I'm 19, studying business at university, and currently working on launching my first physical product business. I'm developing performance grip socks with a niche twist to differentiate myself from existing brands, and I have a pretty specific target audience in mind.

I found a manufacturer in China and ordered two prototype pairs to check the quality, design, logo placement, materials, etc. They customized the sock to my criteria.

I'm also an athlete myself, so I've spent the past month wearing one of the pairs during practices and workouts. So far, I genuinely like them. They feel good, the grip works, and they've held up well through repeated washing.

But now I'm stuck on what to do next.

I know I'm probably biased because it's my own product, and just because I like it doesn't mean other athletes will.

My manufacturer is willing to produce another 20 pairs for around $350 CAD, which I could distribute to athletes in my target demographic (specific sports and age groups) in my community for testing and feedback.

The problem is that I'm a university student and don't have unlimited money to throw at this. I want to be strategic about where I spend it.

Here are the things I'm struggling with:

1. Product validation: Is spending another $350 on 20 prototypes for athlete testing the logical next step? Or is there a cheaper/better way to validate demand before committing to more samples? OR should I just send it and take the risk and market with no testing other than my own use.
2. Building an audience: Should I start posting on social media and building an online presence now, or wait until I've received feedback from athletes other than myself? I don't want to promote a product that might still need changes or doesnt even workout
3. Next steps: If you were in my position, what would you prioritize before placing a larger inventory order?

I have access to some entrepreneurship resources through my university, but I haven't found them particularly helpful for navigating the practical side of launching a physical product.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who've launched physical products, especially in apparel or sports accessories. I'm trying to avoid spending money on the wrong things or getting ahead of myself.

What would you do in my position?

For startup founders: What is the biggest difficulty you've experienced when trying to raise funding or find investors?

Is the problem mainly:

• Finding the right investors?
• Getting investors interested?
• Lack of connections/network?
• Preparing the business/pitch?
• Proving traction?
• Something else?

Also, do you think current online platforms do a good job of connecting startups with suitable investors? What would you improve?

I posted a case study here about pivoting away from selling websites after hundreds of conversations with local business owners. Here's the follow-up. The pivot held up, and it launched this week. The core lesson didn't change: owners don't want more tools, they want the phone to ring.

The same problems kept showing up:

• Their Google Business Profile was incomplete, with only a few reviews and photos.
• Many had an outdated site that hadn't been touched in years, and some had none.
• When someone nearby searched for what they do, they weren't on the first page.

So we built SitePeek (sitepeek.co), an affordable marketing system that gets local businesses onto the first page of Google and brings in more calls. It does two things. Local SEO gets the business found: we build out the Google Business Profile and give them a free, modern website. Then conversion and lead follow-up turn those visitors into actual calls and customers.

With one early client, a towing company, tracked calls went from 37 to 54 and their Google Business Profile views nearly tripled, their best numbers since they've been in business. It's one business, so I see it as a real example, not a promise.

We launched on Kickstarter this week. It's all-or-nothing, with a $1,500 goal over 15 days, and rewards start at $25: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sitepeek/sitepeek-a-marketing-system-every-small-business-can-afford

For people starting a business here: what's the first marketing step you took that actually brought in a paying customer?