Annotations - disruption

Recognizing the daily hardship the community had to endure, Scanlan and Rijsemus decided to work with Gobi Revival Fund, a local nonprofit, to set up veterinary insurance, breeding, and anti-dissertation programs. But they were told a year later that the programs failed to directly improve the local families’ livelihood.

(*anti-desertification) #partnerships as a failed practice. This could be related to the principle of #disruption that guides Naadam's business model

Not only are many of these cashmere disruptors direct-to-consumer businesses — a noted advantage for fledgling brands seeking that inimitable "cool" factor — but they're also embodying a trendy, yet well-intentioned buzzword that millennial- and Generation Z-aged shoppers find appealing: "sustainable," "ethical" or "responsible.

(as connected to Generation Z)

Historically, cashmere has always been luxurious. Cashmere has been aspirational. Cashmere has been timeless. Cashmere has been an investment. But in the last decade, cashmere has been "disrupted" much in the same way that eyewear or fine jewelry or skin care have.

My background is in strategy, operations and ecommerce. A

Tormey's self-description connects usefully to Naadam's business approach: #disruption of unfamiliar industries, working serially on startups with a view of each as a "task" or "project", treating complex issues as a problem to be solved through technology or marketing, etc. Note the comment: "I enjoy solving complex problems and diving head first into the complexity that many people try to stay away from."

If you’re not going to do something that makes you take notice or feel something, it’s a good chance that you’re going to waste the money,” Scanlan said.

There are not many details in the article but the desire to seize attention is typical of Naadam's approach, which involves a marketing-driven business model (as a DTC business and, initially, a kickstarter campaign). The taboo-breaking message is also consistent with the desire for #disruption , in this sense taking cashmere out of the grips of the somewhat conservative fashion industry.