By: Brin Enterkin and Sydney Hulebak
One day, deep into our second Doritos Locos Taco, we began to wax poetic about The African SOUP—a community led, education nonprofit launched by Enterkin in 2009—and ways to cement its impact through a more sustainable revenue model.
Realizing that, as students, we had a limited donor network to pull from, we launched into a brainstorm that can only be fueled by late night Taco Bell. In this moment, Lion’s Thread was born, the first stitch of conversation in what would turn into a four-year endeavor into the world of social enterprise.
Lion’s Thread bow ties benefited the women of Iganga, Uganda who created them.
Lion’s Thread would eventually develop into a bow tie company with dreams to shake up the fashion industry by providing men with bold neckwear that packed a social punch.
However, this isn’t a story of how Lion’s Thread went on to become a household name, outfitting all of the world’s men (and choice bold ladies) in a dapperly fashion whilst bringing agency and opportunity to the incredible women of Iganga. Lion’s Thread did not succeed, at least not in the way we initially envisioned it. Like many of its entrepreneurial peers—with an estimated 80% of new businesses surviving past their first year of operation and a mere 40% lasting past year four—Lion’s Thread didn’t age too far past its nascent beginnings.
Lion’s Thread fell short for a few reasons:
1) we had a lack of market research on our target audience;
2) we entered into a heavily saturated marketplace with a niche social good product; and
3) we never had a full-time (or even part-time) sales team, which stunted our growth and fulfillment opportunities even when transactions were rolling in.
Improvements in any of these spaces could have helped us sustain a more measured growth.
That being said, we did some things right too: our team in Uganda was strong and positions were in high-demand (we had a steady wait list); our production processes and supply chains in Uganda were efficient with low error rates; and our cornerstone retail partners in the States were loyal and making repeat purchases.
The women of Iganga, including Sarah Nabirye, inspired Enterkin and Hulebak with their energy and passion and continue the work of Lion’s Thread.
Yet, this story isn’t one begging for sympathy. Lion’s Thread didn’t achieve financial success and scaling, but we have found new ways to classify and define success. Namely through the resiliency of friendship, the immeasurable lessons in business acumen and leadership and, most importantly, the determination of a group of Ugandan women who led Lion’s Thread to great gain locally even when the organization could not deliver on a broader Western stage.
1) Friendship Preservation. We kept a single notion top of mind throughout the arduous start-up process: person before project. We took this mantra quite seriously, cushioning it safely within a covenant that we both signed before launching Lion’s Thread late in 2013. A simple promise to respect the boundaries of camaraderie, despite the inevitable conflicts and discouraging roadblocks we would face along the way. This pillar wound up not only sustaining our friendship throughout the ebb and flow that was Lion’s Thread, but it also grew it, fostering an amicable union even stronger than before.
2) Question Hustle. We learned that not only can you serve two masters—both profit and social good—but you can also start a business with little to no experience as long as you embrace the process with humility and ask an unlimited number of questions. We were incredibly fortunate to have a squad of mentors surrounding us during our incubation period, sharing their resources and time with us without hesitation, including The Resolution Project, Watson University, CGIU and so many incredible individuals who stepped up to help a few youngsters like us.
3) Local Leadership. No takeaway stands more prominently than this one: social change is not possible without community-centered design and implementation. In Lion’s Thread’s case, this was the cohort of women we had the pleasure of serving alongside. Without the tireless leadership of our Ugandan Co-Founder, Sarah Nabirye, we would have been left guessing about elements from culture to local supply chains. Even post-Lion’s Thread, Sarah continues to lead the remaining team members to and through a life of reinvention and opportunity.
We know that we are not the first with tough lessons to share, nor are we the last. However, in reflecting on our time with Lion’s Thread, we were both struck by the need to share a narrative of complicated success, a story that holds dear those moments both tough and unbelievably joyous.
The Ultimate Win:
Lion’s Thread may not exist in its original form here in the States, but we were able to sustain our dream to provide options for meaningful employment for our Ugandan friends. Nabirye continue to grow Lion’s Thread locally, by building off established local contracts and expanding the line to include uniforms for schools and businesses. We also established a fund, garnered from remaining Lion’s Thread earnings, designed to invest in small businesses launched by the women on our core team. One enterprise opened its doors in June of this year and by August is already turning a small profit.
Not only is this creating a stable livelihood for our individual ladies, but it is also providing an opportunity to bring other women on board, shifting the economic makeup of their community. It is opportunities like this that show how twists in business can lead to unexpected rewards.
Brin Enterkin is the Founder of The African SOUP, Co-Founder of Lion’s Thread Bow Ties, and Co-Founder of MPower Biomass Energy Company.
Sydney Hulebak is a Resolution Fellow, Co-Founder of Lion’s Thread Bow Ties, and Research Assistant at SAIS Women Lead.