What looks like the beginning of an exciting business endeavor is actually the end of a fun and chaotic journey that left me with more than a hundred unsold luxurious neckties and a smile on my face. Here is what happens when you follow an idea without having any clue about business development.

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Around seven years ago I thought it would be a fantastic idea to start a business and earn some money alongside my engineering studies. I looked down at me, saw a necktie and without a particular reason (well, probably an act of procrastination while learning for an exam) decided to design some ties. Over the following four years I occasionally drew fabric patterns or searched the web for production sites, while finishing my engineering studies and starting a product design master at TU Delft. The decision to create a luxury fashion label was solely based on the fact that I did not have enough cash to effort a large-scale production. I found an amazing necktie sewing company in south of Italy managed by the Italian gentleman Leo Faggiano, visited them and got a sample produced. I immediately fell in love with the pure quality of the handsewn product (black grenadine silk combined with soft nappa leather).

Blinded by enthusiasm and hope

I think it was that point when I decided to really go for it. Of course, I already knew that neckties weren’t trending at all and to distinguish from others I wanted to “give the most rational fashion piece an emotional touch”. To develop a brand-experience I created this crazy fantasy world “Grindelwald”, wrote short stories about epic artifact and adventurers and named my neckties after these characters. I even illustrated the stories and got the British actor and voiceover artist Donal Cox to do an audio recording. Because the Italian cashmere and the available silk patterns didn't fit all of my stories I went to one of the last German jacquard silk weaving mills in Krefeld to get my own custom fabrics produced. And, because apparently this wasn’t enough, I produced a high-quality brand movie with the help of my friend and cinematographer Fritz Fechner.

I designed a sleek wooden packaging and created a custom website because the templates weren’t good enough of course. I did not talk to any user/customer AT ALL and just imagined how nice it would be to sell 10 ties per month for 250€ per piece to get a solid passive income. I took my savings placed the orders for the neckties and packaging and reached the point of no return. And then the real hassle began: Building a social media following, writing blog entries to pump up SEO, dealing with eccentric fashion influencers, mailing hundreds of different blogs to get featured, …. and all of that without any money and while having a full-time job. In the end, after a five-year journey I sold three neckties to strangers and around five to my loyal friends. Yey …

And of course there is a learning (the frustration remains, though)

I totally underestimated the amount of marketing a product like this would need. Building a brand, especially in the luxury fashion domain, is only possible with a huge marketing budget. And, although I managed to produce high quality footage, I didn't have the means to spread it to the world. It never gained traction. The product itself has its flaws too. While the design breaks with classic conventions the production procedure (handmade 7-fold ties from Italy) is the most classic technique I could have chosen. Thats why there was no real target audience that could identify with the product. I know these things now and for my next endeavour (which is ongoing and has nothing to do with fashion ;)), I will surely do my research beforehand. The only thing that really frustrates me in the end: I can't really say that the product failed, because I never gained enough web traffic to generate reliable statistics.

But hey, although I have lost some money, it was mostly fun and I am a lot smarter now. The wonderful entrepreneurship courses at TU Delft tought me a lot. However, I learned even more during the rise and fall of Grindelwald Ties.

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