how my idea to make magnetic ski poles turned into an outdoor brand with a store and coffee shop in sf < 3 years

@xtinaashbaugh

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SoundTikTok sound · original sound - music._ismy.life

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Promoted product

Yardsale

whether you are looking for a yard sale or looking to advertise garage sales we can help

6 videos2 creators

Why it worked

The video tells a compelling founder story, taking viewers through the entire process of building a product from idea to launch. This narrative arc, combined with relatable challenges and milestones, creates a strong connection with the audience.

Summary

The creator documents the journey of starting Yardsale, a magnetic ski pole company. The video showcases the ideation, prototyping, design, manufacturing, marketing, and launch process, highlighting key milestones and challenges faced along the way.

Structure

1Ideation and initial prototype of magnetic ski poles
2Collaboration with an engineer and product designer
3Prototyping with model magic and 3D printing
4

Original caption

pov: you had to tell people you were leaving your job in venture capital to start a ski pole company @Yardsale @Double Black SF #yardsale #skipoles #doubleblacksf

More from @xtinaashbaugh

Product placement

Yardsale: ACTS - it is the brand of the ski poles being developed and sold. Removing it would change what happens in the video. Double Black SF: APPEARS - it is a related business mentioned in the creator's bio and on-screen text, but its direct role in the video's narrative is unclear. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Home Depot: ACTS - materials were sourced from here for a prototype. Removing it would change what happens in the video. Apple: APPEARS - mentioned as the employer of a friend who helped with design. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Instagram: APPEARS - the platform where a text message conversation is shown. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Facebook Marketplace: ACTS - a 3D printer was purchased from here. Removing it would change what happens in the video. Google: ACTS - used to find a factory. Removing it would change what happens in the video. Carbone: ACTS - a restaurant visited in Hong Kong. Removing it would change what happens in the video. REI: ACTS - a store where an event was hosted and where the brand eventually got into. Removing it would change what happens in the video.

On-screen text

how my idea to make magnetic ski poles turned into an outdoor brand with a store and coffee shop in sf < 3 years they were veryyy low fidelity but instantly easier to carry we started by playing with model magic we made 20+ forms to start testing and finally got to a spot where we could add in magnets and hack them on our old poles okayyyy 🤙🤙🤙 we named the company yardsale (after the skiing term) and kicked off a branding project we spent the summer of 2023 dialing in the design and in September we went to China to visit our first factory (that i found on the 15th page of Google) spent a week in rural northern China finishing the final ski pole design on the factory floor while the factory worked to finish the pole samples we went to Hong Kong to kill time and became fast friends with the staff at carbone (this becomes relevant to the company story later on) a few days later we went back to China to pick up the final samples before flying to New Zealand to shoot them in the snow (in September) we did our first photoshoot in queenstown, NZ in 2 days and then flew home in 2 days and then flew home to get back to our day jobs then on a random Monday in November we launched yardsale into the ether we flew to New York because we took a biiiig risk and took out ads on the nyc subway and trucks that drove around Manhattan for 6 weeks our ads in the broadway-Lafayette station! we hosted a bootleg event outside of the SoHo REI (rip) and gave out hot chocolate on the street with our truck in the background (this eventually helped us get into REI) then all of our inventory arrived to my parents house which served as our temporary warehouse before we moved it to Kelly's basement in SF