We’re trying to launch with a second product. It's sick.
Craftsmanship at its finest.
I have flown halfway across the world to meet suppliers for an upcoming MAYURA product I am so incredibly excited about.
MAYURA stands for quality and intention. I didn’t set out to start a business or envision myself as an entrepreneur until these ideas ate my brain. I quit my job reporting on tech to investigate curly hair, and with that comes my promise that there is purpose in each product. We value craft.
I flew here (I will not be saying where) for four reasons.
I believe in business relationships as, well, relationships. This is a longterm bet and I need to know my key partners. Start as you mean to go on.
To personally to review samples. It is the kind of thing that has a number of small details that you can hammer out in 90 minutes IRL but would take forever in incremental emails back and forth for a worse result.
To bring you reporting about why I chose this product and its beautiful history.
To go deep in my research to be able to become a more discerning expert. One of my friends told me her CEO at the startup she works at has a mantra: “taste good things.” After all, if you don’t, you’ll never actually know what good tastes like.
And of course, you’ll hear about all this on the podcast, with interviews and details from the scene.
Now for the rest, because there’s only so much I can say on this topic right now and I know it’s annoying to be a tease.
Major Milestones
I just reviewed version 1 of the MAYURA website. I can’t believe it’s real. Do anything – pick one thing – to turn your idea into reality. Make any call. Take any step. It will get you to the next step and then the next and then the next. We will have a lot of refining to do, but a year and a half later, we are so close I can feel it.
I’m in negotiations for a purchase order for the bulk ingredients for the hair oil elixir. This means our first production run is coming. There’s a big issue that came up in the last three days that needs resolving before I can move forward. It could delay launch by a lot more than I want. But fingers crossed we find a workable solution asap. Waitlist gets early access to the first run.
I have grown in a way I wasn’t sure I could. There is so much yet to come but I’ve surprised myself. If you scroll back on my Instagram, you’ll notice there is so little there pre-launch last November. That’s because I have always been deeply uncomfortable in front of cameras.
My mom has noted this about family photos. There’s a reason I exclusively aspired to be a print or audio reporter. Even now, I am not really that comfortable, but I am less deeply viscerally uncomfortable. I treat it like part of the job. Like reps at the gym.
And it’s true that you get better at things if you practice (and also put yourself in more beginner mindset environments through hobbies).
I’d love if you would share one way you’ve grown (where you weren’t sure you would) in the comments.