Anna Cobb got a second chance at life and created a business. She founded Rejuvenation, a plant-based energy drink, after being hospitalized with an allergic reaction to another energy drink.
At the Black Venture Summit in Tulsa, Okla., after pitching her business to attending investors, Cobb spoke to rolling out about Rejuvenation.
What is Rejuvenation?
Rejuvenation is a 100% plant-based energy juice company that provides consumers with high energy without the negative effects of jitters or crashes. It uses only six allergen-free organic ingredients.
How did you create a business based on a personal experience?
I suffered a severe allergic reaction in 2017 to a synthetic energy supplement that left me on life support in a coma.
I was blessed. Honestly, it was not me; it was God who brought me back, and gave me a second chance at life because I was able to go back to school, and that’s really what motivated me to pursue this business.
I wanted to research everything about what happened to me and see if it was happening to others. When I realized this was a huge problem in the energy drink category, I was like, “Someone’s got to do something about this.” On top of that, there was no one who looked like me doing anything about it, either.
What really motivated me was just the fact that there are so many other people suffering, and they believe they have to suffer, and there will never be a solution. But now, there is a solution.
What is your superpower?
I am a great listener, and I know how to make people feel loved and supported. That’s something I feel like is more of a blessing that God has given me. I always pray every day, asking for Him to talk through me all the time, and if I can be a blessing to others, it’s a blessing for me.
If Tuskegee University called you to be the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony, what would your steps to success be for those graduates?
If Tuskegee called me to come back, I would be more than excited to come back and speak for a graduation.
I would want to leave them with: Don’t think because you’re in this small community that there aren’t other communities that you can adapt to, as well. A lot of people will leave college thinking like, “I’m a small fish in a big pool,” when really, you’re a big fish in a small pool. That’s just the biggest thing I had to learn for myself: “I’m thrown out into this job market. I’m thrown out into this huge world. How do I make a name for myself?”
That’s what I really want to start coaching people through: How do you network and get into these rooms where people will always remember you and you make a lasting impression on their life?
How have you done that?
Everywhere I go, I always try to meet at least 2-3 people, really connect with them on a deeper level, and try to figure out ways I can leverage whatever they’re doing for whatever I’m doing, and it takes you places.
How have you funded your business?
We’ve raised over $400K in capital from pitch competitions and grants. I was a Pharrell Williams Black Ambition prize winner where we won $100K, which was life-changing. My first check came from Black Girl Ventures at a Something in the Water pitch competition.
