Right now, it’s all about steady progress. So we’ve come a long way, and it ain’t easy don’t get me wrong, but man does it feel good. Seeing the first models come to life from a sketch makes my brain twitch and my heart beat. And along the way, so many decisions to make…Is it the right size? Color? Do we add some bling to it? Is it too flashy? Not flashy enough? Silver? Gold? Platinum? All? Not all decisions will be good, trust me, but decisions have to be made. Ever hear of that saying: analysis paralysis? Well you don’t want to go there, especially in a start-up phase, cause momentum is a cruel mistress for real and too much procrastination will kill a project fast. Move. Move it along and keep it going. It’s the only way.
We were planning for a KickStarter campaign and had to narrow down which designs we would want to sell for launch. Initially, we wanted to draw up 20 models and get them all in 3d rendering so that we could choose which models to go to prod with. In the end, this approach did not make any sense at all because we would lose so much time. So we adapted, and decided to use our imagination before 3d rendering everything. We then planned for 9 designs, in 3 categories.
It took about 4 months to finalize the first three designs…A painful process of back and forth between designs, print, refine, design, print…you get the picture. What we hadn’t realized was the impact of a few grams difference in weight of precious metal. It would easily bring our product straight out of an interesting price point, which we had established following some research and also by using our instincts. Small elements that we forgot, ended up costing us $$ :-\
But so what, now the 3 models are complete, we’re super pumped and we can start taking pictures while we send off some more units to be modeled. Plus we can wear them, a nice feature when you want to be a first-mover, but also to showcase your efforts. The important thing is that we kept it moving, and every time that unit came out with new and refined elements; it felt great. Every time we get to wear a Mr White lapel pin and get to talk about it; it feels great. Today, I feel great and ever more motivated, even though there is still a lot of work to do. I’m not afraid of work, matter of fact, bring it. That’s my attitude.
MG
stay #dapper