notes from the ASI Action Sports & Apparel Innovator Panel

1. the entrepreneurs behind four of the most exciting brands in action sports shared their business-building advice with students – here’s what they said…

3. Andy Laats, Co-Founder and President of Nixon

4. Todd Richards, Olympic Snowboarder, Co-Founder OmaticSnowboards

6. on starting small and focused: 3

7. “find your niche and then exploit the heck out of it” 4

8. “try to be a big fish in a small pond” 5

9. “make a little bush fire and then let it catch on from there” 6

10. “start by building a leadership position in a small market – then partner with someone who can help you get bigger” 7

11. on fundraising and working with investors: 8

12. “fundraising is a living business plan” (ask rejecters for advice on how to make your business plan better) 9

13. “choosing your investors is the most important business decision you will make” 10

14. “fundraising is when you find out what kind of entrepreneur you are” (you learn what your risk profile is) 11

15. “don’t surprise your investors” 12

16. “take care of the people who were with you in the beginning…they will be your biggest advocates” 13

17. on marketing: 14

18. “we are leaving a trail of bread crumbs for people to follow as they learn about us…we let people discover things like easter eggs…we don’t tell everything at once” 15

19. how to differentiate? “it’s all marketing. kids want to associate with a name and feel they are part of a movement.” 16

20. “don’t talk down to your customers” 17

21. “we were in Big 5 every Saturday talking to every skateboarder about whatever they wanted to talk about” (be willing to do the work to build relationships with target) 18

22. “throw anchors in the opposite direction” (as you get bigger, go deeper with your core customers) 19

23. on strategy: 20

24. “there is no such thing as a defensible strategy. product innovation is our lifeblood but it isn’t defensible…it can be copied. what works is a good strategy well executed.” 21

25. “you may be a consumer brand but for the 1st 18 months, it’s about B2B” (getting distribution) 22

26. “take your core [target] on a journey with your product innovation” 23

27. final thoughts: 24

28. start-ups are evaluated on four P’s: product people potential predictability 25

29. “an entrepreneur is someone who makes money off of someone else’s money” 26

30. compiled by denise lee yohn mail@deniseleeyohn.com