Launch your D2C brand

From a product idea to your first orders: pick what to sell, make it, put up a store, and open the doors.

6 steps, 38 questions, laid out in the order you'll hit them

Each step is a topic with the real questions D2C founders ask; open whichever one you're stuck on for the answer and the resources on it.

1. 1
   Choosing what to sell

   Pick a category you can win and want to live in.

   I want to build a D2C brand but I haven't picked a product yet. How do I actually decide what to sell? 3 → Which product categories are actually good for a new D2C brand in India right now? 4 → Should I chase a high-margin niche product or a high-volume everyday product? 3 → I have a product idea. How do I evaluate whether it's actually worth building a brand around? 3 → The category I like is already crowded with brands. Can I still differentiate and win? 3 → All 7 questions in Choosing what to sell →
2. 2
   Validating demand before inventory

   Prove people will pay before you place a PO.

   How many pre-orders or sign-ups actually prove people will pay, versus just being polite interest? 4 → How do I run a landing page or waitlist test properly before I spend money on inventory? 3 → Should I run a crowdfunding or pre-order campaign to validate demand, and does that even work for Indian founders? 3 → How do I do customer interviews without everyone just telling me what I want to hear? 3 → Can I dropship or run ads on a 'coming soon' page to test a product before I commit to a real manufacturing PO? 3 → All 6 questions in Validating demand before inventory →
3. 3
   Brand concept, name & story

   A brand people remember, spell, and repeat.

   Should my brand name be a made-up word, or should it actually describe what I sell? 3 → How do I actually check if a name is free to use - in India and internationally - before I fall in love with it? 3 → How much of my actual personal story should go into my brand story, versus keeping it more universal? 3 → Do I need a formal storytelling framework like StoryBrand or the Hero's Journey, or can I just write from the heart? 3 → We've grown past our original niche and the brand name doesn't quite fit anymore - do we rebrand or push through? 3 → All 6 questions in Brand concept, name & story →
4. 4
   Finding manufacturers in India

   Find the factory that will actually make your product.

   How do I actually find a manufacturer to make my product in India? 5 → Should I go private label or contract (custom) manufacturing? 4 → The MOQ is way too high for me. How do I lower it or start with a small batch? 4 → How do I vet a factory before I trust them with a real order? 4 → How do I avoid getting scammed by a supplier? 3 → All 7 questions in Finding manufacturers in India →
5. 5
   Building & setting up your store

   A store that looks real and loads fast, today.

   Which Shopify theme should I pick for my store, and how much should I customize it? 3 → How do I set up my domain, DNS and a proper business email for my store in India? 3 → What pages does my store absolutely need before I go live - policies, About, contact? 3 → How do I make my store load fast enough to pass Core Web Vitals? 3 → How do I make sure my store actually works well on mobile, not just looks fine on desktop? 3 → All 6 questions in Building & setting up your store →
6. 6
   Your first 100 orders

   The unglamorous moves that get you to 100.

   Where do my first 100 orders actually come from if I have no brand yet? 3 → Is it worth personally delivering or calling my first customers instead of just shipping and moving on? 3 → I have zero following and almost no ad budget - how do I still get to 100 orders? 3 → Which single channel should I put all my energy into for the first 100 orders? 3 → How do I know if my first 100 orders actually mean I have product-market fit, or if I just got lucky? 3 → All 6 questions in Your first 100 orders →