Making an Idea Physical

Thanks for being here.

Do you have trouble “starting”? Do you have trouble making that first step because you don’t even know where to begin or how to get that idea out of your brain? Well this one’s for you:

⏳ Estimated Read Time: 5.5 minutes

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here. Also if you’re reading this as a subscriber and know somebody that would enjoy feel free to share.

FOUNDER LESSONS

How do you get an idea out of your brain into a physical product, a running service, or functioning software? Turns out, you don’t need to know how to sew to make an underwear company, I didn’t.  

After I came up with the initial idea for SAXX and made the first few drawings, I had to get a prototype made. How was I supposed to do that? All creation is step by step and these are the ones I took on my path:

So I went up the road to Fanshawe College and asked the program director if she knew anyone who could help me make patterns.

She thought I was only trying to meet girls, but I said I was serious about my design and was willing to pay for the time of the designer. She told me I was in luck as a student had just done an underwear project last term and introduced me to Cara Megan. I offered her $1,500 dollars to make the patterns and she said yes. After about 2 weeks and a few meetings she had taken my idea and created the first patterns for what became the evolution of Men’s Underwear.

Cara was also a mentor - She was a great designer and she told me I needed to “Grade” a “Tech Pack” and all sorts of types of seams and sewing I had never heard of. In other words SAXX needed a “tech pack” for me to communicate with anyone who could make this underwear. I was learning a new language, that of the fashion industry.

How do people in your industry communicate? What are the words, norms and acronyms they are using?

In underwear it was understanding patterns, weights, grading, fabrics, tech packs, paneling, trim, etc, and using those terms to direct the manufacturer on what I wanted. 

You’re also going to need various means of sharing your product and idea. Digital, spoken, written, etc. Have a few, but understand the most important form of communication for your specific industry and refine. 

Prototypes aren’t perfect. Ever notice that the auto industry and architecture firms make scale miniatures first? It gives the engineers a point of reference, the customer or team, and way to feel the design. It’s step one on the experiment lily pads.

It's the same idea for software companies using various tools to build their app/website/platform visually without any functionality, before hiring an engineer to build the code. There are 3D printers everywhere, there are resources online; you have the ability to make that first iteration. 

Fabrics (Ingredients) - I needed to find fabrics, so I went to LaSenza and bought womens’ lingerie and underwear with really nice mesh, and then took those samples to the Toronto Fashion District and told the suppliers the mesh couldn’t be pink flowers and I needed it in black.

A few weeks later I had the fabric in black, then they put me onto the waistband guy, who put me on to the label guy, who put me onto the manufacturer Cut Manufacturer Trim company. Every step asking what was the next person in the ladder referenced to help me make my vision a reality.

These are all to say:

What’s the idea that you’ve been holding back from starting? (Click reply and tell me!)

We amassed our two favorite questions we received since launching? Have a question? Reply to the email and we’ll get back to you!

Q1. What techniques or tools have you used to turn an initial "maybe" from an investor into a solid commitment? What's the single most compelling element of your presentation that has consistently secured funding, outside of the "why"?

A. If you have a successful track record that’s an approach to lean on, but if you don’t that’s also an approach to lean on. One of the keys that Peter Thiel talks about is making sure to pitch your startup as a "discount for the future". Future rounds, IPO, etc. So don't sell them at the price today but the discount tomorrow. I dug up that video 

Also, if your investors are a "maybe" they are probably already sold on the product and need some assurance on the risk of the founder, management, etc. There, I would lean into your personal stake of the business (time, money), and remind them of your reputation.

Q2. Taking the first step towards pursuing entrepreneurship is where many of my ideas seem to die, what’s the best first move one can make to start and keep the wheels turning?

A. The biggest thing is to stop overthinking and start doing. Business is just a big experiment and you’ve got to try to learn the results and I would also add that you have your job security in your own hands versus someone being able to lay you off/fire you. 

For me, that always meant getting real feedback as fast as possible. If you’re fired up about your idea, the best first move is to get out there and validate it in a small, scrappy way—hit the pavement, talk to potential customers, test a prototype, even if it’s rough.

You’ll get two benefits:

Momentum is what keeps you going. You don’t need to know every detail or have the perfect plan. But you do need to find that spark where you realize, ‘Yeah, this solves a problem for someone else, not just me.’ That spark turns into excitement, excitement turns into action, and action builds momentum.

Keep it simple at first—solve one real problem for one person. If it resonates, you’ll know you’re onto something and the wheels will keep turning. Good luck, and thanks for following along!

Calling all young entrepreneurs. League of Innovators is Canada’s #1 Startup Accelerator for Founders Under 30, started by Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes. Their new batch’s application is live!

What is Labs Batch 14? It’s a free, virtual, founder cohort focused on helping take those in the product market fit zone ($0-$50K zone) to $1M and beyond. Program offers:

And most importantly, alumni from the program have gone on to build $1B of enterprise value so it's not a cutesy/boring program that puts you to sleep

Check it out and apply here.