10,000 orders in my first year of business, from a 2m x 2m spare room

In one line, what do you do and what is your most significant achievement?

10,000 ORDERS IN first YEAR.

Who are you and what business did you start?

I am a simple guy, who loves to be in nature and go out into the world for an adventure. I built Sprout lab because I wanted to do something meaningful and build a company that is planet positive and addresses food security issues by offering tested, simple and easy to use products for the everyday grower.

What's your backstory?

There are a lot of BS brands out there in this industry who sell products that don't actually work. Being in the agriculture industry for more than 8 years and having 100's of friends constantly message me for “plant advice” I realised it was really difficult to obtain good and trusted products on a consumer level.

What should be the first steps to take to enter your industry?

Have a plan, set your targets, know your business and customers.

How did you spend your First 100 Days of launching your business?

The business started in a 2 by 2 spare room in my Singapore apartment. Mixing, testing, wrapping and packaging, everything happened in that little room.

We wanted to test and see if we could sell our products so we chose to start on Lazada first with no marketing or advertising as it's free. We chose 1 product to launch with and on the first day had our very first order and by the end of the first 100 days, we had completely sold out of that product.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain partnerships/customers?

Quality over quantity. We have always focused on providing premium products. You are always going to have buyers who look for the best deals and ones who are happy to pay for quality products. There is a lack of education, the cheap products are cheap for a reason and buyers are slowly realising that you really do get what you pay for in this industry.

What has taken you from 0 to 100?

The truth is this has not been a 1 man show. My wife has been the cornerstone of our success. Without her support and helping me pack 100's of orders in that little 2*2m room we wouldn't be where we are today. As most entrepreneurs know, you get in that hussle and forget to eat or drink. Sometimes I would go without food or water for 24hrs simply cause I was so hyper focused on my task. Lucky for me, I had her looking out for the both of us.

What is one underrated thing in your industry that business owners should start doing/using?

Payment terms. Cash is king, I think you all know this. One thing that really changed our business was establishing payment terms with suppliers. This allowed us to use more cash to grow our business rather than have it sitting in limbo waiting for orders to arrive.

What was one failure you had to go through that others in your industry should look out for?

Don't believe everything you hear! Everyone wants to sell you something especially in the service space. We can grow your business by 100x, we can raise you money, we can improve your SEO. Be careful about who you approach and who approaches you. In the past we have sought out services from companies who didn't perform and lost thousands of dollars, don't roll the dice, look for referrals from reputable people you know and spend if your risk is low, don't go the cheaper route cause your risk will be higher.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

We don't use many tools at the moment as we are still in the startup phase. Google docs, sheets, slides is our best friend.

I will say that leveraging marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada might be the best option for you if you are starting a new business and want to test the waters like we did. But ultimately, you want to move your business to your own platform as this is where you won't have to pay high commissions and make the most money.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Currently looking to raise $300k to expand our operations into SEA