Always Custom, Never Customary

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in jewelry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kegan Fisher, co-founder, and CEO of Frank Darling, located in New York, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We’re Frank Darling, and we specialize in modern, bespoke diamond jewelry that’s practical for everyday wear. We pride ourselves on being the easiest place to design a custom ring anywhere. Our customers are wonderfully varied but range from young couples getting engaged to people looking to design bespoke celebration pieces to older couples looking to upgrade their original wedding set. We take a hands-on, transparent and educational approach to fine jewelry. Our process is intimate, but our business is worldwide. We’ve crafted thousands of custom rings for clients as close as NYC and as far away as Tasmania.

Tell us about yourself

My now-husband and I have spent our careers focused on the intersection of customization, technology, and traditional product categories that should really be more personal. After discovering firsthand how truly old school the traditional engagement ring shopping process was right here in NYC’s diamond district, we knew the world needed a customer-centric fine jewelry brand and created Frank Darling. We knew that designing a piece of bespoke jewelry should be a once-in-a-lifetime-level experience you go through with your partner. But, what we found was that most sellers approach an engagement ring as a transaction.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Definitely our reviews; we live for them! Every day we get more glowing five-star reviews, and they make all the hard work worthwhile. We focus so much on creating a wonderful customer experience and really go above and beyond to deliver that with every order.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I think this changes as the business grows. In the beginning, it’s not knowing if you’re going to find a product-market fit. Then it’s making the right hires at the right time. Then it’s knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of. Right now, we’re focused on scaling a very intimate and personal experience without compromising in any aspect, and that means you need to really have an absolutely fantastic team of people who share that commitment, and we’re so lucky to have that.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Just start. Whatever you think is going to work probably won’t, so it’s better to get it out there as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Do things that don’t scale. I know everyone says this, but it’s so important. We did ridiculous things at the beginning, like designing rings to a production-ready state completely for free to test a hypothesis on customization, but it’s a lot less expensive to test a hypothesis by hand than building a product no one wants.
Invest in the customer experience. Our customers are everything. When we had our 2022 roadmap kickoff, the number one thing was continuing to deliver an exceptional end-to-end customer experience. To us, this doesn’t just mean a beautiful ring; it means every interaction a potential client has with the brand, reducing friction in the purchase process, making it fun, and not falling into the penny-wise, pound-foolish customer experiences that fine jewelry companies so often end up in.

We’re hiring in NYC and San Francisco! And, of course, if you’re in the market for an engagement ring, check us out!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://frankdarling.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankdarlingny
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankdarling/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frankdarling/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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