Bringing it Back to Beyond the Beach 2024 - Cherie Williams

Welcome to another installment of Bringing it Back to Beyond the Beach, where we catch up with attendees from our March conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This week, we spoke with Cherie Williams, CEO of Veekle, a platform for peer-to-peer car sharing in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. In June 2023, Veekle beat out 34 competitors to win Kingston BETA’s Startup Stage Event for $300,00 in prizes from the Development Bank of Jamaica’s BIGEE Program. Cherie came to Beyond the Beach to pitch Veekle to our panel of tech experts, including Melissa Pegus, Managing Director of Techstars Atlanta, and Nasir Ali, General Partner and cofounder of Upstate New York’s StartFast Ventures and cofounder of Upstate Venture Connect. Read on to learn how Cherie thinks Beyond the Beach stacks up in comparison to other Caribbean tech events, why it’s important to always be on your A game with investors, and what was so special about how we closed out Beyond the Beach this year. 

How did you hear about  Beyond the Beach, and why did you decide to go?

[The first Beyond the Beach in 2023] was actually happening that same weekend that the Expo Jamaica was happening, so I couldn’t attend. And then this year… Ingrid [Riley], mentioned there was going to be another one in March and I told her I would like to attend. 

Did you have any expectations going into the event? 

I knew it was a group of investors, entrepreneurs and other interested participants, but I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew it was going to be [held] in more of an intimate setting where you can actually get to know everyone there.

How would you describe  other tech events you’ve attended in the Caribbean in comparison to Beyond the Beach? 

It’s the intimate setting [at Beyond the Beach]; the other conferences are much bigger. You may not get to have in depth conversations with any particular person. You maybe meet like 20 other people [at the other conferences]. While you do connect, sometimes it’s just a lot and it can be overwhelming, whereas with Beyond the Beach, it’s a little bit more intimate.  And you actually really go to know people, hung out, and understood where everyone’s coming from. 

What would you consider some of the highlights of Beyond the Beach? 

I would say the thing that stood out to me was involving [leading Caribbean nonprofit] Food for the Poor. I think it really gave us a sense of our country and what the struggles are, what people are facing. I don’t think we as tech founders really get to see that a lot. For me, personally, I’ve actually donated to Food for the Poor quite a bit so I’m a charitable person—for me, it was surreal, like you’re donating to this organization and here they are, you can see where your money is going and the impact that it's making. That’s what stood out to me and was really different, I’ve never seen that happen at any other tech events before. That was really impactful. 

Can you describe what it was like pitching at Beyond the Beach?

Because I’ve pitched quite a bit it was somewhat normal for me. I wasn’t nervous, I think I was more nervous about the questions that would come after pitching. I would say I was ok with the pitching: everyone was very attentive. I didn’t get as many questions as the other participants did, but overall I think it went well. 

Did you receive any actionable business advice from pitching at Beyond the Beach?

I think [American tech investor] Nasir [Ali]—we actually spoke prior to the pitching, during dinner the first night, we sat at the same table and—I would say, always be prepared when you’re talking to investors, be on your A game. It was surreal when he was grilling me on everything [about my business], and it was a reminder that I always have to be prepared, no matter what. He offered me not so much advice as enhancements for my business, he gave me someone’s number I can contact. He gave me some advice in terms of how I can showcase cars on the platform so it looks more appealing to travelers who are looking to rent. Just in general, he gave really good feedback. 

Were you surprised by anything at the conference? 

I was surprised by how open and giving everyone at the conference was in terms of offering their services, especially on the last night when we had that dinner and everyone was liken this is what I have to offer…it was really something to see. Everyone just offering and giving of themselves and their services. I was like, this is a great group of people. You don’t get that intimate feeling, that connection [at other tech conferences]. I’ve spoken to other [Jamaican] entrepreneurs who were also at the conference and they’re like ‘yeah, we meet with [American entrepreneur] Peter [Dean] every week.’ I can tell that giving and wanting to see others succeed—-it was present, it was visible in the room. It was a feeling…it was amazing. 

Interested in learning more about Beyond the Beach? Want to be a part of the next one? Find out how here.