"Making everything to make your bathroom beautiful''  is Balineum's mission. The company, using the name Balineum because it is Latin for bathhouse,  sells design and linens and accessories for the bathroom through their site.

A few months on from her pitch at thenextwomen Pitching and Funding event, where Sarah braved a panel of angels and investors to convince them of Balineum's uniqueness in its market and need for funding, Sarah is ready to go out to find investment.  Now that she has recovered from winning the audience prize for Best Pitch, we asked co-founder Sarah where she stands now.

How did you come up with the idea of setting  up Balineum?
Like almost every other business that has started in the world it was because I couldn't find a solution to a problem and saw a gap. I moved to London from New York and needed a shower curtain for my new flat and was astounded that I couldn't find one that I liked. I had also bought some towels when living the US that I just loved, and was amazed that I couldn't find them here (despite being made in Turkey). I knew that these products existed elsewhere in the world and just thought this can be done better in Europe - I know it can - and I'm going to try to do it better.

What is your unique selling point?
Beautiful products to transform your bathroom. We're still evolving and learning. At the moment we're the only company in Europe designing and selling fabric shower curtains directly to the public. We also sell the heaviest (and best, we think) towels in Europe. They're both quite unique things.

I must admit though, I struggle with the term USP. For a couple of reasons. One, it is pretty rare for a USP to be truly unique. Two, it is very much open to interpretation - different customers and stakeholders can have quite different interpretations of Balineum's USP and I'd prefer to talk in much more concrete and measurable terms about my business. And finally, in order for this business to achieve success, we need more than one thing well - we need to have really great products, super streamlined internal systems, and be really great at marketing.

How did you fund your business?
It's been self-funded to date. I borrowed a small amount of money against my home to get it started.

Which amount are you looking for? Are you giving away equity?
We are looking to raise between £375,000 - £500,000 and we will need to give away equity for this. We are also talking to banks (re: government backed loans) but we have limited personal assets to provide as guarantee and the government backed loans do not seem ideal for our current needs, in fact they seem quite cumbersome.

There is also the potential that investor(s) bring more to the table than simply cash.

How much have you made in the business so far? What are the prospects?
A little over £100,000 has been invested so far, as well as a lot of "sweat equity" - it is now a little over two years without a salary. Our turnover should be over £100,000 this year without investment, more after investment.
Our investment funds will be largely used for marketing and introducing new products - both of which we know already significantly boost our turnover.

What tips would you give to people seeking to pitch their company to investors?
Well, we're not sure just yet - perhaps ask us in a few months when we hopefully have secured external funding!
What I have learnt up until this point though, is practise, practise, practise. Ask for help and advice from any or all sources you can call upon. We've been getting advice and opinions on our business plan since the business started, and our investment pack is continuing to evolve as we meet with people and get feedback.

Angel investment or VC capital?
We are approaching both - smaller boutique VC firms as well and individual angels, and soon probably, some of the Angel Groups. We've also been directly approaching individuals who may not be well-known as angels but who we think might have a propensity to invest or lead us to potential investors. If you have had some success online and/or in home wares retailing, and you are wealthy, chances are you are on our list!

What is the next step you plan to take with your company?
Raise money, introduce more products and spend more on marketing so more people know about us.
That's the plan.