Founder Series: MAKU The Label - Kyall & Maku Fenaroli

<p>Building an Art-Led eCommerce Fashion Brand: </p><p>Kyall &amp; Maku Fenaroli on Maku The Label</p><p>In this episode, Ryan sits down with Kyall and Maku Fenaroli, the husband-and-wife team behind <strong>Maku The Label</strong>, an art-centric fashion brand that's gone from Maku painting designs on blank t-shirts to landing David Jones as a stockist, all in under 18 months.</p><p>Maku spent over a decade in finance before turning her lifelong passion for art into a business. Kyall left a career as a plumber and general manager in construction to run the operations side full-time. Together they've built a brand defined by original artwork, rapid organic growth, and a willingness to make big, fast calls, including ripping up their entire fulfilment model mid-flight.</p><p>This one's a masterclass in scrappy growth, knowing when to change your model, and what it actually takes to go from side hustle to major retail partner.</p><p><strong>From side hustle to Style Runner in four months</strong>Maku started printing her art on blank tees with zero branding, just a decision to stop buying t-shirts she didn't love. Four months later they landed Style Runner, their first major stockist, before either of them had heard of an SSCC barcode.</p><p><strong>Why they walked away from print-on-demand</strong>Print-on-demand gave Maku total creative flexibility (paint today, sell tomorrow), but it was killing customer experience with two-week delivery windows and mispicked orders. After a rough Black Friday period exposed the gap, they moved to a 3PL and in-stock model in a matter of months.</p><p><strong>The real cost of switching to held stock</strong>Kyall breaks down what changes when you go from print-on-demand to holding inventory: deposits on stock six months out, a five-to-nine month cash conversion cycle, and having to plan collections over a year in advance. Maku is already painting for August 2027.</p><p><strong>Contribution margin over vanity revenue</strong>Kyall's biggest lesson from the last 18 months: understanding gross margin, delivered margin, and contribution profit, not just top-line revenue. He talks candidly about how much of the "guru" advice in eCommerce ignores what it actually costs to get a sale to break-even.</p><p><strong>Wholesale lessons from Style Runner and David Jones</strong>Maku credits Style Runner for patiently teaching them the basics of wholesale (barcodes, dispatch windows, systems) before they stepped up to David Jones, where