u2019s quite a decent amount of funding for that. But you can also have a Google, and there are also some platforms where you can have a look for grants that you can apply for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the platforms is called F6S<\/a>, and there\u2019s another with a strange name called YouNoodle<\/a>. I would check out those two platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can filter everything. \u201cI\u2019m early stage. I\u2019m working in agriculture. I\u2019m helping farmers do this, that and the other. And this is the amount that I\u2019m looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then you can find the grants that you can apply for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road to market might be long, keep adding value to consumers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How far are you from getting to market, and what will getting to market look like for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it about getting products on the shelves? Or is it experimenting with brands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What comes next in your journey?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re still at the stage where we\u2019re pre-proper launch. The lab work took several years before we got the process working every time, with chemistry that we could scale, but that didn\u2019t stop us working with brands to do some tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did a large consumer study with a big dairy company, which was incredibly successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I think what has to happen in parallel while developing the technology is checking that it will add value and consumers will want it by the time you\u2019ve finished creating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that\u2019s mostly the nature of the work that we\u2019ve been doing with brands, and looking at whether it will change behaviour and asking, \u201cis there a need for this? And who are going to be our early adopters? And who do we market to when we first launch this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the brand work that we\u2019ve been doing while working on completing the development. Now we are working on scaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Find a good mentor to save you light years in time and pain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s quite tricky to go from something that works when you\u2019re doing it in your university kitchen, through to something that works every time and is then scalable so you can manufacturer it in huge quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to me about that process, how tricky was it? You mentioned years, but talk me through step by step how you managed to surmount those challenges to get to that mass-market proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A few different things had to happen, which I wasn\u2019t equipped for when I first started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I initially relied on a lot of mentorships \u2013 people who had the business expertise that I lacked. Even though I was learning a lot every day, I still couldn\u2019t replicate other people\u2019s many years of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I set out to be a very avid learner and met many people in the food industry and from other industries because you can learn from many different disciplines. I became a very promiscuous mentee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, an opportunity turned up to bring a couple of experts in-house to the business, that had built a company called It\u2019s Fresh! that was also in the smart packaging space and looking to reduce food waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Fresh! do it differently, using different technology, that absorbs ripening hormones from the fruit and various.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two guys, who became Mimica\u2019s CEO [Laurence Kayson] and the CTO [Lawrence Matthews], built It\u2019s Fresh! in seven years and sold it for a considerable sum, which was very impressive. They were looking for their next thing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d already been talking to Matthews at various packaging events, after being introduced to him by the head of innovation at Marks and Spencer, who introduced me and said, \u201che\u2019s a few years ahead from you, he could teach you something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I kept in touch with Matthews, who mentored me a little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they exited the company, Matthews said, \u201cListen, I and the CEO are exiting It\u2019s Fresh! are we\u2019re looking for a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They said that they were interested in helping Mimica. So, I had a chat with them when I was still running everything myself. I had them scheduled in for an hour conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They came in and ended up staying three hours just because of how many stories they had to tell \u2013 about how to price it right and how to scale something from the lab bench to millions of units, and all of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew straight away that they were going to save me light years in time and pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I initially brought them on board as consultants that I probably couldn\u2019t afford at that time, but I knew that I had to find a way to get them on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, maybe nine months in, I invited them to have more senior positions in the company as our CEO and CTO, and that point I decided to step aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of their names are Laurence, so the CTO [Matthews] is called Lawrie and the other one we call Laurence [Kayson] is our CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that\u2019s an important strategic point, realising that I can\u2019t do it myself and knowing that I needed that help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the business is something that the CEO and CTO have been able to help us do, which was incredibly crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also shifted us away from grants. We still apply, but don\u2019t rely on them anymore, as we\u2019re bringing in some investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create the right partnerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Was it unusual chatting to a rival? Because when you\u2019re talking about It\u2019s Fresh!, it\u2019s a different technology that achieves the same aim. Is it just quite friendly in your industry where everyone helps each other? Because that\u2019s the opposite of what you imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I would say they weren\u2019t a direct competitor. It\u2019s Fresh! extends shelf life by removing the ripening hormone. They made these pads that go into the punnet, which aren\u2019t labels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, you could almost use them together, as they\u2019re complementary technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what our CTO and started talking about. He was asking, \u201cCan we extend shelf life and prove it?\u201d So, that was quite interesting for them, but Laurence and Lawrie ended up doing that work internally at Mimica as well, we\u2019re so lucky to have them on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go for small events, rather than big trade shows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But you met them at a trade show, right? Is that quite a good idea if you\u2019ve got an innovation, to get out to trade shows and meet people? Otherwise, you would never have made that connection, and you wouldn\u2019t have your CTO and CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not such a fan of trade shows. I met our CTO at a very small smart packaging seminar with only 30 people. But the right people were in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d look more for smaller, niche events \u2013 the smaller and the more niche as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to travel three hours outside of London to go to this one seminar. I did have a speaking slot, so I think that made it worth my while, but you might show up and think, \u201cgosh, I\u2019ve done all this travel to meet 29 people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if they\u2019re the right people?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trade shows are so big, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019d recommend going to them when you\u2019re first starting because you\u2019ll just get lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think you need to be in smaller, more comfortable rooms to develop your value proposition. You need to find out what works when you\u2019re talking to people, and that smaller setting is a perfect testbed for that before you do the bigger shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was ghosted by an investor, but I emerged the stronger for it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s brilliant advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you mind telling me about your funding history? So, you started with grants, but then you did some fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to me about what it\u2019s been like to raise money for your startup, and about the bumps in the journey. Because, a little bird told me that you\u2019d had a few interesting twists and turns along the way, so please, do share them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, so one story that comes to mind, it\u2019s not a very easy one for me to tell, and I\u2019m a bit scarred from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was time I was at the point of thinking, \u201cmaybe I should raise some investment. We\u2019ve done quite well with grants, but they might not last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had this one angel investor, a private investor very interested in what we were doing. He had committed to putting in some money, about \u00a350,000. That was a considerable sum at that time and still is. He was enthusiastic and said, \u201cthe money\u2019s ready. The terms look good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He even gave me a date when the money was going to come in, and all that was left was for him to sign the contract and send the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that day came. Nothing \u2013 I couldn\u2019t get hold of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weekend passed and still couldn\u2019t get hold of him. He\u2019d completely ghosted me, so I guess he got cold feet at the end. I\u2019m not sure what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I was naive and trusted that money would come in, I hadn\u2019t made any other provisions. I relied on that money coming in at that point because we\u2019d run out of grant money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, it got to the end of the month, and I couldn\u2019t pay people. Of course, I was never going to let that happen. I would never get in a position where people wouldn\u2019t get paid for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as a plan B, I had looked up some high-interest loans where I would have to put down my name as security, which means that they could go after me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that was what I was willing to do for my team. But, in the end, I said, \u201cThis is stupid \u2013 these interest rates are crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve never been the child who asked her parents for money, and they\u2019ve always told me, \u201cYou need to save for something. You need to be independent.\u201d So, it was such a moment of embarrassment for me to have to call my mum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And picture this. We\u2019d moved into a new office space. I found a room that hadn\u2019t been turned into an office yet, and I sat under a desk on the floor, calling my mum sobbing, asking her if she would lend me any money because I needed to pay my staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She agreed, but she said, \u201cJust so you know, this is your wedding money that we\u2019ve been saving throughout your whole life, so don\u2019t mess this up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, of course, I thanked her and took the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t a small amount \u2013 about \u00a310,000. I managed to pay my team, and of course, the next month was going to roll around, and I had to pull in a new investor within one month. I managed that, so that made us more stable for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Charge money for your time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was slowly able to pay my mum off within a year after borrowing that money. That\u2019s when I realised that I should start charging for my time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d been quite lucky after winning the James Dyson Award in that I had, as a result, some cool speaking gigs. I\u2019d done a TED talk<\/a> earlier on, and then afterwards I was invited to speak at a lot of conferences. And I never thought to charge for my time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was speaking to an influencer called Lauren Singer, who is active in the zero-waste community. I told her about all this speaking stuff, and she asked me, \u201cWhat rates do you charge?\u201d I replied, \u201cI hadn\u2019t even thought to charge them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember, she put her hand on my knee, and said, \u201cYou don\u2019t work for free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will always remember that advice, and from then I started asking for my time to be compensated. That\u2019s how I managed to pay my mum back, in speaking engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019m pleased that I learnt that lesson and found a new income stream to support myself while building Mimica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What that taught me is that, especially if it\u2019s someone you haven\u2019t known for that long, the deal isn\u2019t done until the money is in the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It taught me to be a lot less naive, and that\u2019s another reason why it was such a good idea for me to bring people in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a natural optimist, and it was such a good idea for me to bring in someone like our CEO, who is a lot more cautious. Even if the signs are there that things will go well, he will always think of how it can go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I believe that balance works very well for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensure your business plan takes a bottom-up approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And when you were going after funding, presumably you had a business plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How tricky was that to do given that you developed something brand new, and how on earth did you try and do forecasts and work out how much money you were going to make?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With great difficulty. It was a lot of fingers in the air and trying to research what I could. I studied the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Technology) sensor market, which I thought could be similar to ours, even though the pricing is higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s very little information available about the limited smart packaging market, so it was all based on what we think we could sell the product for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We always knew that it had to be very low cost for it to scale and have the impact that it needs to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We try to take more of a bottom-up approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say we\u2019re going to do red meat. We would ask who sells the most red meat in the UK, from our contacts, and is it feasible that we could work with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if we get that sale, how many units do they produce a year? What percentage of those units could we go into in the first year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we convince them maybe that could go onto 30% of their stock, and then 50% and then perhaps up to 90% of their stock. And then, what does that mean for us? And how much do we need to pay everyone to produce it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I think it\u2019s much easier when you\u2019re just entering a brand new area, to take the realistic bottom-up approach. Your numbers will be smaller, but they will at least be believable and achievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under sell and over deliver to investors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can always excel and outperform your numbers, and that\u2019s what investors want. They want you to under sell and over deliver, not the other way round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I initially had to work out these numbers before Laurence and Lawrie joined the company, but then after they joined they had stories where they had a real increase with a retailer going up from year one to year two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, investors ask, \u201cIs that possible?\u201d And Laurence and Lawrie have three examples of where retailers liked something, where they ramped up sales, and where retailers put it across all of their stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s nice having them say, \u201cYes, this is what happens in the industry.\u201d Rather than me just speculating on what could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That can\u2019t be understated \u2013 you need that experience in the room, especially if you\u2019re dealing with major retailers and food producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use visual shortcuts to make people remember you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How receptive have people been? You mentioned causing a big splash after the James Dyson Award, and that\u2019s when I heard of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, that period where you\u2019re all over the papers is short lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got to maintain that trajectory, so how hard was it to have meaningful conversations with the big brands? And how did you get your foot in the door?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My strategy was to say yes to all of the speaking engagements that I got invited to, mostly within food innovation type conferences and seminars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quickly realised that I only had to do five to 10 events until people felt that I was everywhere because it was a tiny bubble. Eventually, you start getting invites to meetings, and people wait behind to speak to you after your speaking engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having something memorable, like my red glasses, doesn\u2019t hurt as well. Because if you\u2019ve spoken to that person in the past and then you\u2019ve seen them again at another conference, they might be a big person at a large company, who have a lot of people approaching them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, having that visual shortcut to, \u201cI remember what we discussed last time. You\u2019re the label girl.\u201d It helps and builds that familiarity and confidence to bring you in and meet some other people in the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A combination of being memorable and a bit cheeky, and just saying hello even though you might be a bit too nervous to say hello. You grit your teeth and introduce yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, if you practice what you do in 30 seconds, hopefully, they\u2019ll be interested enough to find out some more and invite you to some meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Visual shortcuts, I love that. How did you learn about that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I did an A level in psychology, where I learned about memory, how the brain works, and shortcuts. Because the brain is lazy, it has to do a lot of stuff, so if you give it a chance to shortcut, it will take the shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that I think I realised why people remembered me because people always commented on my glasses. I said to myself: \u201cOK, these aren\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Follow your passion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You seem so passionate about reducing food waste, where does that come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a Lithuanian, everyone has a first-hand or second-hand experience of rationing while Lithuania was under the Soviet regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My parents and grandparents that were under that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They brought me up in a way where I was told, \u201cYou do not waste anything. You must eat every grain of rice on your plate. Whatever you don\u2019t eat today, it\u2019s just going to be your next meal, so you better eat it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming to university for the first time, I hadn\u2019t realised how much food waste was happening. Seeing students not planning meals, having blind faith in expiry dates, and not checking their food, was particularly shocking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that was on a small scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I started working at the campus caf\u00e9, and that\u2019s when I got a glimpse into industrial levels of waste. At the end of the day in the caf\u00e9, we threw out everything past the expiry date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were colossal bin bags full of sandwiches, paninis, salads and all sorts, being chucked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I started saying, \u201cCan I just take them with me?\u201d And the manager replied, \u201cYeah, whatever.\u201d So, I started feeding my halls. Wednesday night was the night I would close, so we\u2019d feed all my corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when I realised, \u201cWow, how many caf\u00e9s in the UK do this, and not just caf\u00e9s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It opened my mind about how much waste must be happening. And then, when I looked into the expiry dates, I started picturing these numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take time to research and understand your industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Where do expiry dates even come from? And how are they calculated? Because they seem to be a bit random sometimes \u2013 stuff goes off before, and stuff can last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like jars that say you have to consume within two weeks, and then three months later they\u2019re perfectly fine. Where does it all come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The expiry date hasn\u2019t been around for too long \u2013 just under 50 years. Marks and Spencer brought it in, but it wasn\u2019t actually for how we use it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They just wanted to print sell-by dates, specifically just for staff to use. They wanted to be known as the supermarket that sold all the freshest food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that point, the stock wouldn\u2019t be rotated and would stay on the shelves until it got sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is wonderful for food waste, but not so good for getting the freshest produce. So, Marks and Spencer was the first to start rotating stock and using these encoded dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, word spread and consumers started knowing where to look for these secret dates, and so Marks and Spencer said, \u201cOK, let\u2019s just print them big, on the front of the pack.\u201d And they did a lovely marketing campaign about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expiry dates were a point of innovation, but not for the purpose that it was initially for. And that\u2019s why still, these days, a lot of older people might call them sell-by dates because that\u2019s what they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very quickly, the UK government thought that these were a lovely idea, and by that point, a lot of supermarkets had copied and brought them in. And so, it got legislated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no foundation to how expiry dates got calculated, what they really mean, and that sort of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then around the same time, the EU (European Union) was being formed and was pulling together laws. The UK law of expiry dates got brought into the EU and spread throughout Europe. But no one had considered how to define or calculate waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And still, to this day, in law expiry dates are called dates of minimum durability, meaning that they have to be the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expiry dates don\u2019t have to be, but they recommend the worst-case scenario because you don\u2019t know with so many producing so many units, who will be the person who takes it home and doesn\u2019t refrigerate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they have to work to that worst-case scenario \u2013 it\u2019s assuming that we\u2019re not going to keep our food correctly, so that\u2019s why we\u2019re wasting so much good food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to think big<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, if Mimica is a massive success, how much waste do you think you could eliminate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much food are we throwing away even just in our homes because we believe it\u2019s past it? Could this have a massive impact? How big could it be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the UK we throw away about one-quarter of the food that we buy. That\u2019s like coming out of the supermarket with four bags of full products and then just leaving one of them in the car park, every single week, so that\u2019s mad to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By extending shelf life by a couple of days, it can have a massive impact, because an extra couple of days gives you the chance to find something at the back of the fridge and use it in time. We know for perishable products, if you increase shelf life from seven days by two days, to nine days, in-store waste gets cut in half, and waste in the home goes down by 63%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might easy enough to say, \u201cOK, well why don\u2019t producers just do that increase? Job done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But again, the issue is that you still don\u2019t know which of those units are not going to be held at the right temperature after they get purchased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s still a risk, and that\u2019s why we need individual level freshness indication, which is what we\u2019re providing at Mimica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work out you will get to market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, when are we going to see them on shelves? When am I going to be able to use this stuff? Because I know, it takes a lot of development, but you must be champing at the bit to see these in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Late last year the UK government announced some grants to help businesses that are going to help the economy and the country\u2026 not just build back, but build back better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because in the crisis, it\u2019s a good time for innovation, because when you put processes back in place, we can make them more sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019m pleased to say Mimica was the recipient of one of those grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what going to fund scaling up to pilot levels, our first product, which is the label on top of a cap for juice. We\u2019re going to be doing a small pilot of those in the middle of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re starting this month on another project, with some significant meat producers across Europe, not just in the UK. We\u2019re going to be scaling up our flat label specifically for red meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll be seeing a pilot on those in a couple of countries towards the end of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s so cool, congratulations. That must feel like a culmination of years of hard work, and then you\u2019re going to see people picking up these packets and taking them home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t wait. So, when they first get produced on the line, I want to be there in the factory seeing them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to apply for a patent, and protect your idea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned, \u201cI applied for a patent.\u201d A patent registers your invention and lets you take legal action against anyone who makes, uses, sells or imports your invention without your permission, according to gov.uk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How tricky is that to do? How much paperwork is it? How expensive is it? So for anyone who is listening that thinks, \u201cI want to get something patented.\u201d What\u2019s the process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The patent process is incredibly technical and fiddly. There are two scenarios. I was in a scenario where I didn\u2019t have much money but had a bit of time on my hands. Filing a patent is almost free. I think it\u2019s about \u00a330.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a patent is so expensive because usually, you want to work with a lawyer to write all of it. After all, they\u2019re going to make it watertight in legal language, and they are expensive. The administration fees aren\u2019t so bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I studied patents. There are specific rules, such as how big the margins in the technical drawings have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I researched all of the rules, looked at loads of examples, and wrote the first patent myself. I then paid a lawyer for an hour of his time to check it and then sent it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within 12 months you are allowed to make some amendments. So, within that 12 months and after it\u2019s filed, you can start talking about it because you\u2019ve got what\u2019s called the priority date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can get some grants in or get a bank loan, whatever you want to do, and then actually pay that lawyer for a bit more of their time to upgrade the patent before the 12 months is up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that\u2019s the way that I\u2019d recommend to create a patent \u2013 kind of like a hack to getting your idea protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we have two patents \u2013 we filed a second patent for the cap product. Our lawyer did the whole thing because ultimately that\u2019s much better and you know it\u2019s going to be watertight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But especially if you\u2019re not sure if you are going to take something forward, I think writing it yourself is not a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You haven\u2019t got that much to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And have you had to use the patent at all? Has anyone come to market with something similar? Any copycats nibbling around the edges?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not exactly with what we\u2019re doing in terms of with gels and texture change. Even before we started there\u2019s been other solutions working on expiry date alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The food industry is the largest globally, and there\u2019s fantastic innovation happening at other companies \u2013 I think it will take a group effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think this is more of an industry shift \u2013 it\u2019s not just going to be one solution on the market. So, we see each other at smart packaging events, and we ask how it\u2019s going and share best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand compliance in your relevant industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s great. And how did you manage to make inroads in the regulated food industry<\/a>? Because there\u2019s quite a lot, in terms of compliance, similar to the patent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you just have to learn and read all you could, or did you have some outside help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, the Food Standards Agency<\/a> does free online learning courses, so I did labelling regulation. I would recommend just going straight to the source, learning the rules yourself and getting certification at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what worked for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top, I would bolster that with asking questions. When I was at conferences, I enquired about practices. I asked questions like \u201cHow do you calculate shelf life?\u201d and \u201cWhat tests do you run?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They run shelf life tests and calculate how much they want to add on to have the most significant risk minimised. I was very interested in how they do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to be careful about what you write on the package and what you can say. The critical thing is not to mislead consumers or confuse them, particularly as we\u2019re supplementing the printed date system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business valuation is a made-up figure; it\u2019s based on growth, value and risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we talked about fundraising earlier, it can be very hard as a startup to put a realistic valuation on your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Dragons\u2019 Den watchers have seen the to and fro between the investors and the entrepreneur. How did you value Mimica when it was in its early days? And what process did you follow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s an interesting question. There are many different methodologies out there to calculate a company valuation that\u2019s not yet making any revenue, which is where everyone starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that after you\u2019re making revenue, it gets much more comfortable. You calculate multiples of your sales according to how quickly you think you can grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, before that, you can take a top-down approach, bottom-up approach, or you can take very complicated ones like, \u201cHow many senior people and how much IP do you have?\u201d I tried all of them, and every single time, you get a different number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in the end, of course, it is made up because it\u2019s just impossible to do that any other way. In the end, it\u2019s just what your investors are willing to pay and what they feel is good value, and what is going to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we threw a negotiation and ended up just agreeing on a valuation with our early investor. They\u2019ve been pleased with the value ever since, and we\u2019ve been able to increase it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, would you say though, to start by going high because there will always be a negotiation? So it\u2019s worth going for something a bit more ambitious because it\u2019s fair to get knocked down?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I initially went in at a pretty high valuation based on some real numbers in terms of the market and things I thought we could achieve, but if it\u2019s too high for the people who are supporting you, you need to bring it down a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I said, \u201cThere\u2019s a percentage of risk here, so let\u2019s lower it by that per cent.\u201d So, we ended up coming to a valuation that we could all agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to realise that they\u2019re investing in the person in that early stage, whether or not you can make these specific numbers in the market. The plan changes as soon as you write it down because there are so many things you can\u2019t control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if they believe that you took a logical way of working out the valuation and think that you can go after these prospects that will make these numbers happen, that\u2019s the most important thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact the numbers are not real is beside the point. It\u2019s whether you used a logical process to get them and understand the unknowns that will affect those numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like when you get points because you\u2019ve shown the right working out from your maths teacher, even if the answer isn\u2019t what they were expecting, at least you showed your workings and how you got there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. Most of it is showing up and attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Develop your confidence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I want to go back to something that you talked about right at the start of this episode, about how you\u2019ve had to evolve in your confidence as an individual to weather all the vicissitudes of this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you said that when you were a young Lithuanian girl, you had an accent and that you were picked on. You would never know talking to you now that you ever experienced any challenges, because you\u2019re so confident and eloquent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to me about that development as an individual, what did you have to go through to get over any fears or hang ups from your youth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the big things that helped me is making an excellent friend at the start of university, who had absolute full confidence in herself at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just being around her just made that rub off on me and realised that many of my hang ups were unfounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was a massive confidence boost. People showing interest in my design work boosted my confidence as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of public speaking, speaking in groups, and having that level of confidence, it\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to say \u201cwatch my TED talk\u201d, but I also want to say \u201cdon\u2019t watch my TED talk\u201d, because I was so nervous and it was the most awful talk I\u2019ve ever given because I gave that at the start of this journey,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people don\u2019t realise that developing confidence in speaking is just showing up and doing it. If you don\u2019t get the chance to do a lot of public speaking, get in meeting or group situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re listening to a talk, be the first person asking a question. It\u2019s not going to be the best question because it\u2019s your first one. But then you ask another one, and that one will be slightly better, and better phrased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, it\u2019s about realising when you\u2019re talking about your product or solution, that you need to get over yourself, as they\u2019re listening to what you\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re not particularly interested in your weird mannerisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try to keep those at bay, but they\u2019re here because they\u2019re interested in what you are doing. If you are passionate about what you are doing, you won\u2019t need notes. And you\u2019ll keep doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day people will start complimenting you on your speaking skills and you\u2019ll think, \u201cWhere did that come from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return the favour and share your expertise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I love the notion that confidence is almost like a muscle, and the more you use it, the better and stronger it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, do you do any mentoring yourself now? Having been the promiscuous mentee?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never forget the people who helped me take my first steps, so wherever I see an opportunity where I feel like I can teach people about the first grants that they can apply for, or I can help someone figure out what\u2019s the easiest way to get some prototypes manufactured, I will take the opportunity to meet with someone and continue to meet with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just giving advice, I always try to vouch for them as well. If I spot a competition they should be applying for, I\u2019ll do that, and if there are nominations for an upcoming entrepreneur, I will nominate people I\u2019m mentoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also talking about what they\u2019re doing in groups they might not be in yet, so being an advocate is as crucial as being a mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the path that works for you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Burn-Callander:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned that you did an internship. When you\u2019re at university, there was a specific path that you envisioned for yourself, that probably works for someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does it feel to have taken a different route?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think that being an entrepreneur and having a startup has been a more rewarding choice? I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s a tricky question to answer, because you haven\u2019t lived the other life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been much harder, longer than I thought it\u2019d be. But I\u2019d be a fool not to choose this path again, because of the speed at which I\u2019ve been able to become a much more well-rounded person and the networks that I\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of it is arduous work, but it\u2019s gratifying. You sometimes end up in cool situations, like being invited to Houses of Parliament, and getting to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are cool moments, and I wouldn\u2019t trade the well-rounded professional person I\u2019ve become today. However, I\u2019d love to get back to doing more design work in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like what you\u2019ve read? Subscribe to Sound Advice!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can listen to more startup stars in conversation with Bex by subscribing to Sound Advice on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen to our podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would love for you to join our community and share your insights and stories. Perhaps you would make a great future guest on Sound Advice, let us know on Twitter @SageIreland<\/a> using the hashtag #SoundAdvicePodcast or in the comments below, and we will get back to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can follow Solveiga on Twitter at @designbysol_<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Small business toolkit<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Get your free guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template to help you manage your business and achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload your free toolkit<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mimica founder Solveiga Pak\u0161tait\u0117 talks about the importance of finding good mentors, and how to protect your business idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1161,"featured_media":8569,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162,163,165],"tags":[132,332,153],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[232],"imagine_tag":[230,234],"coauthors":[439],"class_list":["post-7675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","category-money-matters","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-start-business","tag-sound-advice-podcast","tag-startup-stories","post_format-post-format-audio","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Bex Burn-Callander","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_5.jpg","imagine_tags":{"230":"Small business","234":"Start-up business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Ireland","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}