From : Johnnie Gibson
Location : Greenville , MS |
Question :
What was the first step you took in seeking SBA assistance and how important was your net worth to gaining that assistance? |
Reply :
Sorry, but this has to be the last question. a great thing about the SBA backed loans is that your net worth is not as important as your vision and your hard work. that is why the SBA is there and as a former SBA borrower, we are also huge supporters of the SBA programs. I want to thank everyone for logging on today. We appreciate your support and we really appreciate the support of all our customers. For more information about our products or our brand, please go to our website www.underarmour.com. You can also view our latest commercial Protect this House 3 and see TEAM UNDER ARMOUR in action. |
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From : Winn
Location : Oakland , CA |
Question :
What's the typical time it took to receive an acceptance or denial of a loan? |
Reply :
in our case, the lender responded quickly and it did not take more than 4-6 months from business plan to closing. and of course, as we got better as we went. |
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From : Joyce
Location : Bear , DE |
Question :
How far in advance should you began the process of meeting with banks and lenders? |
Reply :
Joyce You might be surprised that your friends or associates can help you with finding a great banker. A friend of mine put me in touch with Kathy Speakman and Kate Carr of the Adams National Bank in DC. They helped us tremendously in organizing what we wanted and how to get the best facility working with SBA backing. The SBA and the Adams Bank worked together to close a number of loans for us as we grew the business. Each time we went for a loan closing, we brought a new loan application to support our growth! Some lenders may have been reluctant to believe in our vision, but the SBA is where vision can be made real. |
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From : Kim
Location : |
Question :
Does your company do sponsorships for events or individuals? |
Reply :
Kim Yes, for individuals and teams that are interested in an Under Armour sponsorship, our new website is the place to go. Go to www.underarmour.com and then www.uabiz.com and we have a sponsorship link and submit a request! |
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From : Trish
Location : Camp Hill , PA |
Question :
Did you use a manufacturers agent to get your product to market? |
Reply :
Trish - No. We at Under Armour have always tried to rely on ourselves whenever possible. |
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From : Darrell Simpson Sr.
Location : Orlando , Florida |
Question :
Scott What kind of online marketing did you do to increase sales? |
Reply :
One of the most effective ways we convey the Under Armour brand and story is at our website, www.underarmour.com. Under Armour has been doing on-line marketing and distributing viral e-mails through our website for years. On our new website, which we rolled out this month, we merchandise our products and educate athletes about the benefits that Under Armour Performance Apparel delivers. |
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From : Vern
Location : Orlando , FL |
Question :
What were the top marketing strategies you used to help your business grow. |
Reply :
Under Armour takes a very multi-faceted approach to marketing. Some of the core elements in our marketing strategy have been advertising, media relations,in-store merchandising and sports marketing. Key to all of these is building great relationships with individuals athletes and teams at all levels. Our marketing relies on providing a great product and service to ensure that our customers are ambassadors for Under Armour. When a customer sees the Under Armour logo, we want for them to understand the Universal Guarantee of Performance that product provides - marketing is a great way to communicate this. |
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From : Dawn
Location : |
Question :
If you had to start your business all over again, what would you do differently? |
Reply :
It's not so much about what we would do differently. Under Armour's success so far has come from the ability to learn from challenges and be better and stronger tomorrow than we were yesterday or today. Everybody makes mistakes along the way, the most important lesson to learn is not to make the same mistake twice! |
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From : Scott
Location : Janesville , Wisconsin |
Question :
Can you give us a timeline, how long it took for you to stop selling small quantities, and how your product became nationally recognized? |
Reply :
Great questions Scott. What is interesting about "overnight" success is that is takes many years to achieve. Every single customer is important to us and, in fact, the foundation of our brand and our customers are athletes and teams who have supported us over the years. These customers are not always the biggest customers, but they are very important nevertheless. We have been very fortunate to have begun selling into larger full line sporting goods retailers since about 2000 and those relationships continue today. National exposure from some of the great sports movies and TV shows, like Any Given Sunday and ESPN's Playmakers, has also increased the awareness of our brand and the range of athletes who rely on our brand. The inception of our virally successful Protect This House advertising campaign has also been instrumental in building a global buzz about the Under Armour brand. |
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From : Larry
Location |
Question :
Are you concerned about Nike coming after you? |
Reply :
As a company, Under Armour keeps our eye on the ball. Our strategy is to continue to look forward, not over our shoulder, doing what we do best and making the best performance apparel on the market. |
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From : Ray
Location : Rehoboth Beach , DE |
Question :
How did you create and sell your merchandise in small quantities (at startup) prior to securing a vendor for larger distribution? |
Reply :
When Kevin came up with the idea for a tight fitting moisture wicking t-shirt, he went to New York City's garment district and began asking questions of experts who were willing to help a young guy. Through learning about the types of fabric and fit of t-shirts, he was able to find and develop the right fabrics to use. He was also able to get the New York manufacturers to do a small run like a sample. Over time Kevin found a factory in West Virginia where again the factory manager was willing to help and make small runs of products. Because, of course, at this time it was "make only what you could sell and sell what you could make." |
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From : Dorothy Minnick
Location : Harrisburg , PA |
Question :
How did you manage obtaining start-up funds--did you receive help from any agency? |
Reply :
No Dorothy. My brother, Kevin's start up funds were what he could get on credit cards, and his friend Kip who is now our partner in the business had great credit and was able to borrow even better than Kevin. We also invested our own money. |
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From : Tony
Location : San Antonio , TX |
Question :
What type is help did the SBA provide to your business? |
Reply :
For us the SBA provided the guarantee to our local bank in Washington, DC to lend us the money. Our local bank, The Adams National Bank, was our more routine contact. The SBA representatives and the Adams Banks representatives helped us throughout the application process which we had never been through before and they helped us during our time we had SBA loans. |
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From : Michelle
Location : |
Question :
Were you turned down by lenders before being approved for a SBA loan? |
Reply :
Great question Michelle. In fact, on the SBA loan application specifically if you were turned down for loans from a regular bank and you have to been turned down by a regular bank to get an SBA backed loan. So you can imagine we were turned down by a number of banks which made this the easiest question on the application! |
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