Pitch Day
ピッチの日
Two months later, the team received an to a startup event.
Ten young companies would each their idea to a of investors.
The winner would receive enough money to run the app across the whole city.
Rio practiced the speech every night until she knew each word by heart.
Maya prepared the numbers, and Ken made sure the live would not crash.
On the morning of the event, all three of them felt sick with .
The room was bright, the chairs were full, and the judges looked serious.
When their turn came, Rio walked to the front and took a deep breath.
"In the last three months, we have helped shops save five hundred meals," she began.
She explained the simple idea: surplus food on one side, hungry people on the other.
"If you in us, we will bring this service to every neighbourhood," she said.
The worked perfectly, and a quiet wave of interest filled the room.
Then one investor, a sharp woman in grey, raised her hand to ask a question.
"Your idea is kind, but kindness does not pay bills," she said calmly.
"If you give the food away for free, how will you ever earn money?"
For a second, the room went silent, and Rio's seemed to shake.
But Maya stepped forward and answered the question with a voice.
"Shops pay a small monthly because we bring them new customers," she explained.
"The food stays free for those who need it, and the shops still win."
The woman in grey nodded slowly and wrote something in her small notebook.
The founders could not tell whether that nod meant yes or no.
They walked off the stage with shaking hands but proud, beating hearts.
"Whatever happens now," Rio whispered, "we told the truth up there."
The results would be announced by email within the next three days.
That night, none of them could sleep, waiting for a message that might change everything.