Functional beverage brand Sensori has scored yet another sweet victory.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, co-founder and CEO Shanna Pearre pitched live at the Good Soil Forum at the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas, TX. According to a press release, the event, held by Bishop T.D. Jakes in partnership with Wells Fargo, provides entrepreneurs with capital, resources, and networking opportunities to help them scale their businesses. Wells Fargo’s Seed Capital Pitch Competition awarded selected entrepreneurs a total of $500,000 in equity-free funding.
“The American Dream must be more than a story people are told; it must be a pathway they can enter,” T.D. Jakes, CEO of T.D. Jakes Enterprises and founder of the Good Soil Movement, said in a press release. “Good Soil is built to bring founders closer to the capital, trusted relationships and practical tools that turn a business idea into an ownership story that can create opportunity for others.”
The Forum also brought together founders, corporate leaders, investors, potential customers, and business partners with speakers including Tyler Perry, John Hope Bryant, Brian Hooks, Boris Kodjoe, and Nicole Ari Parker.
This year, the pitch competition was broken down into two categories: tech-enabled and non-tech/consumer packaged goods. Sensori qualified for the latter. Co-founded by Darean Rhodes (chief operating officer), Sensori is a nonalcoholic functional beverage brand powered by botanicals and nootropics, according to its website. The brand says its ingredients support an “elevated drinking experience,” mood balance, emotional well-being, focus, relaxation, and natural energy. Sensori targets women, caregivers, and professionals of color, according to a description provided during the Good Soil Forum, per TikTok.
Sensori placed as first runner-up in its category at the Good Soil Forum, earning a $75,000 award. Nclusive Scan, founded by Somer Stanley, won the grand prize and received $150,000.
“Built on an idea I came up with from my own negative relationship with alcohol. Backed by a community across the country. And now a check from @goodsoilforum and @wellsfargo to keep building,” Pearre wrote on Instagram. “A win for us, but an even bigger win for the vision and everyone who believes in it.”
@shannapearre POV: Bishop TD Jakes gave me a $75,000 blessing today ✨😍🚀 #fyp #entrepreneur #femalefounder #tdjakes
Sensori also received $20,000 in the North Texas Founders category, according to information shared on Instagram. The achievement follows Sensori’s oversubscribed nearly $1 million pre-seed round, backed by more than 40 creators, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
Pearre told AFROTECH™ that the funding follows one of Sensori’s “biggest challenges” as a company: a mid-August manufacturing failure that sent $120,000 in product inventory down the drain. The founders were out of stock for six weeks.
“During that time, the bills didn’t stop coming. We still had a business to operate, a team to support, and growing customer demand to fulfill. We ultimately had to use our own cash flow to repurchase and reproduce inventory we had already paid for. So while we recently celebrated raising nearly $1 million from creators and investors, behind the scenes, we were navigating a crisis that had significantly strained our cash flow and forced us to invest in the same inventory twice,” Pearre said.
“That’s why winning $95,000 through the Good Soil competition is truly game-changing for us. Less than two months after experiencing a six-figure loss, we’re receiving an infusion of capital that allows us to reinvest in inventory, strengthen our operations, and better meet the growing demand for Sensori. I think people often see the headlines about how much money a startup has raised, but they don’t always see what it actually costs to keep building one. This win is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn’t just about celebrating the highs. It’s about finding a way forward through the lows,” she continued.
