We were lucky to catch up with Ian Yang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

We sold our first product to a customer in New York. I remember it super clearly.

I built the original e-commerce website and tested it while in California. We then traveled to New York for a fair, where we’d set up a booth to sell our products. I was so excited to get my first-ever customer, but when they tried to pay, the website wouldn’t work. It kept giving me errors. I felt so embarrassed. The customer was super kind and said they’d come back later while I fixed the issue. It turns out, I didn’t take into account of different taxes in New York vs California. Luckily, the customer came back to pay and we got our first ever sale.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Gantri is an award-winning manufacturer of design-forward, sustainable lighting products for the home and beyond. We offer diverse lighting designs exclusively created by leading global designers that effortlessly blend high design and practicality. Our lights feature museum-grade dimmable LEDs that enhance the atmosphere of any space. They are made from Gantri Plant Polymers, our proprietary plant-derived materials that are biodegradable and durable. We manufacture all our products on-demand in California using an innovative 3D printing process, which enables us to offer luxury-quality lights at a more accessible price point. Gantri stands for the next generation of lighting, blending beauty, functionality, and sustainability without compromise.

I started Gantri in 2016 while learning about 3D printing at the SF TechShop, which was a machine shop where makers could learn about hardware and make things.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Have a clear mission, and creating new products and offerings that are aligned with that mission. For us, it’s all about designers. We have made it our mission to support them, treating them with kindness and respect. That’s how we’ve worked with some of the best designers in the world to create amazing products.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The most important team management techniques I’ve learnt over the years is the importance of creating a high-trust, high-performance bubble. To create a culture of camaraderie, where everyone is aligned with the mission and working hard together to make it happen, there cannot be people who are not pulling their weight or making positive contributions. It simply wouldn’t work. So we built a really robust team management and recruitment process to ensure that we attract the best people to join the team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gantri.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/gantri