Smokingwallet / ONE-OFF
In 2018 I traveled to India with only a smartphone and 3 outfits and started a business manufacturing wallets with local factories and skilled craftspeople and selling it through the internet. Below I share some of the highlights of this journey from idea to commercial product in stores.
The challenge:
Develop a product, build a brand and a supply chain, in a foreign country where you know no one, armed with only a smartphone.
From Prototype to Product
The first prototype I built from neon yellow paper and cut by hand. For professional production a detailed plan was necessary. To develop the final design I went through roughly 20 prototypes and kept refining the product. A lot of things were changed to increase the quality, sustainability and efficiency through this process.
The manufacturing of the first 100 units in 99 seconds
Building the system behind the product
It is impossible to go it all alone and I was very fortunate to build many strong relationships and gained partners to collaborate with. Thanks to all my partners I was able to bring my vision to life and start building the system behind the product while they took care of their duties.
I love wearing many hats and growing my capabilities. This project required me to take care of all the tasks described above and many more. The learnings have given me a much better understanding of the fundamental structures underlaying many businesses.