Népra has reached one of its big milestones, and we have made it through the first five years. 80% of the start-ups are gone after five years. Our survival hasn't been self-evident either. Népra is a privately owned company, and we don’t have big investors, credits, or other resources behind us. Our highest goal and motivator has been to do things differently, in an unconventional way, and offer the best to our supporters, followers, and Népra customers. We are in this business for the long run, and we want to make a tangible change in the garment industry.
It’s a marathon - not a sprint.
Last year we were still a team of two and only the founders Essi and Ama were working full-time at Népra. Until receiving an email from Elsa, we weren’t sure when we were going to hire our first - and most vital - employee. Since then, things have been rolling quite smoothly, and that’s the most essential indicator for us when we evaluate whether we are taking the right steps or not.
This year, we didn’t only hire Elsa but we have become a Frog Band of four when Aino stepped up to take care of our customer care at the beginning of summer. Working on our roles and responsibilities has been a big part of our jobs behind the scenes this year, along with adapting to all the changes the coronavirus has brought. Our fifth year has been one of the best years for us but obviously, COVID-19 has brought its tang to it because we have had to cancel all the events where we normally get to meet our wonderful Népra users face-to-face.
Despite the weird times, Népra feels more mature and more ready for the next level(s). As a small business, we always need to choose where to put our energy and focus onto, otherwise, we end up living in chaos. This is the main reason why we can’t partner up with everybody, take every project, or support every athlete that contacts us. Believe us when we say, we would like to do many things but if we want to do this in the long-term, we must hold our frogs and only choose projects we can and want to commit 100%.
We are in this business for the long run.
After reinventing and recreating Népra and our Frog Band behind the scenes during our fifth year, we are beyond excited to start our sixth year and the road to Népra’s 10th anniversary. For us creating a business is a marathon - not a sprint. We are in this for the long run.
Love,
Ama, Essi, Elsa & Aino
P.s. We wanted to take some new cool Frog Band photos, but due to the current COVID-19 situation, we decided to leave the photoshoot for another time. For now we are happy with the older photos.
