Mistakes Were Made, Lessons Were Learned: Obstacles on the Road to Ethical

Starting a company from scratch is a humbling experience. Starting a company from scratch that aims to disrupt the way everything has been done in the past is …. well, is there a word below humbling? Because that’s where we are right now. ​

We believe in transparency in all we do, and that’s why we want to be honest about everything we’ve learned along this process. We want to improve. Our goal, from the very beginning, has been to change lives and empower the most vulnerable. Keeping our end goal in mind, we recognize that there are ways (from start to finish) where we can better ourselves and develop as a company. Your constructive feedback has been a huge part of this process.
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First and foremost: LOGISTICS.

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Guys, we heard you loud and clear. Setting up an online business requires serious logistics help. We were in over our heads here and had some major snafus that we have definitely learned from. We cannot do this without you, and so if you’re not pleased, all our goals can go right out the window. We’re committed to the business from angles we didn’t even know existed now!

• Customs: This was our most serious reason for shipping delays. We spent over five weeks going back and forth with German Customs and Deutsche Post. There were forms and information requests coming out our ears.

Solution: For the future we’ve established a bulk handling agreement with Deutsche Post and will be working with a logistics/fulfillment provider who has extensive experience getting things where they need to go on time.

• Formal processes: We need to outline clear formal process for every facet of our business. This includes things like printed order forms, purchasing raw materials, receipt organization, packaging lists, etc. Having teammates spread out across the word begs for an organized, standardized way of doing business to increase accountability.

Solution: We are working on formalized processes for each task and have implemented weekly status update calls to ensure all team members are clear on roles and responsibilities.

• Repackaging: Our selected envelopes didn’t match the standard German DHL requirements. Each individual pack had to be resized by hand.

Solution: All our packages have been resized. They are now ready for standard shipments - big cost savings, more environmentally friendly and much faster!

• Capacity: Our Berlin office is stretched extremely thin right now. Most of our team is currently in Chile/South America focusing on our next production. As a result all our repackaging and shipment snafus were dealt with by our CFO and his daughter, during evenings, holidays and weekends.

Solution: We’ve restructured our team and will be better balanced from a global perspective from now on.

• Promises: What we think is reasonable is not always feasible. We made promises about delivery dates before we had adequate research about every single detail that goes into producing garments. There were angles we’d never even heard of, and surprised kept popping up.

Solution: We’re working backwards now, and with the benefit of hindsight. We are now exploring timelines in extreme depth and making sure the promises we give you aren’t just what we really think can happen, they’re backed up by thorough research. Calendars and timelines are now being shared and communicated clearly.
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Second: PRODUCTION. ​

This is largely behind the scenes for you guys, but we love transparency! 

• Balancing: Shipping, handling and salaries will eat up a majority of profits. Finding the balance between good quality materials without breaking the bank is a priority. When you’re small scale no one wants to cut you a deal.

Solution: We’ll never compromise on quality. We want to make classic menswear that will last. In order to do this cost efficiently we need to operate according to our size, expect long and tedious negotiations with raw material suppliers and save on costs at every opportunity without compromising on our end goal. As we grow, so too does our power to negotiate to get you the best quality material at the best possible price.

• External Communication: Working with public authorities has been a challenge - entrepreneurs want to work 24/7 on their goal and want to pull out all the stops to succeed. We want to be compliant in all we do.

Solution: We’ve successfully augmented our production timelines to become more realistic when working with government agencies from all over the world.

• Cultural Communications: Intercultural differences played a huge role in our production hurdles. We have team members from all over the world, and we are working with suppliers and agencies across Latin America. What is a straight line in Germany is a winding road in Latin America. What could take four permits in the United States takes an hour of negotiation and meeting the right people in the Dominican Republic. What takes three hours in one culture takes three weeks in another. Saying, “This needs to be accomplished really quickly.” or “Size large has sleeves X centimeters long.” means different things in different cultures and when you’re in the thick of it small surprises start adding up.

Solution: We’ve adjusted our time frames, expectations and cleaned up our communications methods. We’ve relaxed in some areas, and become a lot more clear in what we need from suppliers and producers as well as implemented our own quality controls to make sure what we’re requesting is actually being delivered. For example, a tech pack is given to each producer now to ensure that size, etc, are standard across the board so there isn’t a freestyle interpretation. There is no “right” way to operate, and as long as our end goal is at the forefront of all we do flexibility is key. 


Third: SOCIAL IMPACT.

This is the core. This is our raison d'être. Positive change > everything else.

• Flexible Goals: Everyone’s ideas of progress and development are not necessarily shared. Germans, Dominicans, Americans, Bolivians … break it down even further to cultures, communities, neighborhoods, families and individuals. Ideals and standards of progress are all completely circumstantial and highly related to your background. Higher salaries don’t necessarily mean higher levels of empowerment or engagement. Motivation is intrinsic and our goal is to bring out the best in everyone and make them feel empowered on their own terms.

Solution: Here, we had to adjust our way of thinking and recognize that definitions of success, empowerment and happiness can vary widely across cultures, countries and communities. Listening to our production workers, learning about their lives, what was important to them, what they hoped for, their goals … this was the most enlightening, mind opening and truly joyful part of the experience.