I renamed the company to Craft Logic Solutions right after my meeting with Marcia.
The old name sounded too naive, no longer fitting for the direction we were headed.
Under her mentorship, I pivoted from a consumer-facing retail platform to building supply chain management software tailored specifically for small to midsize artisan businesses, a market almost no one had tapped properly.
The first month post pivot, I averaged just 3 hours of sleep per night.
I rewrote the entire system using a new framework and launched an email campaign targeting independent retail stores across the West Coast.
Every new contract helped pay off my car repair debt, cover hosting expenses, and eventually hire a part-time intern.
Jared, a UX design student I met at a community meetup.
We worked out of my apartment, used boxes of instant noodles as makeshift desks, and hung a whiteboard on the fridge door.
It was scrappy, but in that space, Craft Logic began to take form.
By fall, after more than 100 failed cold calls, I received an email from the operations department of a handcrafted furniture chain called Maple and Sage.
They had 36 locations across six states and were using outdated management software from the early 2000s.
The sender, Rebecca Tran, wrote simply, “Here, your software can track inventory per location. Send us a demo.”
I read that email 10 times.
After five sleepless days, Jared and I built a live demo that simulated multilocation inventory and order management, featuring a clean dashboard, easy navigation, and intelligent alert systems.
When Rebecca called back, she didn’t hesitate.
“We need this system deployed within 60 days. Can you deliver?”
I glanced at Jared.
He gave me a thumbs up.
“Yes,” I said. “But I’ll need to meet with your tech team to integrate accounting and shipping APIs.”
“Where’s your office?” she asked.
I swallowed hard.
“We’re remote at the moment, but I can fly to Maple and Sage’s headquarters in Denver whenever you need.”
That first meeting was also my first time stepping into a real office with clean carpets and an automatic coffee machine.
I wore a borrowed blazer and slightly worn shoes, but I stood tall, answering every technical question with the confidence forged in long nights coding on a beatup laptop.
The final contract was signed for $420,000, with $150,000 paid up front to start implementation.
I didn’t cry.
I just sat motionless in the taxi back to my hotel, staring out the window, clutching my backpack like it held an entire new chapter of my life.
From that moment, everything changed rapidly.
After delivering on our first project, Maple and Sage referred us to three more chains, one of them being Craft, a large craft materials supermarket chain based in California.
They signed a full system deployment contract for $630,000.
I officially incorporated the company in Oregon, rented our first office in Beaverton, and hired five full-time employees, software engineers, a project manager, and an in-house accountant.
Within 2 years, Craftlogic had offices in Portland, Denver, and San Diego.
We served over 60 retail chains and the platform evolved into a full ecosystem handling everything from order management and inventory tracking to shipping integration and customer behavior analytics.
In our third year, revenue surpassed $1.2 million, with net profit clearing 300,000.
By year four, I was invited to speak at the Women in Tech West Coast Conference, where I shared how simple software tools could transform traditional industries.
After my speech, a middle-aged man approached me and handed me his business card with both hands.
“I’m Michael Davis, chief strategy officer at Bright Access Ventures. We’ve been following Craft Logic since earlier this year. If you’re open to an M&A conversation, we have a proposal.”
I smiled and accepted his card, but made no promises.
The following week, I received three more acquisition offers.
The highest one valued the company at $36 million, an amount that stunned our entire team.
Jared blurted out, “If you sell, I’d be happy for you, but please don’t. We’re not finished.”
I looked up at the development road map pinned to our meeting room wall, where we used colorful sticky notes to track feature modules.