Three Nails Clothing is a clothing company designed for athletes who want to represent God’s kingdom. Derek was a college basketball player that wanted something more. He wanted to become a professional basketball player, but after college, he became a financial advisor. Derek knew he wanted to do something more than a 9 to 5 job. Finally, he used an idea that he had been thinking about for a long time, and after a lot of brainstorming and prayer, he finally decided to start his own company. Derek wanted comfortable, athletic wear that he co
uld wear to the gym, but he also wanted something that represented his beliefs and values. In turn, he created Three Nails Clothing. Dahl wanted to create a sleek and minimal design that represented something meaningful to the Christian religion, so he decided to use the cross. The Cross represents God’s sacrifice to the world and seems like a perfect fit for Dahl’s company. He used clever designs to complete his logo by creating the cross with three nails, the three nails that nailed Jesus to the cross. Derek stated that “It is our hope that our brand’s subtle designs will allow you to cultivate conversations to share your faith in Christ with others.” This mission is beyond entrepreneurship and a clothing brand; what Derek has created is a brand focused on an eternal goal. The goal that brings others to Christ.
Author Archive for Wilsongr19
Allbirds’ Story
Tim Brown is a New Zealand native who has long been involved in the merino wool industry. Brown was fascinated with this material due to its durability, sustainability, and comfortability. At one point, Brown realized that this material would be great for the shoe industry, and that’s when Allbirds was born. Tim Brown then teamed up with renewables expert Joey Zwillinger; together, they invented a whole new shoe that would forever change the footwear industry. Allbirds uses raw, all-natural materials comprised of four main elements trees, merino wool, sugar, and their patented Trino technology, a yarn-like material made from trees and wool. After much refining, Brown, and Zwillinger were ready to launch the
ir first product, the Wool Runners. The Allbirds Wool Runners were designed to bring comfort to the DNA of an everyday shoe. The Wool Runner was a great success and is the primary reason that the startup is in the position that it is in today. Allbirds later produced all different kinds of shoes, disrupting the industry even further. They created running, weatherproof, and boat shoes all of which use their natural ingredients.
More About Materials
First, let’s talk about Allbirds most important material, Merino Wool. Allbirds has teamed up with ZQ Merino to ensure that the sheep used are well kept and healthy. Also, Allbirds has a shearing process that uses up to 60% less energy than typical synthetic shoes. The Tree material used in Allbirds comes from tree farms that are located in South Africa. These farms rely on rainfall to water their farms, not irrigation. This lowers the carbon footprint of Allbirds even lower, and not to mention the packaging, laces, and insoles are made from recycled cardboard, bottles, and castor bean oil. Tim Browns Allbirds had truly done something that had never been done before and, for that, tremendously succeeded. Together with Joey Zwillinger, Brown had truly made a great product that was sustainable, fashionable, and comfortable.
Beginnings
In 2009 Travis Rosbach and his partner Cindy Morse created a sensational new water bottle that was able to keep ice cold for over 24 hours. The new bottle was instantly accepted by outdoor adventures and anyone who wanted to keep their drinks cold. Not only w
as the hydro flask good for retaining temperature, but it was also aesthetically pleasing with bright colors and a fun logo. It was sure to draw attention.
Struggles
Although Hydro Flask was a great product that met consumers’ needs and found itself with an undefined market ripe for the taking, one main issue was getting the foot in the door. Hydro Flask’s sales were still low, and without an adequate budget for marketing, it was hard to get Hydro Flask’s name out there. The first Hydro Flask was initially sold from the back of a pickup truck, and sales continued to be sold in pop-up shops. In 2012 Scott Allen joined Hydro Flask. This was when sales started to take off. Hydro Flask had already racked up $2 Million in sales in the two years that the company produced bottles. However, Allen had plans to shoot for the moon. Allen visited many different companies like Google and Facebook and observed how their businesses were run. Allen noted that Hydro Flask needs a “culture,” a market that is reliant on Hydro Flask. After a few personnel additions, Hydro Flask was ready to advertise its new-found 
core niche, health. New Hydro Flask colors and cleaver branding encouraged Hydro Flask buyers to keep their bottles with them at all times, making it easy always to drink water and feel healthy. This inevitably worked and led to the eventual selling of the Hydro Flask company to Helen of Troy, a global consumer product company. A transaction worth a hefty $210 Million.
Conclusion
Hydro Flask’s success shows that finding a good niche, and marketing it well, is all you need for a companies sales to take off. However, Hydro Flask’s journey hasn’t stopped yet. The brand has since expanded its product line to meet all kinds of needs. Hydro Flask can be found in a surplus of stores and is even considered a slight symbol amongst the youth. Hydro Flask’s success is derived from entrepreneurship at its finest, creating a quality product that meets needs and has a defined niche.
Future Motion, Inc.
Kyle Doerksen started his career in entrepreneurship and innovation by competing in the Canadian Science fair, where he won an award for his invention of ground-penetrating radar. After getting his masters in mechanical engineering, Doerksen worked at a company called IDEO Palo alto. There, he managed projects and developed electromagnetic systems for kid’s toys. This was when Doerken started tinkering with the concept of OneWheel. It took 8 years of tinkering for Kyle to produce his prototype for OneWheel in 2013. Once he had succeeded, Kyle quit his job and decided to create his company Future Motion Inc. Kyle had created a riding experience like no other on a product that can be described as a recrea
tional personal transporter. In 2014, just a year later, Kyle had already started distributing his first product, the OneWheel. What Kyle had created was a product that offered an experience like none other. A OneWheel is an electric board that is made up of one wheel with a deck surrounding it. Inside the wheel is an electric motor and a computer programmed to balance the rider and make thousands of calculations to keep the riding experience smooth while traveling at speeds of almost 20Mph. Most riders would compare the riding experience to a snowboard or surfboard, allowing riders to make maneuvers like carving easily.
My Thoughts
I am currently an owner of an OneWheel Pint (a compact and cheaper version of the OneWheel), and I absolutely love it. I have put hundreds of miles on my board, and I am always looking for an excuse to go out and ride it. One of my favorite aspects of the board is its ability to off-road. Unlike other electric skateboards, the OneWheel can travel across almost any terrain or surface, making it super fun to take on walking and bike trails. What Kyle Doerksen has created is a truly astounding product that has found its way into recreational communities. Kyle’s story is truly a story of innovation and entrepreneurship because he was brave enough to take the plunge of quitting his job to pursue his vision for the innovation of OneWheel.
The Creator
Andrew Sutherland started his career with Quizlet in high school when he created it as a tool to help him study for his French class. After he began to succeed using his creation, he began to share his methods with the rest of his class and, eventually, the rest of the world. Andrew Sutherland is exemplary because of his unique problem-solving skills. Instead of creating physical flashcards, he used his skills in computer programming to develop and system that works best for him and others. Despite being incredibly innovative, he also had the desire to continue to build his invention while attending MIT. Sutherland’s creation now has over 50million users every month and is considered as the go-to studying app. The age of fumbling back and forth with note cards is over.
Quizlet
For years Quizlet has been considered a must for any student looking to ace a quiz. Quizlet has a massive array of information that is available to be studied as anyone is allowed to create their personalized study guide. Any user can create their own study set, folder, or class and browse the database for any specific type of information. The creation process is quite simple, create a new set, and you are on your way to success in whichever class you choose. Once you have created a set, there are a variety of ways that you can study it. For one, there are the essential flashcards that can be organized into sections that make sure you get extra practice on the vocabulary that you do not know. Some additional ways of studying include tests, learning (multiple choice), matching, and writing. No matter which way you learn, there is a method for everyone.
What makes Quizlet so exceptional is the application’s ability to adapt to any area of learning, whether that is science, language, or math; there is always information that needs to be studied. Quizlet has continued to innovate by adding text to speech and interactive vocabulary games that make learning fun. Quizlet has even implemented location-based recommendations to offer study guides for students attending the same school.
My thoughts
What Andrew Sutherland has created is truly inspiring through the way that he used his skills in computer programming to help others learn and retain knowledge better. Sutherland was able to locate a problem with his studies and created an application that is #2 for education on the app store. Quizlet is an app that I personally use daily and would recommend to anyone. The platform has seen great success and looks to have a promising future.
Brandon Webb is a 19-year-old entrepreneur that started the company Hypluxe. Hypluxe is a sneaker reselling company that aims to resell limited edition shoes to the public. Brandon Webb has been reselling sneaker since he was young and has been taking advantage of a market worth over $1 Billion that also offers profit margins of up to 1000%. Webb’s business targets the release of sneakers that are collaborations between celebrities and big companies like Nike, Adidas, and designer brands. Some popular examples of sneaker collaborations are Addidas and Kanye West’s Yeezy and Nike and Travis Scott’s Air Force One. One instance that Webb has given for his profit margins was his purchase of 100 pairs of Nike x Off White Jordan sneakers. At the time of release, the Nike x Off White sneakers cost $190 and were then sold for $1000 over the original price; this is due to the quantity of Nike x Off White shoes that were released. Due to the minimal supply, the resale price was drastically inflated. But how is Webb able to obtain these shoes if they are so limited? Well, Webb uses a highly developed bot technology that can purchase large quantities of shoes before the stock has run out. While this isn’t the most ethical form of obtaining sneakers, it is very effective for making a profit as even fairly common collaborative sneakers can be sold for a hefty profit.
Brandon Webb has taken his extensive knowledge of sneaker reselling and is now offering a guide on how to make profits that are in the six-figure range. Brandon Webb has advised hundreds of college students and shoe enthusiasts into making thousands a month just by selling shoes as a side job. One thing that is super beneficial about the sneaker reselling market is that it is risk-free, this is because if you are unable to sell a shoe for a profit, you can always return it for free. Brandon Webb is just one example of the vast opportunities that are available in the shoe resale market. Webb’s story is an inspiration because he shows that you can never be too young to make your first six figures.