What retail channels worked well/badly in your earliest stages (launch/early scale-up)?

I feel like I have a decent enough understanding of the niche-selection, design & manufacturing steps of the startup process.

The area I lack most clarity on is how to market and sell the products once they’ve arrived when the brand and inventory numbers are tiny.

What’s worked well for you? DTC via your website? Events/markets/fairs? Other?

Thanks for any suggestions!