❝Story05:30
The supplier search that cost nearly $10,000 in samples
Local Australian formulation options either would not take on a startup or appeared too expensive for the available budget, so Yasmina searched internationally. She chose a supplier who tried to understand her desired result without requiring a benchmark product and tolerated repeated rejected samples; she recalls spending close to $10,000 on sampling before the first production batch.
- The founder compared local and international formulation options
- The chosen supplier engaged with the desired outcome rather than a copy product
- Willingness to continue iterating was a selection factor
- The reported sampling spend excluded packaging, website, and payment fees
“He also wanted to understand exactly what I wanted”
#manufacturing#formulation#suppliers#startup costs
❝Story13:30
What a 20,000-unit sellout looked like behind the scenes
After the reported 20,000-unit sellout, Yasmina packed through the night and took orders to a local post office herself. Broken glass in a small share of deliveries exposed packaging that was too thin, while the replacement stock was still about two months away.
- The two-person business had no fulfillment team at launch
- Friends and post-office staff helped scan the volume of parcels
- Transit breakage revealed that the product box needed to be thicker
- Fragile stickers were used as a temporary response
“I was packing all night long from launch up until 5:00 a.m.”
#fulfillment#launch#packaging#customer experience
❝Story18:30
Preorders turned a sellout into a customer-service test
The website moved to preorder immediately, but deliveries slipped beyond the date customers expected. With no team, Yasmina handled email, packing, and shipping herself and found customer disappointment difficult to absorb personally.
- Customers did not always notice or accept the preorder timing
- The founder used the expected arrival date rather than a padded date
- One person was covering customer service and operations
- The experience exposed the need for clearer boundaries and staffing
“We had no team. It was my husband and I.”
#preorders#customer service#operations#founder stress
❝Story20:30
A sleep-deprived order turned 3,000 bags into 30,000
While moving to printed labels and compostable shipping bags, Yasmina accidentally ordered 30,000 bags instead of 3,000. The supplier agreed to take the excess back, but the episode illustrates how exhaustion and weak purchase checks can put working capital at risk.
- The mistake added a zero to a routine supply order
- A full pallet arrived at the founder's home
- The purchase came from a business account kept separate from personal banking
- The supplier accepted the return after Yasmina called
“I ordered by accident 30 000 bags 21 00 instead of 3 000 bags”
#operations#cash flow#founder mistakes#procurement
❝Story26:00
The Black Friday week that matched a year's revenue
Yasmina says the brand's first Black Friday week generated as much revenue as the preceding year, exhausting stock intended to cover about eight months. Freight was repeatedly rerouted, customer emails mounted, and the pressure affected her sleep and appetite; those effects are her personal account, not a general medical claim.
- The brand had not discounted earlier in the year
- Demand included existing users, first-time buyers, and gift purchases
- Urgent air freight did not prevent routing delays
- Customers generally preferred to wait rather than accept refunds
“we made what we made in the whole year in the first week”
#black friday#inventory#logistics#customer experience
❝Story30:30
Why she sold equity without needing the cash
Yasmina initially dismissed repeated investor emails and did not want to surrender control. A meeting changed her view because the investors supplied operational knowledge, connections, and practical help—including introducing a 3PL—before contracts were signed; she says expertise, rather than funding, drove the decision.
- The company believed it could continue bootstrapping
- The investors specialized in influencer-led brands
- Early advice exposed operational gaps the founders could not see
- The agreement allowed Yasmina to retain business control as she describes it
“It wasn't so much the funds that we were really needing. It was experience.”
#investors#equity#expertise#3pl