If I have to tell you one thing that is my biggest nightmare in the whole business construct, there is no doubt at all: the production.
When I had the idea for my nookees period underwear in Bali I went from one little sewing spot to the other, till I found one group of incredibly sweet women, who helped me with my first ideas, first samples, and first production. I would go there every day and work together with them to produce nookees more or less the way I wanted.
If I look back on the first nookees edition now, it is nothing compared to what nookees is now, but at least it was a good MVP to start going.
When we moved away from Bali, I wanted to move the production with me, so I restarted everything again in Portugal, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania until now I am back in Portugal. And I can just tell you, it was and still is a crazy ride. Why?
Inventing a new product is a thing. Trying to produce it first in small quantities and then growing bigger, is a complete other one. Being picky with the way the workers are treated and everything that comes with it, doesn't make it easier. I have such strong values with my company that there is not even a bit of space to move away from how I want my product and the people connected to it to be treated (including the environment they are working in).
After years of having trouble in different areas of production, I am now happy to say that I have found the right partner by my side. The production management is not just doing an amazing job but also having the same values as I do with nookees and I am impressed by how easy things can work out if people and the big picture are in alignment.
Still, there is always so much going on and wrong (even with the black edition I had millions of little and big disasters), that sometimes I wonder why I didn't invent a new online course or just print simple T-Shirts...
I recently scrolled through some old pictures and found this one, when I was checking a production in the Czech Republic (who were wonderful people but just couldn't produce nookees as it is a very technical product). I started giggling about how much trouble I had with producing my products, but also how much learning came out of it. And I guess it might just be the way it works, that it takes time to find the right people to build the right tribe.
