Let’s start with one that everyone knows
Starting a business is hard. Starting a business during a pandemic? Really really hard. Starting two businesses during a pandemic? Uh...why would you do that!
We started Brandsicle in July 2020 with a desire to do things our way. We were lucky enough to hit the ground running. There were legacy clients from past lives that helped us take the leap of faith. We were also lucky enough to land new clients at the start, who have now become close friends - and for the first 6+ months we only ever met each other through our webcams! To this day, we haven’t met everyone we work closely with in person yet.
Ever been in a long distance relationship? Ever hear anyone tell you how easy that is?
Well that’s what it feels like to start a business and have a long distance relationship with your team members AND your clients. To be fair, you don’t always meet everyone you work with, and long distance teams have been a thing for years. But it’s rare that you and everyone you work with is isolated for so long. We imagine many of you reading this can relate to the last year and a half.
We had a strong first year launching new brands for our clients. Including: Sully Innovations, Ceremony Mushrooms, Not 9 to 5, Scout Canning and Industria Innovations. You can learn more about all our projects here. We also capped off the year with a nomination and win at the PAC Canadian Awards!
What a year we've had! A growing portfolio with a growing team and an awesome set of clients. Let’s pat each other on the back, take advantage of things opening up and taste the fruits of our labor.
Is that what we did? Hell no.
Before our year was finished, we took another leap of faith and decided to launch our first Brandsicle brand! Our skill sets were complimentary to many aspects of it, but let’s be clear. A service business and a consumer product business - they have many different challenges.
Out of pure determination, maybe some pent up angst from being locked down for so long, and maybe a little bit of ‘crazy’, We launched our second business - VIGYL.
Now - starting Brandsicle, a service business, during a pandemic from the comfort of home, that was tough, but it wasn’t completely new.
Starting a consumer goods business in the middle of worldwide lockdowns that haven’t been seen in 100 years… that’s where things got real!
In fact we are still working through the kinks. Delays on shipping, materials, production, product - you name it, we are still waiting to get the final product in our hands. Thankfully we have had a very supportive network around us that has helped us even get this far. We are also lucky to have a supportive customer base that has been patient with delays as we work through everything.
All we can say is what a year. You’ll be hearing more from us about both businesses as we start to get our feet set under them. We’ve been through the ringer and back in year one, we learned a lot and we can use those learnings to help you too. For today, it’s time to have that drink.
Cheers!
