How to Start an Online Product Business

From Idea to First Revenue

Core Principles

Start With a Problem, Not a Product

Strong product businesses solve specific, identifiable problems — not abstract ideas. When starting a physical product business, many inventors or creators are too focused on the actual product rather than the problem it’s solving. If you shift your focus to the pain points target customers using the alternative to your product might experience, you’ll have a stronger marketing approach. When you’re looking to start an online t-shirt business, you may need to dig deeper to understand who your designs will resonate with, and why they will want your t-shirt in their cart immediately. Sometimes considering the practical and emotional experience of your audience can inform other parts of your business strategy, such as product mix (what products to sell) and marketing approach.Validate Before You Invest

One of the foundations of scalable eCommerce is that revenue signals should precede inventory commitments. Luckily, eCommerce and Lean Merchandising go hand-in-hand.

Build Audience Before Infrastructure

Demand is more important than logistics in early stages. If you’re an online content creator with a large following, you’re in luck! You have the audience, but you still need to consider your product market strategy. Anyone can sell t-shirts, should you be selling branded skateboards, aprons, or yoga mats though? Having an audience is step 1, knowing your audience is a very important step 2.

Prioritize Margin Early

The math needs to math. If unit economics don’t work small, they won’t work at scale. That’s why many of our key strategies involve the word lean, especially for single founder brands and those bootstrapping with minimal capital.

Design for Optionality

When launching a product brand online, it’s helpful to choose prototypes that allow you to pivot before committing capital.