The Case of the Sustainable E-Commerce Store - Why Product validation Matters

This is a story about a friend who had a big dream—to create an online store that would help Europe reduce its use of plastic. They wanted to offer eco-friendly alternatives, and the idea was inspiring. But as they worked on building the site, they decided to change their target customers, and that’s when things started to go wrong. This story is about what happened, the mistakes made, and the lessons learned.I want to take you through the ups and downs they experienced, the problems that arose, and how we tried to solve them. I’ll also share what I’ve learned from this experience. Out of respect for my friend, I won’t mention their company’s name, but I hope their story can still offer valuable insights.Every product has its risks. No company is ever completely safe from challenges, especially at the start. As people working on product development, it’s our job to reduce those risks as much as we can. One way to do that is by learning from others’ stories—what worked, what didn’t, and why. In this case study, I’ll share some of the mistakes we made and what I would do differently if I had the chance.I wish I could say this is a story of triumph, but the reality is different. As of now, the company is inactive. But who knows? Maybe someday, this story will have a happier ending. For now, though, it’s a story about lessons learned the hard way.

‍The Situation: A Dream Begins
‍It all started when I was working as a project manager for a software development agency. I was excited about our new project: building an online store from scratch to sell sustainable products. The idea was powerful—helping people make better choices for the environment. The team was excited too. The company had already tested a trial site and saw an incredible response, with over $500 in orders on the very first day. That kind of immediate success felt like a sign that we were onto something special.But things weren’t as simple as they seemed. The company had initially built their site using WordPress. Now, WordPress is a popular tool for building websites, especially for those who don’t have a lot of coding experience. It’s quick and easy to use, which is why so many companies start there. But WordPress has its limitations—it can be slow and difficult to adapt for more complex needs.When you’re building any kind of software, there’s a process you need to follow. You start by understanding the problem you’re trying to solve. Then, you design a solution. Only after that do you start writing the code.The problem for my friend’s company was that they had designed something that didn’t work well with WordPress. They spent months trying to make it work, but it was like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Eventually, they made the tough decision to start over and rebuild the site using custom code. This approach would take more time and cost more money, but it offered more flexibility to create exactly what they wanted.When I joined the project, they were months into the work. They had spent a lot of money and effort, but still hadn’t made any sales. The pressure was on to get a new site up and running so they could start selling their products.

‍The Problem: A Tough Realisation
‍As the development continued, a major problem came up. The company was struggling to find affordable suppliers for the products they wanted to sell. They had found a few products they liked, but those products didn’t match what they had been designing for.Initially, the plan was to sell directly to individual customers. But the products they found seemed better suited for businesses. This realisation hit hard. All the work they had done so far wasn’t going to lead them to the success they had dreamed of.

‍The Solution: A New Direction
‍Faced with this challenge, we had to come up with a new plan. Instead of targeting individual customers, we decided to focus on businesses—specifically restaurants and fast-food chains. These businesses could buy in bulk, which was crucial because the profit margins on the products were very slim.Switching to this new target market seemed like a smart move at first. If we could secure a few big clients, the business could thrive on regular, large-scale orders. But here’s where things took another turn. We didn’t do enough research to understand who these businesses were already buying from and how much they were paying.We quickly adjusted the website to allow for bulk purchases and shifted our marketing efforts to target these businesses. The excitement grew again—maybe this new direction would be the one that led to success.

‍The Result: A Hard Lesson
‍But when we finally started approaching businesses, reality set in. We discovered that all the potential clients were already working with established suppliers who offered competitive, if not better, prices. Suddenly, our excitement turned into frustration and worry. Competing on price wasn’t an option for us, and it turned out that our idea of sustainability wasn’t enough to sway these businesses. They cared more about the bottom line than about going green.We had spent all that time and money building something that no one wanted. The original dream of selling directly to customers had faded, and the new plan to target businesses had failed too. By the time we realised what was happening, it was too late. The business, which had started with so much promise, was shelved.

‍Lessons Learned: Reflections on the Journey
‍Looking back, there are some important lessons I’ve learned from this experience—lessons that have stuck with me ever since.

‍The Right Tools Matter: WordPress is a great tool if you know what you’re getting into. But if you don’t have a clear plan, it can turn into a huge headache. There are newer, faster tools out there that might be a better fit, depending on your needs. Don’t just go with what’s popular—make sure it’s the right choice for your project.

‍Test Often and Stay Flexible: Long gaps between testing can lead to big surprises. If you don’t catch changes early on, you might end up working with outdated information. This project took months, and by the time we realised things had changed, it was too late to course-correct easily.

‍Stick to Your Plan, but Be Ready to Adapt: Changing your focus halfway through a project can be risky. Do your research up front, try out your ideas, and learn from them. If you do need to change direction, make sure you start with a fresh perspective. Don’t try to force a new idea into an old plan—it’s better to start small and test as you go.

‍Know Your Customers Inside and Out: This might be the most important lesson of all. If you don’t understand your customers—who they are, what they need, and how they make decisions—you’re going to miss out on crucial information. We made a lot of assumptions that could have been avoided if we had taken the time to really get to know our target market. If we had done that, we might have built something they actually wanted.

Every product has its ups and downs. No success story is without its challenges, and most are filled with mistakes that we can learn from. It’s important to reflect on those mistakes, so we don’t repeat them in the future. This story might not have the ending we hoped for, but it’s full of lessons that could lead to success in the future.