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good for you! what kind of thing are you selling? how much expertise did you have in it before?

• awillen 5y ago
  Thanks! It's dog treat mix - our most popular product is a powdered mix that you combine with water and freeze for frozen treats. I had pretty close to zero expertise. I was an enterprise software PM, so things like setting up Shopify and finding a contract designer were in my wheelhouse, but everything involved with actual, physical goods has been new to me. Manufacturing, shipping, inventory management, fulfillment - been figuring it out from scratch. Largely going well, but definitely some hiccups along the way!
  • mylons 5y ago
    thanks for sharing the details! were you worried about entering a crowded space? is the frozen treat unique?
    • awillen 5y ago
      The nice thing is it's not an especially crowded space. There are a handful of treat mix products out there, and most are for baked treats (which we also sell, but definitely not at the level of the frozen stuff). On the frozen treat front, the biggest one is a Purina product called Frosty Paws, and I think my stuff is an easy sell against that for a few reasons. First, it's made with all sorts of unpronounceable ingredients, where my stuff is made with whole, high-quality ingredients (freeze dried meat, egg powder, whole wheat flour, etc.). Their form factor is also bigger - it basically comes in a cardboard cup that you'd get a scoop of ice cream in, which is big for a dog, compared to my bite-sized treats. Theirs is more of a birthday treat, where mine can be given regularly.