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Pretty interesting article. Shows that it's possible to start from scratch with a simple idea, and build a brand like Under Armour. Also, shows what it takes to get there. Lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Under Armour gets serious | Fortune.com
"The story of Under Armour's origins is a classic entrepreneurial tale: Plank was a walk-on special-teams football player at the University of Maryland in 1995 when, fed up with the sweat-soaked T-shirt he'd peel off after practice, he had the idea for a tight, polyester-blend shirt that wicks away moisture while keeping muscles cool. Plank didn't invent "performance apparel," but he was the first to see its potential for not just athletes but also the mass market. As college came to an end, Plank had a job offer from Prudential Life Insurance. But he knew the safe move wasn't for him. "I would have killed myself," he says."
*Completely understand the total aversion to working a corporate job. Can't see myself ever doing anything but working for myself.
Process quotes below:
"With no business training, Plank resolved to sell his shirt using the only advantage he had -- his athletic connections. "I never knew exactly what [the company] was going to look like," he says, "but more important, I got up every single day and never believed it couldn't happen....... Plank wasn't just working the phone; he lived on the road with his trunk full of shirts, visiting schools or training camps in person to show the product, then pulling over to sleep.""
"....trying to start a business from the Georgetown basement of Plank's grandmother's row house. Not just any business either -- a sports apparel line. It would be like starting a Coca-Cola (KO, +0.62%)competitor or trying to create the new Facebook today. "It was absurd," Fulks admits. "We said, 'Oh, yeah, we're going to take on Nike,' and meanwhile we literally had shirts in cardboard boxes that were moldy on the bottom. But at the time it didn't seem absurd -- it was bliss." When meetings were scheduled, they would claim the "offices were being renovated," and instead hold court in the back room at Clyde's, a bar in D.C."
"What makes Plank a leader for today is his ultimate lesson that what seems impossible may not be. "There's an entrepreneur right now, scared to death," he says, "making excuses, saying, 'It's not the right time just yet.' There's no such thing as a good time. I started an apparel-manufacturing business in the tech-boom years. I mean, come on. Get out of your garage and go take a chance, and start your business." If you're looking for a city to represent, Baltimore is taken. But you could try Dayton, or Jackson, or Harrisburg ..."
Under Armour gets serious | Fortune.com
"The story of Under Armour's origins is a classic entrepreneurial tale: Plank was a walk-on special-teams football player at the University of Maryland in 1995 when, fed up with the sweat-soaked T-shirt he'd peel off after practice, he had the idea for a tight, polyester-blend shirt that wicks away moisture while keeping muscles cool. Plank didn't invent "performance apparel," but he was the first to see its potential for not just athletes but also the mass market. As college came to an end, Plank had a job offer from Prudential Life Insurance. But he knew the safe move wasn't for him. "I would have killed myself," he says."
*Completely understand the total aversion to working a corporate job. Can't see myself ever doing anything but working for myself.
Process quotes below:
"With no business training, Plank resolved to sell his shirt using the only advantage he had -- his athletic connections. "I never knew exactly what [the company] was going to look like," he says, "but more important, I got up every single day and never believed it couldn't happen....... Plank wasn't just working the phone; he lived on the road with his trunk full of shirts, visiting schools or training camps in person to show the product, then pulling over to sleep.""
"....trying to start a business from the Georgetown basement of Plank's grandmother's row house. Not just any business either -- a sports apparel line. It would be like starting a Coca-Cola (KO, +0.62%)competitor or trying to create the new Facebook today. "It was absurd," Fulks admits. "We said, 'Oh, yeah, we're going to take on Nike,' and meanwhile we literally had shirts in cardboard boxes that were moldy on the bottom. But at the time it didn't seem absurd -- it was bliss." When meetings were scheduled, they would claim the "offices were being renovated," and instead hold court in the back room at Clyde's, a bar in D.C."
"What makes Plank a leader for today is his ultimate lesson that what seems impossible may not be. "There's an entrepreneur right now, scared to death," he says, "making excuses, saying, 'It's not the right time just yet.' There's no such thing as a good time. I started an apparel-manufacturing business in the tech-boom years. I mean, come on. Get out of your garage and go take a chance, and start your business." If you're looking for a city to represent, Baltimore is taken. But you could try Dayton, or Jackson, or Harrisburg ..."
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