By Julia Kobelski
Vol. 1
Bisous: Building Something Beautiful, Different, and Entirely Their Own
For our first Founders Feature, Zmanti sat down with the founder behind the brands taking the leap, challenging the expected, and building something of their own.
At Zmanti, we believe that living without limits starts with refusing to accept that there is only one way to do things. It means taking the idea that keeps coming back to you, figuring it out as you go, and having the patience to build something that feels true to who you are.
That is exactly what drew us to Bisous, an independent eyewear brand built around distinctive design, thoughtful craftsmanship, and a willingness to do things differently.
What began as an idea for a pair of versatile shorts eventually became a seven-year journey toward creating a completely different product: sunglasses. Their first frame launched in 2018, and since then, Bisous has continued to grow on its own terms; creating distinctive shapes, experimenting with color, and resisting the pressure to simply follow whatever happens to be trending.
Bisous, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was co-founded by Jonas Mikolich. We sat down with Mikolich to talk about starting from scratch, knowing when to pivot, designing outside the box, and why patience might be one of the most important parts of building a business.
STARTING WITH A LEAP
The beginning of Bisous wasn’t the result of having every step mapped out. It started with a realization that the path Mikolich was one wasn’t the dream.
“I didn’t like what I was doing,” he explained. “I looked around at the people that stayed in the industry and environment that I was in, and I didn’t want their lives.”
“I wanted to build something. I felt passionate about designing something beautiful.”
The first idea was a pair of shorts designed to move seamlessly from the boat to the water to the restaurant. What sounded simple quickly became anything but. After three years of prototypes, decisions, and increasingly complicated details, the team walked into a surf shop and discovered another brand already selling essentially the product they had been working toward. Instead of seeing that as a dead end, they saw it as permission to pivot.
“We think we have good ideas, and apparently, other people have similar good ideas,” Mikolich said his team realized.
So they killed the shorts. And started making sunglasses.
SEVEN YEARS, ONE FRAME, AND A LOT OF PATIENCE
The decision to move into eyewear didn’t make the process any easier. In fact, the first Bisous frame took seven years to develop before launching in 2018. That kind of timeline might sound daunting in a business world obsessed with speed. But for Bisous, it became part of the philosophy. The brand doesn’t release a new frame simply because the calendar says it is time for one.
“It’s when we realize, oh, this is the thing we need,” Mikolich explained.
That approach has allowed Bisous to focus on creating a smaller collection of designs that feel distinctly their own rather than constantly chasing the next trend. The philosophy is simple: don’t force creativity.
“I think it forces mediocrity,” Mikolich said of the pressure to constantly produce. “A lot of companies start off with something unique. And then, by the end of it, they’re all selling the same thing at a slightly different price point.”
It’s a philosophy that perfectly captures the balance between timeless and unexpected in the brand’s core designs.
Bisous’ original Circles frame established the brand’s identity. That was then followed by the Hannah, a classic cat-eye silhouette with distinctive details that give it its own personality. Most recently came the Squares, a frame that took years of thinking, prototyping, and waiting for the right idea to finally come together.
But even after releasing something new, the founder’s favorite remains the original design, the Circles.
Not necessarily most innovative, but because it represents where everything began. And everything the brand overcame to get there.
WHEN THE HARDEST PART IS SOMETHING YOU CAN’T QUITE EXPLAIN
For any founder building a physical product, there comes a moment when the idea in your head has to become something you can actually hold. That transition can be surprisingly difficult.
For Bisous, one of the biggest challenges has been knowing that something isn’t right before being able to explain exactly what needs to change. The founder recalls working on an early version of the Square frame that looked almost right, except for one small detail.
“You look at something, and it's very frustrating, because it's like, okay, well, it's this simple thing, but why can't we fix it?” Mikolich said. “So I'd say that's probably been the hardest one from a design standpoint.”
After countless iterations, that seemingly tiny detail became a reminder of just how much goes into creating something that feels effortless when it finally reaches the customer. It’s a lesson Zmanti knows well: sometimes, the smallest details make the biggest difference.
BUILDING A BRAND THAT TREATS PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE
While design is at the heart of Bisous, the brand’s philosophy extends beyond the product itself. Mikolich talked openly about the responsibility that comes with someone choosing to spend their money on an independent brand.
“Someone gave me $180, and they’re gonna wear my thing on their face. That’s a huge deal,” he said. “We have an opportunity to treat people with love and respect, and be kind, and we think that’s good for not only the business, but just the world. And we can do our small part.”
That perspective has shaped the way Bisous approaches customer service.
And it’s a sentiment that resonates deeply with Zmanti. Because building a brand isn’t just about creating a product people want. It’s about creating an experience people remember, and treating the people who support you as an important part of the story.
THE LESSON: LEARN FASTER, BUT DON’T FORGET TO BE PATIENT
It’s a question that seems simple, but captures much of the founder's experience: Do you go to another trade show? Spend more on advertising? Talk to more customers? Create another prototype?
There is always something else to learn. But there is also something to be said for accepting that some things simply take time.
“We grow as soon as we learn,” Milkolich said. “And so the thing for me is always, how do I learn more? Or how do I learn faster?”
“Patience is an incredible and irreplaceable part of the journey.”
LIVE WITHOUT LIMITS
We couldn’t end our conversation without asking Bisous what our own Zmanti tagline: Live Without Limits, means to them.
“Usually limits are made up by a fear of something that’s never gonna happen in the future, and maybe related to something that happened in the past. And most of the time, those things never happen,” Mikolich said.
“The thing you're afraid of is probably not that. But, go do it, you know what I mean? Go get it.”
For us, that’s what this Founders Feature is all about.
The founders we admire aren’t necessarily the ones who had every answer from day one. They’re the ones who were willing to start before they knew exactly where they were going, to change direction, learn from the process, make something different, and keep building.
Bisous didn’t set out to create a sunglasses company. They set out to create something beautiful.
And seven years, countless prototypes, a few pivots, and thousands of frames later, they’ve built a brand that proves there isn’t always a straight line between an idea and the thing it eventually becomes.
If you would like to grab a pair of Bisous sunglasses, use the promo code "ZMANTI" for 15% off.
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