Three months into building Crowd Wear, I've learned a lot about showing up.
As someone who spent 15 years building brands for other people, I’m used to having a plan, a team, data to look at, and eventually, an answer to the question: Is this working?
Starting a business of your own is a very different journey.
I started this brand because I wanted to acknowledge and honor something I'd felt over and over again: the feeling of being in a crowd when something matters. The energy of a stadium. The goosebumps. The epic celebrations and tears of joy and sometimes, disappointment. Crowd Wear is built around that feeling, but what I didn't realize was how much building the brand would teach me about the people who create that feeling in the first place. I'd like to share a few reflections on the early stages...
You learn by just getting started.
There's a certain comfort in having an idea. You imagine what it can become. You talk about it, tweak it, make it better in your head. But then, you have to actually put it out there.
Some things I thought people wouldn’t care about, they did. Some things I wasn't sure about got an unexpectedly enthusiastic response. A founder's job is to pay attention to both. It's easy to want certainty before you start but the only way to find the answer is to start.
Sometimes the thing that's harder to scale really matters.
I've spent much of my career thinking about how to make businesses more efficient. But Crowd Wear is about people and connection, and those things aren't always efficient.
When someone sees a product online, they might like it. They click around but forget about it five seconds later. Seeing someone interact with it in person is different. They ask about it. They touch it. They try it on. You get to gauge their reaction on multiple fronts. A conversation that starts with "I like your shirt" quickly turns into a conversation about why you got it, the brand story, and where they can get it, too.
Crowd Wear is made-to-order by design. It reduces waste and makes sense for a small business like ours. But it can be hard to experience things through a screen and getting the product into people's hands in the wild matters. So, we're looking for ways to do that.
The people who champion you will surprise you.
I assumed the people closest to me would naturally become my biggest advocates. Some certainly have. Others haven't. Then there are people I never would have expected to connect with Crowd Wear sending me ideas, tagging friends, or sending an encouraging DM saying, "I think you're onto something."
It's been a good lesson that the people who love you and the people who champion what you're building aren't always the same people. And that's okay! You don't need everyone to believe in what you're doing.
Support doesn't always look like a sale.
Of course I want people to buy Crowd Wear. It's a business, after all. But there are so many other ways people can contribute.
I've appreciated those who have given an honest opinion, asked a thoughtful question, forwarded an email or tagged someone in a social media comment because they think Crowd Wear's up their alley. These things matter.
They're small gestures, but they have an outsized impact when you're putting something new into the world. Being a champion doesn't always mean becoming a customer. It can mean sharing, making connections or encouraging someone one-on-one.
You can't control whether people believe in your idea.
When you build something new, you'll hear many reasons why it may not work. Someone has tried something similar. The market might not be as big as you think. It's going to take a lot of time you don't have...and on, and on.
I’ve learned there’s a difference between taking feedback seriously and letting someone else's doubt become your own. You should absolutely listen, take mental notes, and file things away. There are probably a million things you already know need to do differently. But ultimately, you have to decide what you believe and just keep showing up.
Which brings me back to the crowd.
I started Crowd Wear because I absolutely love being a spectator. The fan who doesn't get a medal but who believes their energy may contribute to a win.
Building something of your own is a lot like being a spectator. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't control the outcome. You can have a strategy, but you can't script how people react. You just have to show up. And cheer for yourself. Loudly, may I add.
Slowly, a crowd starts to form around you. You gain momentum (we're in that stage now). And over time, the crowd gets bigger, the energy builds, and what started as your idea becomes something people share.
Three months in, I don't have clean answers. But I'm loving the process of figuring it out and getting to see who shows up along the way.
Again, you don't have to become someone's customer to be their cheerleader. You don't have to be on the field to be part of the moment. And you don't have to wait to be asked to show up. In life, showing up is the whole point.