The Launch of Our E-Shop
The website of Cleo Concept went live on Saturday, the 5th of October, at 14:00. You could say it was one of the worst moments to launch a website, with 18-degree weather and a clear blue sky. Everyone was outside, enjoying the early autumn sun. The terraces were full, and the Saturday markets were bustling with young families, expats, and students. It seemed like everyone had collectively decided to stay off their phones that day, which resulted in close to zero website visitors for the first six hours. I didn’t sleep the night before, my head filled with thoughts, ideas, and the occasional worry. I had spent the entire morning inside editing a video to announce the launch on our socials. And when we finally reached the point where we had some sort of minimum viable product, I put it all online. Exhausted, I called Martin to tell him the good news. Neither of us felt much joy, both experiencing that sort of mental fog you get when you’ve been working intensely and focused on a difficult project for a long time. The feeling reminded me of when I handed in my bachelor’s thesis three months ago.
Celebrating the Launch and Marketing Efforts
“We should be happy,” I said. “Let’s celebrate and go into the city to kick off our guerrilla marketing campaign!” This was easier said than done, and it’s fair to say we both could have used a break. But there’s this fire inside you that awakens when you start doing what you really love, that gives you extra energy and passion to push through. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter that you’re tired or that all your friends are out enjoying leisure activities. You have a vision, and you’ll do everything you can to turn it into a reality.
An hour later, we met in the city center of Amsterdam. I had designed and printed 3,000 postcards with our logo to hand out to people on the street. Obviously, we wouldn’t be giving out that many cards in one day, but in an optimistic and slightly naïve moment, I took around 800 cards with me. I didn’t consider the fact that my bag would be very heavy and I’d have to carry it the whole day, but okay.
Connecting with People on the Streets
I was nervous about talking to random people, so Martin approached the first three groups. He fluently pitched the idea in five sentences:
“Hey, sorry to bother you. We just launched our own sustainable fashion platform where we sell bold, emerging brands. We’re celebrating our launch by giving away a postcard. You can choose to write a message to a friend, and we’ll mail it for you, or you can take one home if you like the designs. What would you prefer?”
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Most people enthusiastically wrote cards while we chatted about sustainable fashion. By the end of the afternoon, we’d handed out 100 postcards, gained 35 new Instagram followers, discovered 10 new brands, and even had a young woman ask about an internship. Not a bad day.
A Family Gathering
On Sunday, I tried to rest—or at least I tried. We had a family gathering, and everyone asked how things were going, what our plans were, and how we intended to make money, alongside offering praise and compliments on the work so far.
“Your posters look amazing, but keep in mind that if you put them on the street, they might get plastered over in a few days.” “I’d love to support you by buying something, but your items are still very expensive.” “How are you going to convince people to pay a premium for a sustainable choice?” “You’ve chosen a very tough market. How do you plan to differentiate yourselves?”
I didn’t have all the answers—and truthfully, I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Thankfully, my baby niece didn’t ask any complicated questions. She just smiled the way only a newborn can—carefree and full of joy. I spent the whole afternoon cuddling with her.