building a $10m niche fashion brand (w/ Vansh Sobti)

Vansh built a $10M sensory clothing brand out of a university project by putting fidget tools inside hoodies. We got into how he found the gap, why his boldest product launch completely flopped, and what he'd do differently if he was starting today. If you found this episode beneficial make sure to grab a seat for Vansh's upcoming AMA: https://ecom.live/events/28 Vansh's IG: https://www.instagram.com/vansh_sobti/ Vansh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vansh-sobti-a145741b8/ Vansh's store: https://www.cloudnineclothing.ca/ What we cover in this episode: → Why "fashion brand thinking" held Cloud9 back and the switch to a mechanism brand 100x'd revenue → The gap framework for picking a first product that actually solves something → Why his bold Gen Z puff print hoodie launched to total crickets → How checkout surveys revealed his real buyer: moms whose kids' fidgets get taken away in class → The 200-manufacturer grind to get someone to even try the idea → How he forecasts Q4 inventory two months out without tying up all his cash If you're not already inside my free community hop in and say hi, I deepwork in vc there daily: https://discord.com/invite/5pDf5gYtW2 My IG if you wanna connect: https://www.instagram.com/realalexdj TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Grandma vs the Grinch of Christmas 00:51 - From university project to brand 02:36 - $70K to $700K: knowing your customer 04:19 - Getting the idea out of your head 06:46 - The gap framework for product ideas 08:55 - The bold hoodie nobody bought 11:37 - Surveys, avatars, and moms 14:08 - 200 manufacturers, 1 yes 16:10 - The factory that grew to 200 employees 19:15 - Q4 inventory and cash management 21:59 - How Cloud9 uses AI 24:02 - Best advice and AMA announcement Tnx for watching. ✌️