

Ask HN: Please help me shape the launch of my project - mazumdar

Dear HN,<p>I need your help.<p>I&#x27;ve been working on creating an athletic apparel brand this whole year. Most of my time was spent behind product development and after finishing a close-to-final prototype, I started planning a kick-starter campaign to raise funding for the first production.<p>Problem is, the video we made for the campaign did not turn out great. After receiving initial feedback on the video, I have concluded that it is not good enough - it doesn&#x27;t do justice to the product. So, despite having very little runway (I quit my job 2 months ago with 2 months of runway to pursue this venture), I have decided to make a brand new video.<p>I need your help in shaping the story of the new one.<p>If I could get some feedback on what works for you in the existing video and what doesn&#x27;t, it would vastly help me determine the focus of the new one. To express my gratitude for your time, I&#x27;ll give you a lifetime discount when the brand is launched. Just send me an email and tell me you&#x27;re from the HN community (email in profile). ANY feedback is welcome and appreciated. Thanks so much!<p>existing video: http:&#x2F;&#x2F;preview.yathletics.com<p>previous HN post: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=6213871
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jeffmould
Congrats on getting to where you have!

Overall I thought the video looked good. The problem is not necessarily with
your story I believe though. The problem is that the market you are entering
is dominated by major players with established markets, distribution, and
customer base. You will really need to show how your product is better than
those. The "anti-odor" avenue may be the best angle on that from what I
gathered in your video.

As for your direct-to-consumer distribution method, that will be a tough play
in this market I think. My suggestion is to go out to some of the high
schools, athletic leagues, smaller colleges in your area and talk to the
athletic departments. Try to get at least one or two on board with using your
product. Get feedback from them and build on that. It may be a loss for your
as you may have to give out some shirts to get there, but in the long run you
will gain valuable insight into the product. If they like it and it is better
or more cost effective for their players the word-of-mouth will get you
enormous return.

You are going to need to hustle the product yourself to these groups. Look at
the story of Kevin Plank and how he built Under Armour into the brand it is
today. Great hustle (it also did help to have some pre-established pro-athlete
connections and the fact he played football at a division 1 college).

Overall, I think the quality of the video is good. Maybe just focus more on
what is different and why it is better than existing brands/products.

~~~
mazumdar
Thanks Jeff. Great insight.

The "anti-odor" feature using natural silver struck out to most viewers as
something unique so you're spot on when you suggest that's the best angle.

I agree that the direct-to-consumer distribution method is tough; but brands
like BONOBOS and EVERLANE have shown that it is possible to become a
competitive online-only brand. Launching online is also the fastest and most
cost-effective way to starting an apparel brand.

Internally, one of our strategies is to make better quality products than
major brands do, so we invest quite a bit more money in manufacturing than
them. To offer value to customers, we need to be lean and that's a big reason
for going the direct-to-consumer route.

Getting the product into colleges or athletic leagues would be fantastic.
Great advice. I'm currently working on getting it into one of the best of the
PAC 12. They really like the product but there are a lot of other challenges
to overcome.

Kevin Plank is an inspiration and what he did with Under Armour is
magnificent.

Thanks so much for the feedback. It really helped. Feel free to ask me
questions if you're curious to know anything else about the brand/product.

