In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, three Polish friends found themselves with nothing to do. There they were, sat in a garage at one of their sister-in-law’s home, when they decided to give shape to what is now a flourishing business.
Starting in April 2021, they decided to make some money by selling personalised mugs. Given the situation, demand for home goods was rising: as they all had previous experience in online selling, the group were able to set up production almost immediately in that garage and steadily build their catalog beyond mugs to include T-shirts, pillows, bags, and more.
From day one, sales were promising. Within a few months, they were pulling in the equivalent of about $25,000 in a single day. But their growth didn’t come without challenges: investments were needed in equipment, facilities, staff, and logistics. The story goes that even as the money flowed in, as earnings were constantly being plowed back into growth, the friends resisted seeing themselves as “millionaires”.
“We never considered ourselves millionaires,” explains one of the trio, “because even though that money appeared and was in the account, it had to be reinvested. Since sales were growing very quickly, it was necessary to buy more machines, invest in production, the team, expand the warehouse, and so on.”
Their success continued within Poland, but when they tried to replicate it abroad, things got trickier. Expansion into Germany, for example, exposed them to different consumer preferences, regulatory complexity, and logistical friction. However, despite missteps and the initial walls to scale, they now have operations in neighbouring markets like the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.
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What stands out is how a modest garage startup during lockdown became a multimillion-euro enterprise in just a few years, largely by sticking close to their competencies, moving fast in a quickly-changing market, reinvesting profits, and steadily expanding geographically.
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