Overwhelmed But Committed: What Kept Me Going as a Purpose-Driven Founder

There was a stretch last year, right in the thick of trying to find shirt suppliers, when I hit a wall. I had put a considerable amount work into designing and sourcing Entensa’s leggings and I thought shirts would be easy to find. After all, they’re more basic, and everybody makes them, right? 

Turns out, not the kind I wanted. I was trying to avoid sourcing from China for geopolitical reasons, and I wanted the shirts to feel aligned with the rest of Entensa’s performance-focused, purpose-driven lineup. But finding a factory that could hit the right balance of quality, ethics, and flexible MOQs? It took forever. I burned through about 10 factories, 50 samples, and countless emails before I finally shifted to a private label approach and landed with a factory in Bali.

But during that process? I was wrecked.

Not in a hip, “grind mode” way that we see all day long on social media. It was more a quiet, sinking feeling that I was stalling out. I didn’t want to quit, but I was overwhelmed and sliding into a fog where it felt easier to tinker with model shots in Photoshop than actually putting in the work to keep things moving forward. I had already worked with so many factories that, looking for yet one, or ten, more, seemed almost futile. Eventually, this morphed into a mindset of feeling defeated. But I knew that I had to keep going, for my sake. 

What Helped

Accountability. People knew I was building this. They knew I had a vision. And even when I didn’t feel like showing up for myself, I could show up for that.

Also, mindset. Not in the Pinterest quote sense, more like asking myself, “Do you still want this?” And if the answer was yes, then okay, let’s keep going.

What Didn’t Help

“Learning.” Or, more accurately, hiding behind it. I spiraled into hours of reading about SEO and strategy and personal development. It felt productive. But it wasn’t. In reality, I was just avoiding the hard part, which is making real decisions and moving forward.

What I’d Tell Someone Else

Ask yourself:

“Is this really the best use of my time?”
“How badly do you want this, really?”

Because if the goal is worth it, you need to find a way. It likely won’t be the way you originally imagined, but it’s a way nonetheless. Don’t get too attached to the plan, stay flexible about how you get there. Be willing to ditch ideas that aren’t working and be willing to make short-term concessions that serve the long game.

Progress doesn’t always look the way you think it will. But it’s progress. Keep moving. 

Entensa News: One Imperfect Pose at a Time

I’m here in Jakarta getting some entensa work done and had the chance to shoot with a local model named Amanda. For me, working with great models is genuinely one of the most enjoyable parts of this job. You spend a couple of hours collaborating with someone who’s dedicated, who’s trying, and who brings their own energy to the shoot. It’s fun, it’s creative, and it reminds me that building something real is always a team effort. And let’s face it, it gets my mind off of the day to day routine.

Amanda is still early in her modeling journey. She’s young, still learning, and represented by a solid agency here in Jakarta. She’s not the most polished model I’ve ever worked with, but in this one shot, there’s something that sticks with me. 

I had shown her a reference pose and asked if we could replicate it. She couldn’t quite pull it off, but she kept trying. Not with frustration or ego, just a quiet determination to improve. She didn’t want to give up.

The rain cut our shoot short (because that’s how Jakarta rolls), and we didn’t get the shot. But we got something better: a glimpse of what happens when someone shows up, tries hard, and doesn’t fold when things don’t go perfectly.

That’s the spirit we’re building entensa with. We’re figuring things out, sometimes missing the mark, sometimes getting rained on, but we’re still here, showing up and moving forward.

One imperfect pose at a time.

Listening > Knowing: What Hiring Taught Me About Building a Brand That Connects

This week, I brought someone new on board to help finish Entensa’s website and kick off our social media. She’s a digital marketer—sharp, thoughtful, funny, and honestly, she probably understands our ideal customer better than I do.

I’ve done the research, built personas, and conducted interviews. But she is the kind of woman Entensa is built for. And that kind of lived experience? You can’t fake it, and I certainly can’t out-research it.

As we talked about fonts, colors, and layout, she kept asking what I thought, what I liked. I kept saying the same thing: it doesn’t matter what I like. I care if it makes her—our customer—pause, feel something, maybe even feel seen. That’s what matters.

In the “About” section of this site, I wrote:

“Whether it’s true or not, always having the mindset of being the dumbest person in the room is rarely a bad thing.”

And I stand by it. It’s not about playing dumb. It’s about being honest with yourself about your strengths, your blind spots, and open enough to see what others bring to the table.

Because whether I’m the smartest person in the room or not (hey, it’s happened), I’ve learned that nobody wins when you pretend you’ve got all the answers. And people tend to shut down when you act like you do.

Sure, once in a while someone will try to take advantage of that mindset. And yes, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve for moments like that. But most of the time? I’ve found that progress comes faster when I listen more than I talk.

If Entensa is going to matter to the people it’s meant for, it’s not because I chose the right font. It’s because I knew when to trust someone else’s eye, and made space for it.

By the way, her name is Wendy. And I think you’re going to love what she’s bringing to Entensa.

What It’s Really Like to Work with an Overseas Factory

Working with a factory overseas sounds kind of cool… until you’re five emails deep trying to explain where a logo goes.

I’ve been working with a manufacturer in Indonesia on our second round of samples. And while they haven’t made any huge mistakes, no crazy fabric swaps or surprise colors as I’ve experienced with other factories, communication has been a challenge.

We’ve sent diagrams, notes, photos, follow-ups, even marked-up screenshots. But still, there’s confusion about where logos should be placed. Sometimes it’s the language barrier. Sometimes it’s time zones. Sometimes it’s just me thinking I was clear when I really wasn’t.

The real lesson? Communication isn’t what you say; it’s what gets understood. And when you're working across cultures, that takes more than clarity. It takes patience, repetition, and the humility to follow up without assuming you're being ignored.

We’re in the final stretch now. Hopefully, the logo ends up where it’s supposed to.

Update: They nailed it, logos are placed perfectly, eco-fabric with a very soft feel and pretty good wicking properties. Testers have loved them so far, I think you will too!