And the winner is...

And the winner is...

Hello all you beautiful ladies. What with the recent batch of lovely weather, three more fairs under our belts and, oh yes, the small matter of having won the BPW competition, we are on cloud nine. Yes ladies, you are not having a pregnancy induced dizzy spell, you are reading that correctly - we won! Believe us, we were surprised too.

So let's go back to where it all started. It was around May time when we entered the Business Plan Competition where we applied with our 40, yes 40, page business plan in which we outlined the strengths (of which there are many) of mara mea and why we thought we deserved to be crowned champions - not that we thought we actually would. There were three different stages in which to submit applications and in true chaos engulged, in my opinion we submitted at the third and final stage. Fortunately our later entry did not seem to place us at a disadvantage as we were chosen to be one of the top five by the judges. After further consideration the judges then picked us to be in their top three - WOW! This ensured a cash prize and we were overwhelmed that we had come in the top three for the whole of Berlin Brandenburg, so we were already more than happy whatever happened next. But the competition for the top spot was far from over. We then had to create a video for the final in which we would explain mara mea and our products. However, the nervous tension was all a bit too much for one of us - namely Maren- and those hot salty beads of water started rolling down her cheeks. (Thankfully, she can laugh about it now.) But two packets of Kleenex later, with the shooting complete and the tears wiped away, all we could do now was wait...

After another jammed packed day of packing orders, talking to clients and the daily madness we left the office on Thursday 14th July at the unusually early time of 5:00 p.m. to get ready before heading over to the Atrium of Investitionsbank, Berlin for the competition. Arriving at 6:30 p.m., Dorina suitably wearing Travel Tale in navy and Maren wearing Made in Heaven, we were ready to strut our mara mea stuff. As we entered we were grabbed for something, unknown to us, would be the first of many photos. We were then taken upstairs to the main room, a room buzzing with young entrepreneurs all hoping to win their respective awards and cash in the prize money.  At the entrance we were offered white wine, to which Dorina politely replied 'maybe later.' Needless to say what with our nervous anticipation and the thought of having to speak on stage, we opted for a more sobering still water. We were then briefed on the running order for the evening before being shown to our booth, where we sat with our rivals. Philosoffee specials in coffee whilst Oculyze, quote, 'develops and builds handheld microscopes with integrated image analysis.' With such innovative and technologically advanced competition we could only hope but to come second at best. Nevertheless we made polite conversation while nervously sipping on our water before watching the awards. Our award was the last to be presented, but as Maren returned from her tenth nervous visit to the toilet, it was finally time to find out our fate.

After the introductory videos of the three businesses had been played, we were then invited onto the stage - senorita bella diaper bag securely in hand. After what felt like an eternity of introduction and well meant jokes, they were poised and ready with the third place award. 'Philosoffee' they announced. We clapped politely and took some deep breaths to slow our ever increasing heart rates. More speeches and an interview ensued before they were ready to announce the runner up, and consequently, the winner. 'So, the second prize goes to...' the presenter hesitated for opitmum dramatic effect and just to ensure our hearts really were working overtime, '...Oculyze.' Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds while we made sure a mistake had not been made. No, no, they were definitely handing over the runner up prize to Oculyze, which meant we had won! As Maren gleefully launched herself on to Dorina, our joy was more than evident. As Oculyze received their (second place) prize we continued to hug and smile, laugh in disbelief, and then hug and smile some more.  In a total daze we were then ushered to the front of the stage to be presented with our (first place) prize and to be interviewed about Mara Mea - we were more than happy to oblige. All competitors then joined us on stage for a final photo before we returned to our place to be greeted by a wave of hugs and well dones.

The evening was then followed by that glass of wine that we had nervously rejected only an hour earlier and plenty of interest in Mara Mea. As potential clients and customers curiously made their way over, skeptics who were still wondering just how a bag had managed to win over a company that does something as high tech as developing and building 'handheld microscopes with integrated image analysis.' We soon silenced these skeptics as we explained the beauty and practicality of mara mea products, and interest only continued to grow. Of course, we would not have been able to achieve this without the help of our wonderful team, friends and family, for whom we are incredibly grateful. We also just gave our first radio interview this week (https://www.fluxfm.de/neustart/), which also demonstrates that mara mea is going from strength to strength. We are now looking forward to the delivery of our autumn/winter 2016 collection which will be available to all you lovely people very soon.

Before we leave you for this week, we would like to leave you with one last sentiment. Our victory not only showed the power of hard work and determination but was also a victory for the everyday woman. There is already far too much technology in the world, but mums and women alike are crying out for simple yet stylish products which make their everyday lives that little bit easier - enter, Mara Mea, winner of the 2016 BPW award.

And the winners are…

Hello all you beautiful ladies. We're on cloud nine. Why? Two more fantastic and successful trade fairs, the beautiful, warm weather, and... of course, winning the Berlin Brandenburg Business Plan Competition. That's right, girls, you're not having pregnancy-induced dizziness. You read that right – we won. And believe us, we were very surprised. And we still are. ;)

We'll rewind to the beginning for you. A few weeks ago, we spontaneously decided to submit our 40-page business plan to BPW. 40 pages about mara mea, full of explanations, production methods, marketing ideas, and lots and lots of numbers. Since our plan was already finished, we only submitted it in the third stage of the competition, sort of as newcomers. When we got a call from the lovely Yvonne from BPW, we could hardly believe it. The jury had chosen us as one of the top 5. We then pitched for third place in front of a crowd of premium partners and bankers. We were convincing. The winners for first, second, and third place were to be announced later in the atrium of the IBB. An image film was shot, which was shown later on the evening of the awards ceremony. After Maren lost a few drinks during filming because she was so excited, she wanted to put a plastic bag over her head during the awards ceremony to avoid the embarrassment of the video. But it wasn't that bad. The video makers demonstrated their skills and created a fantastic film from the available material. Fortunately, we can both laugh about it now. You can't always make everything perfect, and without moments like these, it would be kind of boring. Now it was time to wait... waiting for the awards ceremony.

After a typical day packed to the brim with packing orders, talking to customers and business partners, and the daily mara mea madness, we left the office on Thursday, July 14th at the very unusual time of 5 p.m. to get ready for the awards ceremony. A 15-minute shower, change, and back in the car. We arrived in the IBB atrium at 6:30 p.m. sharp - dressed head to toe in mara mea, of course :) Dorina in travel tale in dark blue and Maren in made in heaven . Having just arrived there after a sprint, we were snapped straight away for a photo. This was to be the first of many photos that evening. The atrium was filled with 400 people: visitors, relatives, the press, and many young entrepreneurs, all hoping for their colleagues, daughters, sons, or favorites to win first prize. Of course, we were also eager for the prize money :) Upon arrival, we were immediately offered a glass of white wine, which we politely declined due to our already growing nervousness and replaced with still water. In our lounge area, we met our competitors again in the BPW Plan. Since we already knew each other from previous press conferences and events, we were all happy to meet again in the relaxed atmosphere. Philosoffee specializes in cold-brewed coffee, while Oculyze develops microscopes for analyzing yeast cells.

After the introductory videos of the three entrepreneurs were played, we were called onto the stage – naturally with our senorita bella diaper bags in tow. Third prize goes to... "Philosoffee." At that moment, we were already surprised. So. Take a deep breath and let's move on. Our inner excitement grew. After the thank yous and speeches, the second place winner was finally announced. The moderator paused for a long time to keep us in suspense. "...Oculyze." At that moment, time stood still for a few seconds. We wondered inside if there had been a mistake. But no! They gave Oculyze second prize, which also meant we had won. We were so happy that we couldn't hold it back. Happy dances followed hugs, and then more happy dances. Overjoyed, we answered the moderators' questions.

The evening was rounded off by the glass of wine we nervously declined earlier, and a great deal of interest in mara mea. Skeptics wanted to know how mara mea managed to outperform a high-tech company. That evening, we explained the bags and products just as often as we would at a trade fair. It was a lot of fun.

We couldn't stay long, as our taxi to the airport was already booked at 4:30 a.m. We flew to Munich to the trade fair to present our SS17 collection to retailers. The usual mara mea madness.

Press inquiries followed from Startup Valley, the Berliner Zeitung, and the Tagesspiegel. We also had the opportunity to give our first radio interview on Flux FM this week.

We are now looking forward to our Fall/Winter 2016 collection delivery, which will be available to all of you soon.

Before we start the new week, we would like to thank you all!  Our victory showed us that all our hard work pays off. None of this would be possible without our fantastic friends, family, our outstanding team, and our amazing customers, who continually motivate us with their fantastic feedback. Thank you, thank you, thank you!