From Concept To Company: Dan Fabian, Founder, Ten PM Founder of Ten PM Dan Fabian is on a mission to to revolutionise people's health through better sleep and relaxation.
By Patricia Cullen Edited by Patricia Cullen
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Dan Fabian, a former city executive, found an unexpected winning formula in the combination of an active entrepreneurial spirit and difficulty falling asleep. This unique blend of ambition and adversity was the catalyst for TEN PM, an innovative health and wellness brand aimed at revolutionising sleep, allowing Fabian to "make a meaningful difference in people's daily lives."
What inspired you to start your business?
While I had spent almost 20 years working in the finance industry in London, my entrepreneurial nature meant that I always aspired to one day found and run my own business, whatever sector or industry that might be in. When leaving my corporate career in 2020, I felt it was the perfect time and opportunity for me to do just that.
Driven by my passion for health and wellness, yet personally struggling with sleep issues, I decided to create a brand and an innovative range of products aimed at improving sleep through natural supplements. This vision led to the birth of Ten PM. Founding a business that could make a meaningful difference in people's daily lives was the perfect endeavour for me.
What has been your biggest challenge so far in your entrepreneurial journey, and how did you overcome it?
As with any startup business, there have been a number of challenges, and I'm sure there will continue to be more as the business grows. Our biggest challenge to date has been related to stock, or a lack of it to be precise! With two leading products (a hot chocolate drink and an oat-and-cherry bar, full of calming and sleep-inducing ingredients), a situation arose with a sudden exponential increase in sales leading us to run out of stock of the hot chocolate at the same time as manufacturing issues with our oat-and-cherry bars. This led to almost two months of having no stock of our leading products to sell- not ideal by any means, and a hard lesson learnt in relation to forward stock planning. Although this was a frustrating and stressful situation, I took this two-month pause in sales as an opportunity to improve other aspects of the business such as strengthening the company's supply chains, fulfilment channels, and work on potential new product offerings. Improving operating margins allowed the business to flourish when new stock was finally produced.
How did you secure your initial funding?
Ten PM has raised no capital to date, and it has been funded personally by myself to launch the business, and has been bootstrapped thereafter. While I haven't raised outside capital to date, this is something I am always considering in order to grow the business, especially when it comes to overseas expansion.
How do you stay motivated during tough times?
When I read genuine customer reviews stating how their lives have been transformed with improved sleep after using our products, it means everything to me, and it fuels my drive and determination to continue to make Ten PM a success. Hearing directly from customers, and seeing the life changing impact quality sleep can have on someone, drives my dedication to spread the word about the importance of sleep, and the natural ways to enhance this crucial, and often overlooked, aspect of overall health.
How do you handle failure or setbacks?
Setbacks are always going to occur in every business, so it's important to not get stressed or panic when things aren't going to plan. Fortunately, these are situations that I thrive in, perhaps aided from my previous career working in a fast-paced, and, at times, stressful environment in the city. Problem-solving and determining the best route forward, while taking all variables into account, is a core skill needed of any leader.
What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?
While the usual bullish advice someone typically gives is to "just go for it," I personally would suggest a slightly more conservative approach. If you have an absolute passion, or believe that you have come up with an amazing idea or concept, then really think about how you can bring that idea to life in a commercial business sense. What I mean is, make sure you have the skills and resources available to take those initial steps. Think about what gaps you may have in bringing your idea to life, whether that's branding, product development, marketing, sales, financing, etc, and make sure you have a plan in place to fill those gaps. At the end of the day, your idea is only as good as the execution. And make sure you're ready and willing to put in the huge amount of effort and dedication needed to make your business a success.
