10 Things I've Learnt in Montii's 10 Years

Ten years. I genuinely cannot believe I'm writing those words.

When I started MontiiCo, I had a vision, a lot of passion, and way more questions than answers. 

So in honour of 10 years, here are 10 things this journey has taught me:

1. Longevity Requires Reinvention

When people ask how MontiiCo has lasted a decade, I think they expect a dramatic answer. But the truth is, it hasn't been one big pivot. It's been hundreds of small adjustments, made consistently over time.

The brands that last aren't the ones that get it right once. They're the ones that keep paying attention, keep asking questions, and aren't too precious about evolving.

Staying the same is never a safe option.

Reinvention is how you stay relevant. It’s how you stay true to what you actually stand for.

2. Great Products Come from Obsession with Details

I think a lot of people look at a MontiiCo product and see something simple. And that simplicity is intentional. But what they don't see is the number of iterations, conversations, and tiny decisions that went into making it feel that way.

Most people underestimate how much work goes into making something feel effortless.

Whether it's the weight of a lid, the angle of a latch, or the way a strap sits on a little shoulder. Those details matter. They're the difference between a product someone tolerates and one they genuinely love.

I've never regretted spending extra time on a detail. I've only ever regretted rushing past one.

3. Growth Is Exciting, But People Are What Make It Meaningful

The longer I run this business, the more clearly I see this: it has always been about people.

The team who've helped build it. The customers who've trusted us with their families. The community that has grown around something I created in my home.

The best part of growth has never been the numbers; even though of course the numbers matter. 

It's the message from a mum who says we made her mornings a little easier. It's watching a team member grow into a role they didn't even know they wanted. It's the kids who've had a MontiiCo bottle since kindy and are now heading into high school.

Milestones are great. But people are the whole point.

4. You Don't Need to Become a "Founder Bro" to Build a Successful Company

Early on, I absorbed a lot of messaging about what ambition was supposed to look like. The hustle. The grind. The relentless pursuit of scale above everything else.

It took me a while to realise that wasn't my version of success… and it didn't have to be.

You can build a genuinely great business and still leave to pick your kids up from school. You can care deeply about what you're building and also care deeply about the humans doing the building. 

Ambition doesn't have to come wrapped in burnout.

I wanted to build something sustainable, something that reflected my values, and something I was proud of from the inside. That's still true today.

5. The Internet Only Shows the Polished Version of  Business Ownership

Social media is a highlight reel, and the business world is no different. What you see online is the launches, the wins, the growth charts and the beautiful flat lays.

What you don't see is the order that arrived wrong two days before a major campaign. The night before a launch when nothing is working. The conversation with your team about something really hard.

The messy middle is where the real business is built. Longevity matters more than looking impressive online and I genuinely believe that.

If you're in the middle of something hard right now, you're not behind.

You're just in the part nobody posts about.

6. Your Intuition Matters More Than You Think

Some of my best decisions looked irrational on paper.

There have been moments where data pointed one way, a spreadsheet said something different, and my gut said something else entirely. I've learned to listen to that feeling. 

Not blindly, but seriously.

Gut instinct isn't magic. It's experience speaking quietly. It's every conversation, observation, and moment of pattern recognition you've had over the years, distilled into a feeling you can't always explain.

I used to second-guess that feeling. Now I treat it as information worth considering.

7. Growth Magnifies Problems

This one I learned the hard way.

For a while, I think I believed that if we could just grow fast enough, the rough edges would smooth themselves out. That scale would somehow solve the things that weren't working.

It doesn't. Growth doesn't fix weak systems, it exposes them. And scaling something broken just creates bigger, louder, more expensive chaos.

The best thing you can do before you grow is build something solid. Fix the foundations. Tighten the processes. 

Make sure the thing you're scaling is actually worth scaling.

8. Customers Connect with Humans, Not Perfection

This might be the lesson I'm most grateful for, because it's made everything feel lighter.

People don't connect with polished perfection. They connect with honesty. With brands that feel real, that acknowledge things go wrong sometimes, that talk to them like an actual human being.

The moments I've been the most transparent; the apology when something didn't go right, the behind-the-scenes that showed the chaos, have often created the strongest connection.

You don't have to be perfect to be trusted. You just have to be genuine.

9. You Won't Feel "Ready" for Most Things

I'm going to be honest: I have started more things than I can count while feeling completely underprepared.

New products. New team structures. New directions. There was almost always a voice in my head saying "not yet, you need to know more first."

But here's what I know now: confidence usually comes after doing the thing, not before. Waiting to feel fully ready is a really effective way to stay exactly where you are.

You learn by doing. You get better by starting. And the version of you that's been waiting for permission? 

She's been ready for a while.

10. Curiosity Is One of the Most Valuable Business Skills

If I had to name the one thing I'd want to hold onto no matter how big MontiiCo gets, it's this: staying curious.

Curious about what our customers are actually struggling with. Curious about what's changing. Curious about whether what we're doing is still the best version of what it could be.

Great product development starts with paying attention. And businesses that stay alive over the long term are usually the ones run by people who never stopped asking questions.

Stay curious. It's what keeps you sharp, and it's what keeps the work meaningful.

Ten years is a long time. It's also gone incredibly fast.

I started this with a dream, a lot of energy, and a genuine desire to make family life a little easier and a lot more fun. I still want exactly that. I just understand the work involved a whole lot better now.

Thank you for being part of this. Whether you've been here for a decade or discovered us last week, I'm so glad you're here.

Here's to the next chapter!