Thats the answer I got to a message I sent to my best friend a couple of weeks ago. And she meant it for real...
I just came back from the packaging, where the nookees black edition was finally sent. During the last weeks, I had constant problems with the production. So many things went wrong, and I don't even want to go into details. But just imagine, having the boxes with the garment finally at the spot where they need to be, already incredibly delayed but finally just there, after having to tackle millions of complications...
When I open the boxes, I have a Deja Vu. More or less one year ago I opened similar boxes, with a similar feeling and, a similar outcome. A reusable period product that has been sampled a million times before, that finally after a trillion small and big disasters in the production line, arrives. And is a total failure. Read it again: A product that was sampled back and forth, up and down, left to right. The process is just insane until there is the final production sample. The holy grail. The "yes" to a bright future. The start of the production. The start of something big. Until it isn't.
I don't want to make this post an emotional one (that might follow soon), but here is my point:
Inventing a product, having it made fairly, sustainably, 100% out of organic and highly certified fabrics, handmade in a very high-quality way, is the best and worst you can do as an entrepreneur.
The best: it fulfills my values and I can stand with all my heart, soul, and whatever else behind it. Plus, as it looks quite simple but is highly technical, it is also pretty hard to copy.
The worst: it is a pure nightmare to get to the point where everything works out. There are so many incredible things that can happen on the way, from disasters in production to the FedEx guy who forgets a box inside of his car.
I feel like by now I've seen it all. Even if sometimes I don't even know how I feel about it. But I need to tell you one thing: Mostly every startup goes through something similar. Mostly every founder sits together with their loved ones, being a total disaster, not knowing what to do, where to go, or how to feel.
nookees s fine by now. The black edition is in stock. I made it.
But I deeply want to share this with you so every time you hold a product in your hand, that was invented by a small startup, that found its way into the market, that tries to make your life and maybe even the world better, please give it some props. Please try to see every single step that has been taken to get to this point. This would be highly deserved (and has to be said).