The Origins of Grovemade
In 2009, Grovemade’s founders were on separate paths, following different career trajectories. Ken Tomita was a self-employed designer and builder of contemporary Japanese-inspired furniture. Joe Mansfield was running a small e-commerce business making and selling laser-engraved notebooks online. They met when Ken moved from his tumbledown workshop to a slightly less decrepit space situated directly across the street from Joe’s house.
As makers and small business owners, Ken and Joe shared a common bond. In their late twenties, they were just as happy to talk about potential projects as they were to finish current ones. They discussed their dream projects over extended lunches, and when the weather permitted, tossed an old football back and forth across the street.
Elsewhere in the world, the iPhone 3GS was released.
Following the unveiling, Joe told Ken that he thought there was major potential in making and selling a phone case composed of natural materials that focused on a high level of craft while being accessible to a large consumer audience. He was so convinced that he made many serious pitches to milling shops around Portland, only to be rejected by every last one. The product would be too complex, too small, too hard to machine. Instead of taking that as a sign, they had a brilliant idea: They'd just do it themselves, investing everything they had in equipment they knew nothing about. What did they have to lose?
Following the unveiling, Joe told Ken that he thought there was major potential in making and selling a phone case composed of natural materials that focused on a high level of craft while being accessible to a large consumer audience. He was so convinced that he made many serious pitches to milling shops around Portland, only to be rejected by every last one. The product would be too complex, too small, too hard to machine. Instead of taking that as a sign, they had a brilliant idea: They'd just do it themselves, investing everything they had in equipment they knew nothing about. What did they have to lose?
Don't Look Down
In lieu of thinking ahead, of business plans and metrics, they opted for hitting the ground running. The central focus was simply on making the thing, what-if’s be damned.
To make their case available on a large enough scale, they'd have to employ a CNC mill (a computer-controlled tool capable of reproducing finely detailed cuts). While they knew it could do intricate work, what they didn’t know was how to operate one. But, in keeping with their the-hell-with-it attitude, Ken took out a loan and bought a CNC mill outright, christening it "Rusty". They figured they'd just learn it as they went along.
To make their case available on a large enough scale, they'd have to employ a CNC mill (a computer-controlled tool capable of reproducing finely detailed cuts). While they knew it could do intricate work, what they didn’t know was how to operate one. But, in keeping with their the-hell-with-it attitude, Ken took out a loan and bought a CNC mill outright, christening it "Rusty". They figured they'd just learn it as they went along.
![CNC mill we lovingly named rusty](https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=200&s=3e97bf526f097571a0bd19ac90254b28 200w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=300&s=9336daf7fbb3953648f2c7f7ddf03444 300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=500&s=13240d0826769fae6c567ae13773b323 500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=700&s=f8f6931080c4cac6da56539dc0729f77 700w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=900&s=580d56ad5206b14382a29ecfb471b956 900w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1100&s=98e4f7705ab4ba1f5e0878f76df47278 1100w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1300&s=f633bf79839df9f114f4a312520973fe 1300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1500&s=9f736fb189b609fc2e76da36a78c6aa4 1500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1800&s=ac25e143d15ada649775dab9ce0715c3 1800w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2250&s=6defc9e406d41e9df91855f9bd0c25a9 2250w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2500&s=e0a9304259c7c89559fe163b5a10dfd6 2500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-rusty-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=3000&s=64c4cb0afe7858e8670b06146613b25d 3000w)
An industrial CNC mill is a serious piece of machinery. Rusty is about the size of a small Airstream trailer, and its instruction manual spans two-hundred mind-boggling pages that initially proved to be more mystery than anything else. In need of help, they hired two new hands: Their friend and CNC-master, Rizzo, to walk them through the ins and outs of the new tool; and Ken's younger brother Yuji, a wiz-kid programmer.
For the next nine months, Rizzo mentored Yuji on the mill, Ken took the lead with fabrication, and Joe pursued all possible marketing avenues while figuring out how his laser cutter could expedite the manufacturing process. This time was fraught with difficulty. The mill was as much Pandora’s Box as helpful gizmo and the case itself was an enigma due to the rounded geometry of the iPhone 3GS. Still, having gone all-in, there was no choice but to forge ahead.
For the next nine months, Rizzo mentored Yuji on the mill, Ken took the lead with fabrication, and Joe pursued all possible marketing avenues while figuring out how his laser cutter could expedite the manufacturing process. This time was fraught with difficulty. The mill was as much Pandora’s Box as helpful gizmo and the case itself was an enigma due to the rounded geometry of the iPhone 3GS. Still, having gone all-in, there was no choice but to forge ahead.
![image of early wooden iphone 3GS cases](https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=200&s=b6127c71cf9ae6661ddfe5eafbc6d4d8 200w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=300&s=855a12eb73c92ee2d4eea7c913d6d57d 300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=500&s=ecb2814be4b11e78df520aa2fb727798 500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=700&s=cb973a4c28a89f5988cf982b43b2b0ee 700w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=900&s=a8668350617cf9d7a8726da76bdfcdae 900w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1100&s=bdfd93366b9c4ba07a1f4528904e0eb0 1100w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1300&s=34157784e9ffc6950da52c202f2fba13 1300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1500&s=a8fb568202f65d5edaaec4ad1fac4766 1500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1800&s=7f7ba186699e1480c30c4513fed8d112 1800w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2250&s=f8e8265fcded3825038fa10b1be059b9 2250w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2500&s=f193b465d058360e300e23d16fabb3a6 2500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-D2.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=3000&s=ba42a66eff1f62cbeb52722fa2b22fb7 3000w)
An iPhone and a Bar Stool
After nine long months of development, the product was finished and ready to ship. On April 19, 2010, the new case launched online.
And then it happened.
The very same day that Grovemade.com went live, the previously unannounced iPhone 4 was leaked to the world when an Apple software engineer left his prototype on a bar stool after his birthday celebration. Suddenly the 3GS was the "old" phone, and everyone was looking at the glorious new iPhone 4. Any coverage Grovemade would have received was buried instantly. The newly minted Grovemade was dead in the water, stuck with a product about as relevant as a rotary phone.
And then it happened.
The very same day that Grovemade.com went live, the previously unannounced iPhone 4 was leaked to the world when an Apple software engineer left his prototype on a bar stool after his birthday celebration. Suddenly the 3GS was the "old" phone, and everyone was looking at the glorious new iPhone 4. Any coverage Grovemade would have received was buried instantly. The newly minted Grovemade was dead in the water, stuck with a product about as relevant as a rotary phone.
The next 24 hours saw the team come a bit unglued. Countless hours and resources had been poured into the project; individual businesses had been sundered. The decision to just go for it looked, suddenly and obviously, like a horrible choice.
![grovemade iphone 3Gs case](https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=200&s=11576e3a2a54abfba0a43a851f0df6a7 200w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=300&s=f04134aa399a45da09cf6d4f745e2090 300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=500&s=b13474b847ac11518e5e95cd377f4df5 500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=700&s=261d4f7f4df3a8fca7e4c4ba3e399285 700w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=900&s=ca3542403d72f755c93b4373498b5c00 900w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1100&s=97f3256a4982f0c251d4225ff5b4b243 1100w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1300&s=a21e830957d33652cbf998bc235c6c74 1300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1500&s=a2abdfff421283fbf232deb2454027d5 1500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1800&s=9d1367639d4fa6734bb40295b80f3f75 1800w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2250&s=ce50fd1002c4eb690a2c4df127854fc2 2250w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2500&s=d0cbce9efdbd4de1a8e1d8e74bbb3351 2500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-3GS-isolated-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=3000&s=d515f33ab798aa2168f2e15bff9ccf6e 3000w)
Sink Or Swim
Ultimately, Joe and Ken committed themselves to making Grovemade work. They would develop a case for the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4 come hell or high water.
The team set to work immediately. Though they wouldn’t be starting entirely from scratch, they’d still lost the better part of a year’s worth of work in a single day. With the new phone set to drop in less than three months, the race to conceptualize, engineer, and manufacture an entirely new case would be a study in frantic creativity.
The team set to work immediately. Though they wouldn’t be starting entirely from scratch, they’d still lost the better part of a year’s worth of work in a single day. With the new phone set to drop in less than three months, the race to conceptualize, engineer, and manufacture an entirely new case would be a study in frantic creativity.
They needed a new prototype in a hurry. Over the course of several weeks, the team designed a case based solely on the specifications cribbed from the leaked iPhone.
By mid-June 2010, they had a photo-ready prototype ready to debut online, and when the iPhone 4 officially went up for pre-sale, the team was able to roll out pre-orders of their new case right alongside it.
By mid-June 2010, they had a photo-ready prototype ready to debut online, and when the iPhone 4 officially went up for pre-sale, the team was able to roll out pre-orders of their new case right alongside it.
![image of iphone 4 cases with laser engraving of a artistic house](https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=200&s=4d6240005781184630a0bfc5a35a0210 200w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=300&s=b99f8a6a098dcbc9f5fcc940b9b6bd96 300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=500&s=cafe64fd049814727126d68ad6f4d68a 500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=700&s=3d8bee0c09242772ec0858021b58eaa9 700w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=900&s=14bd8896e62ad5727b827c26e92a86bf 900w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1100&s=f71f2f83b69d8e3c188fdbd788bc85d3 1100w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1300&s=4100e46acfdfad880f98c3350c72d629 1300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1500&s=f40c502dffe5b470dd9365f2b820ad3f 1500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1800&s=ff8ded369d38afe9191ab9cf3e5a5622 1800w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2250&s=ffc331ee09a31d5582c53f2167052136 2250w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2500&s=1ddddc71685c9b1ba95d7f1400eead63 2500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-iphone4-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=3000&s=21e2b46daebb4837cd94f5f9a89569a4 3000w)
The first week was another heartbreak. Sales were paltry, maxing out at five purchases per day. There was just too little exposure to generate interest in the fledgeling company, but the clouds were about to lift.
Breakthrough
On June 24th, the day the iPhone 4 dropped in stores, Ken was standing in a long line at the Apple Store when his phone began to buzz. He ignored it at first, but soon it was humming incessantly. Fishing it from his pocket, he found his screen flooded with sales alerts from the Grovemade website. Something big had happened.
![Gizmodo article featuring grovemade iphone cases](https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=200&s=7da33d3c71561f178648a83a533e6435 200w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=300&s=2576159cbe2a2628c6039b22f9e4e3ad 300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=500&s=e66b82aec920735c548b58bc8d6cbf2d 500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=700&s=ed66644b0e141734c25650e938deecd2 700w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=900&s=7074528a87eb7f94f68a9b049399983c 900w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1100&s=4a02c6635c26e66624357439e336f300 1100w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1300&s=54353004782122b32325c6b5658ac46c 1300w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1500&s=2bb20027eb3ceb5a14503100a9a358c9 1500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=1800&s=332b2c7128467f223a01119c769c428f 1800w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2250&s=f81bc52e9549bd7cb2622062e46442c5 2250w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=2500&s=bb7c72fafc768db36805fd16b9d079f4 2500w,https://grovemade.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fsiteleaf.grovemade.com%2Fuploads%2Fjournal-origins-gizmodo-A1.jpg?auto=format&ixlib=python-1.1.2&w=3000&s=e0aefb3bce428d05c023d72c5ec1e8b1 3000w)
The tech and design blog Gizmodo, with nearly a million visitors a day, had discovered Grovemade, posting a front page article about the case smack dab in the middle of iPhone launch day. Grovemade's sales zipped up from single digits into the thousands instantaneously.
This was great news, but completely unanticipated, and everyone’s feelings swung from ecstasy to panic. The business was saved, but how in the world would they gear up to fulfill orders on a global scale overnight?
Thus began a prolonged effort to produce on a scale that should have been well beyond the capacity of a company so small. By toiling around the clock and enrolling family and friends, they took a simple prototype and worked tirelessly to bring it to market.
This was great news, but completely unanticipated, and everyone’s feelings swung from ecstasy to panic. The business was saved, but how in the world would they gear up to fulfill orders on a global scale overnight?
Thus began a prolonged effort to produce on a scale that should have been well beyond the capacity of a company so small. By toiling around the clock and enrolling family and friends, they took a simple prototype and worked tirelessly to bring it to market.
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With limited space to work, the shop soon became overrun with materials and cases in mid-production. To ease the pressure on the team, Ken’s mother opened up her living room as the staging area for finishing the products. Each batch of cases was driven from the wood shop to her house, and with drop cloths spread over the floors, she personally hand-oiled each one. A custom drying rack was designed by the team specifically to compliment her living room. All hands were truly on deck.
After many long days and late nights of producing cases non-stop, they began to roll out to the first customers, who were happily, thankfully, delighted with their products. Grovemade was off and running, and wouldn't succumb to the fate of so many startups. The perseverance from those first days has served the team well in the following years, as the company has remained rooted in making things the hard way in an incredibly competitive market.