Kobalt.co

Elle Black had experienced firsthand the nightmare of launching physical products. The problem was simple but frustrating: most manufacturers required massive minimum order quantities (MOQs) and wouldn't work with small creators. When COVID hit in 2020, something shifted. Suppliers suddenly became willing to work with lower order volumes as trade shows disappeared and supply chains fractured. Elle saw the opportunity and started building Kobalt in late 2019—a marketplace that would aggregate vetted suppliers and do all the hard negotiation work upfront.

Rather than launching a fully self-service platform immediately, Elle took a hands-on approach. She spent months sourcing suppliers, vetting them for ethical working conditions and product quality, and negotiating pricing and terms. She built infrastructure on the supplier side—creating seller stores, SKU management tools, and fulfillment systems. The team focused on quality over scale, carefully bringing suppliers into the platform and onboarding creators one-by-one to ensure success.

Elle didn't open the marketplace to the public. Instead, she worked with creators directly, managing the entire process herself. Over the course of a year, she facilitated 177 product launches. What surprised everyone was the repeat rate: 36% of creators launched a second product, and of those, 80% went on to launch three or more products. The highest-priced item sold was a $150 product with a 70% margin for the creator. This wasn't just volume—it was creating real brand value for emerging entrepreneurs.

The key insight was focusing on creator success rather than transaction volume. Elle's team carefully selected suppliers based on values: humane working conditions, domestic sourcing, organic/vegan options, and supply chain transparency. They negotiated low MOQs—as low as 25 units—making it possible for anyone with an idea to test a market without massive upfront investment. The model was simple: creators used Kobalt free, and suppliers paid an 8% transaction fee for each customer acquisition. With 2,500 suppliers on the platform by the time of the interview, the network effects were building.

Kobalt had 77 creators on the waitlist and was planning to launch self-service functionality in Q1 2022. The company was venture-backed with $2.8M raised and still in its seed round. Elle's vision extended beyond a marketplace: she wanted to create a million millionaires by democratizing product manufacturing. Her philosophy was to focus on building a genuinely large business that would generate 10x returns for investors and unlock entrepreneurial opportunity for millions of creators.