Pakistan, Oct. 30 -- When people think about the consequences of a war, they think about destroyed cities, families moving, casualties, or even oil prices. Entrepreneurs are a rare part of that picture. But while building Bond, my teenage-focused fragrance brand in Pakistan. I learned that conflict doesn't have to happen in your area to affect your business. Sometimes it only needs to affect the route your product travels.

The bottle designs I made were supposed to come from Dubai by sea back in March 2026. When the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran stretched across the Middle East in early 2026, shipping through the Gulf became slower, more expensive, and less predictable. I had already chosen the bottle cap and shape...