Since 1st Jan 2024 I have been full time focused on setting up my new business; (launching a new brand/products into the triathlon community/market).
I have already learnt so much; from sourcing the best manufacturers and ordering product samples through to appointing and working with a consumer facing brand agency on the brand identity.
I therefore see this as an apt opportunity for me to post monthly updates with my progress; both for myself to reflect back on over time, and hopefully also helpful to anyone else wanting to start up their own business, but just doesn’t know where to start! (Admittedly, I also read the first 5 pages of ‘Share Your Work’ by Austin Kleon (highly recommended book) so I am taking immediate action of just that!)
Business Introduction & Opportunity
Brand name: Suspense
Product range: elastic laces (supported by a small range of apparel & accessories for triathletes/runners/cyclists)
Gap in the market: as a Marketer I have identified an opportunity for a premium, fun, branded offering of elastic laces. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of brands out there, but none that invest into marketing; making it a dull category to shop within. They provide for the athletes need of an elastic lace but don’t invest in product innovations. Enter Suspense.
USP: functionally faultless, meets comfort, meets fun & aspirational lifestyle brand
Target demographic: triathletes focused on performance and those with the desire to seek out leading brands. My longer term vision is to launch ranges for other demographics that would also benefit from this product. Including kids, the elder generation that struggle to reach down to tie laces, those with arthritis, the list goes on. My focus, however, will start with triathletes as that is where my passion lies.
Brand mission: To become the Dyson of hoovers, the Google of search engines, the Apple iphone of phones. You used to say elastic laces; now you say Suspense laces ;)
What I’ve been up to this month:
Branding
- Ideate brand name: ‘SUSPENSE’: a word to capture one of the many feelings someone would experience at the start of a race; toeing the start line in Suspense. Additionally, this brand name works as an aspirational lifestyle brand; attracting people that desire to seek out leading brands with a contemporary, fun & modern look/feel to it
- Appoint brand agency: Tynan D’Arcy. I had an initial conversation to chat through the brand vision & how I could benefit from their design team and expertise; I knew straight away they were the right agency for my brand (highly recommended if you are looking to launch a consumer facing product!).
- Brief in brief: To create a brand identity that is premium, modern, fun, bold, energetic and dynamic and one that conveys Suspense as performance enhancing. Stay tuned for February’s update where I will share the finalised logo in all the various itterations with you!
- Tynan D’Arcy will also be supporting on the brand toolkit creation; including recommendations for the brand creative roll out across website (home & 3rd party retailer), social, exhibitions & CDUs.
- Purchase domain name : www.suspense.co (This is an area I have invested in (good domain names arent cheap!) and will be getting some support on search terms further down the line as this is a key channel to the future success of this brand)
Product range
- Decide on the minimum viable product range available for sale from day one of launch. The MVP is set as elastic laces, with supporting products including socks & caps. Anything more than this is a ‘bonus’ (I will quickly learn which products are in higher volume demand and build on the range in these areas). Adaptability is key to success.
- Manufacturer enquiries; I’ve been on Alibaba more than I have instagram this month (that’s saying something!). How it works: you submit a product request (known as RVF) which is shared with manufacturers that have the capabilities to create the product you are looking to launch under your brand. I had around 15-20 manufacturers reach out to me per RVF I submited (I also did some dudiligence by searching product categories on Alibaba to speak with any that stood out beyond that). I have received athletic socks & dry fit cap samples and am now currently working with Tynan D’Arcy on what these products could look like branded up under Suspense (colour palette / design / logo location etc)
Finances / numbers
- Create P&L based on estimates. As much as I am loving starting up my own business I wouldn’t be doing it unless I knew it could be profitable (I guess this goes without saying!). I have built a P&L based on worst case scenarios; estimated highest COGs including manufacturing, packaging & shipping, and estimated lowest RRP to ensure there is enough wiggle room in the product margins to sell to 3rd parties as well as occasional price promotions etc. In the coming months this can be updated to actuals and hopefully I will see positive improvements vs worst case scenario P&L estimations!
- Daily sales forecast. Of course this is ‘finger in the air’ work but it’s a good way to sense check volume estimates from the P&L! If I assume I will sell 5,000 elastic laces (1xSKU) in year 1, I would need to be confident I have a strong enough launch & marketing plan in place to sell 13-14 elastic laces per day - that’s quite a lot ! Of course this won’t be a flat sales curve but I have found this a great sense check & gives you a bit of a kick up the back side to ensure a strong enough marketing campaign to deliver against the numbers.
- Business bank account set up. Google to the rescue! Searched ‘the best business bank accounts for startups’; with Monzo & Revolut coming out on top; their monthly fee structure was slightly different and subsequently decided to go ahead with Monzo.
Launch plan
- Created a plan of all the channels/timelines/activity description to launch successfully into the triathlon community with impact (& orders!). Plan consists of 3 key areas:
- Online: paid social / SEO / Amazon / 3rd party online retailers/distributors
- Pro athletes: written a list of pro athletes to contact & request for support (I will send them free product and if they are happy with the product & would genuinely use it then I would ask them to tag in instagram stories etc). There isn’t currently any branding competition when it comes to pro athlete support for elastic laces so I am hopeful my contacts will be in support of my product
- Expos: feature at event expos; both local triathlons to gain immediate first hand feedback from the target demographic but also at major triathlon events in Europe to drive awareness and interest.
- Lots of ‘how to’ youtube videos were watched to gain knowledge of this topic, which admittedly I know very little about. I am also happy to share some of the many questions I searched on google, such as ‘should I register as a limited company or sole trader’, ‘can I claim VAT back as a limited company’, and many more… From my research it seemed that the most straightforward thing for me to do was to register as a Sole Trader, but this would put me personally at risk if anyone tried to sue the company. Most recommendations therefore guided me towards registering as a limited company, so I have done just that (with some help from the ‘how to’ youtube videos!).
What to expect in the upcoming months:
- February: an introduction to the brand logo! Potentially some sample images to share too. Website development & making a start on copywriting.
- March: a week in China! 3 days in Shanghai visiting the IWF Fitness & Wellbeing exhibition; meeting potential manufacturers & building ideas for various products. Finishing with 3 days in Shenzhen (via Hong Kong) to meet 3 key manufacturers (previously in comms via Alibaba) that have the capabilities to produce the elastic laces.