This month’s post doesn’t come with a milestone to celebrate. It’s a setback.
But we knew that anyway, didn’t we?
Launching a remarkable brand or product is never easy. Challenges are expected.
After finalizing the tech pack and sharing those early designs with you (the High Council members), the next step was straightforward: get the first physical sample built.
To be safe, I engaged two separate manufacturers in Bangalore to work from the tech pack.
What followed was three months of frustration.
- Both manufacturers promised delivery within a month. Neither has delivered even a first version. There were repeated delays, excuses, and a general lack of urgency.
- They took advance payment and then went quiet — requiring constant calls and follow-ups just to stay on their radar.
- When they did attempt the work, the patterns they produced were wrong. Not slightly off — fundamentally off. It became clear that they hadn’t spent real time understanding the tech pack.
- Worse, after taking payment, they admitted they didn’t have the tools or expertise to implement many of the features I’d specified. This is a sophisticated product with unique construction, and they weren’t equipped for it.
I even flew to Bangalore and spent two weeks working alongside them in person, hoping hands-on collaboration would get things moving. It didn’t.
It was stressful, expensive, and honestly demoralizing.
But here’s what I’ve decided to do about it. I am not stepping back from this.
I’m going all in.
Instead of continuing to chase manufacturers who don’t share our standards, I’m setting up my own sampling and R&D studio.
I’ve rented a workspace here in Chandigarh and hired an experienced pattern master.
Right now, we’re setting up the infrastructure — machinery, CAD software, lighting, furniture — everything needed to prototype and experiment in-house.
This changes the game in a few important ways:
- Full control over the sampling process, timelines, and quality
- Freedom to experiment and iterate without depending on someone else’s capacity or willingness
- Intellectual property stays protected under our own roof
Once the studio is operational, we’ll source raw materials and start building. From there, I’ll evaluate whether production stays in-house or gets outsourced to the right partner — but either way, sampling and R&D will remain ours.
I’ll be honest — this wasn’t the plan. It’s a bigger commitment of time, money, and energy than outsourcing would have been.
And I could have also taken the easy route: sourced ready-made products from suppliers on Alibaba or Indiamart, put our label on them, and called it a day.
But that’s the exact approach we set out to challenge. So that’s what I am going to do.
I’ll share photos of the studio and our progress as things come together. As always, reply with any questions, thoughts, or suggestions — I read every one. Thanks again for your support in this journey.