How to start a brand without any funding: part II
Our soft-launch strategy.
Most VC-funded brands follow the same playbook when they go to market. It’s standard to hear nothing about them until they’re actually live—marked by a PR push, Instagram debut, and exclusive launch event.
But when you launch a brand without any funding, your willingness to break the rules becomes your greatest asset—mostly because you have no other choice.
In my last post, I told you about the first phase of launching lazy jamie, which was building an audience on Instagram and TikTok. Yes, even before we had any product. That may go against the grain of what’s standard, but it’s always felt counterintuitive to me to do it any other way. What’s the point of developing product without a customer base?
The next step I took is probably even more outside the box.
My initial idea for lazy jamie always started with high-design, next-generation TV tray tables (which are launching this fall!). Not just TV trays, but reimagined takes on unexpected furniture pieces for in-between moments—like bed desks, shower stools, and more. (I won’t give away too much just yet.)
But if anyone tells you something took years to make, believe them. Developing and manufacturing beautiful, well-made furniture at scale as a bootstrapped business is the hairiest beast I’ve encountered yet in my career.
So at this point, I had a growing audience—but no product to offer yet. While I continued to develop furniture behind the scenes, I decided to do something unconventional: I soft-launched the brand with tableware that I curated and sourced.
Phase II: Convert the Audience (Soft-Launch)
It started with mid-century modern–inspired candlestick holders, then grew into a full edit of stainless steel tableware that I carefully selected and vetted from existing manufacturers—eventually commissioning my own pieces, like our signature spiral flatware and cheese knife set.
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This gave our audience (now customer base) a chance to experience the brand’s taste level beyond just our content. I was also hyper-plugged into what they wanted and able to react quickly—not just from a category or trend perspective, but by asking and polling them.
In the process, I started to see my customers as my investors. Literally, because what I make in sales goes back into product development—but also in the sense that you’re on this journey with me, shaping the brand in real time.
I didn’t raise money, I raised attention. Soft-launching wasn’t just a way to make money while the furniture line developed—it was a way to prove that the brand had depth. Behind the scenes, it allowed me to fine tune our operations, like onboarding our fulfillment center, building out a website, and setting up our engraving service.
This approach has also let me respond to what’s resonating, applying it to the design of the TV trays. You’ll see the swirl design in the base of the tray and the colors from my Venice house in the tabletops—all choices inspired by feedback and conversation. If you’ve ever DMed me about a color or commented on a product—you’ve shaped this brand more than you know.
You don’t have to take this exact approach, but there are ways to leverage an audience before you have your own product—like opening a storefront, launching a ShopMy page, or partnering with other brands.
Some might say soft-launching a brand before your hero product is ready could confuse the customer. Personally, I think that underestimates them. People are smarter than that, and it’s high time we treated them as such.
Remember, customers are now digitally native. We’ve long since graduated past the early days of Instagram. Content to conversion to original product is a natural pipeline, not something that needs to be spelled out.
We’ll continue offering tableware after our hero product launches—with a slight shift in positioning. They'll become accessories to our TV trays: the perfect complement. It’s almost like it was planned that way. ;)
Here’s what’s to come in the series on how to start a brand without outside funding:
Phase III: Develop a Hero Product (Apply Learnings)
Phase IV: Raise the Stakes (Hard Launch)
If there’s a part of brand-building you’re curious about, let me know—I’ll work it into Phase III.
proud of your girlie