Entrepreneurship is usually a series of “what if” moments that get out of hand. For me, that moment came when a close friend and mentor basically handed me some capital to start a business of my choice. It was a tough choice between two of my passions: art or boxing. I chose boxing. Fast forward to May 2024, and I found myself standing in The Leadership Hub in Sliema, sweating through a pitch for Malta Fight Co. The JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur (CYE) contest isn’t your typical corporate snooze-fest. The vibe was actually innovative and supportive, filled with people who were in the trenches of their own businesses—people I’m still close with today. Beyond just the competition, the JCI organization itself was incredibly helpful. They didn’t just throw us on a stage; they provided a framework that felt like a community rather than a hierarchy.

The Pitch: Bricks, Mortar, and Algorithms

My mission was simple but ambitious: taking a “bricks and mortar” combat sports gym and dragging it into the future. While everyone else was pitching pure-play tech startups or apps, I was pitching the first combat sports gym in Malta to actively incorporate AI into its operations. Combat sports are raw, primal, and physical. But the reality is that the business behind the sweat needs to be smart. Pitching that vision was nerve-racking as hell. I’d never pitched on a stage like that before. There’s a specific kind of adrenaline you get when you’re “fighting” for the future of your company in front of a panel of experts. It’s not exactly like taking a punch to the face, but the stakes feel just as high.

Feedback from the Front Lines

The judging panel was solid, but John Winfield (the mind behind Dr. Juice) really connected with what I was doing. He’s a fan of combat sports, so he didn’t need the “why” explained to him. More importantly, he acknowledged the elephant in the room: building a physical, “real world” business is a different beast compared to scaling a software company. There are unique challenges when your product involves four walls and heavy bags. You have to be damn good at what you do just to get the doors open, let alone innovate. Getting that validation from someone who has built a massive physical brand in Malta was a massive “aha” moment for me.

The Win and Beyond

To be honest, I’m still a bit amazed I won. I went into it hoping not to trip over my words, and I walked out with the title. But the trophy isn’t the part that stuck with me. As part of the win, I was gifted a place at the JCI conference in Oulu, Finland, later that summer. That experience was a game-changer. It solidified the fact that I’ve made some friends for life through this process. Since then, Malta Fight Co. has gone from strength to strength. The real takeaway was realizing that I actually loved the energy of the stage. Being pushed that far out of my comfort zone—standing there defending my passion—was a rush I didn’t expect. It turns out, whether you’re in the ring or on a stage, the goal is the same: stay composed, back your training, and hit them with something they didn’t see coming. I’m way more ready for the next time I’m tested.