When Kevin Plank made his first moisture-wicking shirt, he knew the customer. Football players felt this pain. He knew because he was a football player. Once the technology was tested, he called the 40 NFL players he knew from his time playing in high school and college.
Those sales weren’t very hard to make. They probably weren’t “sales,” in the sense that the players bought anything. What Kevin got was something more valuable than $20 for a t-shirt. He got 40 elite athletes that he could point to when explaining how great his shirts are.
Immediate credibility. He entered the market with ease.
If I tried to make performance shirts for NFL players, it’d be WAY harder. Because I’d need to make a great shirt and also make a way to reach NFL players!
The t shirt part is hard, but reaching those high-profile customers is even harder.
Be careful about building a product that doesn’t have a path to customers. That part of the equation is crucial to your success.