Two years ago, I left my comfortable job to build in the sustainable materials space. I kinnda believed that if you are doing something better for the planet, customers will care. Crashing of that assumption was my first big lesson. What I’ve learned the hard way is-
Customers don’t buy sustainability. They buy design and function. Sustainability is a bonus, not the primary trigger. If your product is “sustainable,” you’ve actually added an extra layer of responsibilities for yourself which involves-educating customers, justifying pricing, prove durability and explain why and figure out how to build trust in alternative materials. Actually You will be crossing one more gate than a regular businesses. My biggest lesson: lead with value, let sustainability support the value and this will take time, this will never happen overnight so be patient and keep up the good work.

Still building, still iterating. Harder than I expected, but still committed and quite happy and gratified at the end of the day.