Build Ecosystems, Not Empires

A newsletter for BIPOC founders scaling brands that create wealth, justice & joy for our communities. You can unsubscribe any time.

By Gelaine Santiago of Founding Possibilities​

"So, What Actually Happened?" The REAL (But Not Too Scandalous) Reasons We Closed Our 10-Year Filipino Jewellery Brand
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Hey Reader,

Since we officially launched Founding Possibilities in April, it's been a whirlwind. We've already signed our 5th client engagement of the year 😱, wrapped up a client's brand story & content strategy for a jewellery brand in the UK, and have two more projects in the pipeline!

It's been so busy I've barely had time to post on my own social media, or I do it in a rush, or at 11PM on the couch while watching ER 😅

But amidst the busy, my co-founder and I finally had a chance to sit down and write something we've been wanting to share for a while...

For the past 10 years, my husband (aka. Co-Founder aka. COO) and I ran Cambio & Co. Filipino Jewelry and Sinta & Co. Filipino Weddings – two businesses we loved, and that were very loved by the community.

When we announced we were closing, we got flooded with hundreds and hundreds of DMs. People were shocked.

How did a business that was growing and had generated over $1M worth of livelihood for artisans in the Philippines, suddenly close in the span of two months?

Well, there’s the easy answer (US tariffs), and then there’s the more nuanced, less tidy one.

So we finally sat down and wrote an article sharing the real reasons we closed. Check it out here.​

The reasons were a mix of:

• Not focusing enough on profitability
• Scaling with overly complicated operations
• Misalignment, depression, and fatigue
• And harmful government policies (the final blow)

But more importantly, we wrote about what we learned and what we hope other BIPOC founders can learn from our mistakes - ESPECIALLY if you’re a founder trying to build a business that aligns with your values and creates wealth for your community.

If you’re looking for a scandalous read, this ain’t it 🙅🏻‍♀️ But curl up and read if you want an honest retelling of our experience and our concrete advice for other small business founders.

Though we love the businesses we built, looking back, there were a lot of signs that we should have closed our doors sooner. Hindsight is 20/20, but you always learn more from your mistakes than your successes. And Reader, you can bet we learned a lot.

​Check out the full article and let me know: What's a mistake you learned in business that taught you the biggest lesson?

Wishing you 20/20 hindsight vision today 👋🏽

Gelaine