Doug Barber: The Minaal Story

What this episode covers

Need to fit your entire life (including computer) into a carry-on, use the same bag to summit a mountain, and then show up to a meeting looking the part? Well look no further, the Minaal backpack is here. Doug Barber, Co-founder of Minaal, shares how he and his friend Jimmy Hayes came to develop their successful product, and went on to raise $350,000 on their first ever Kickstarter campaign. From their 18,000 mile road trip around North America in a Plymouth Grand Voyager van, to Doug’s experience as a corporate lawyer in New Zealand, this entrepreneur’s path is anything but ordinary. “It’s a mixture of travel for fun and seeing what’s along the way. If we know there’s a particular industry in a certain area, we will go check it out… because you can search things out on the Internet, but there’s a lot that you’re not going to find out until you actually go to the place and start talking to people.” – Doug Barber Travel Topics: * Presenting as a guest speaker on the Nomad Cruise [0:55] * The history of Minaal [1:25] * From road trip to corporate law [3:12] * How to plan the best study abroad year ever [6:00] * Traditional job by day, business dreams by night [9:52] * How to position yourself to run an international company [10:35] * Living ‘cozy’ and eating ‘the meal of champions’ [12:05] * The importance of developing quality fabrics for travelers [15:27] * What you can learn from tailors in central Vietnam [16:58] * How to develop a startup…. Hint: Teamwork makes the Dreamwork [20:00] * Producing a prototype that speaks for itself [21:31] * Benefits of getting honest feedback from your community [23:02] * Pros and cons when creating a Kickstarter campaign [25:40] * What it takes to build a brand and product [31:24] * Finding inexpensive, high quality manufacturers and warehouses in Vietnam… Get prepared to get sweaty [33:07] * How to choose the right factory to manufacture your product [36:35] Minaal’s first Kickstarter video Doug Barber’s Talking Points: * Explore the world with Digital Nomads on the Nomad Cruise Connect with Doug: Message | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube Music Credit: * La Nave en Querétaro by Barrionomada Take Action: Doug was willing to take an 18-hour bus ride through rural Vietnam to research the highest quality manufacturers. What project or passion would drive you do to the same?