Micki Krimmel: Superfit Hero
Explicit content warning
07/12/18 • 60 min
Roller derby inspires a body-positive athletic fashion brand that’s just hitting a tipping point. Though finding a factory that will take her business has gotten easier, the real challenges have just begun!
Micki Krimmel is the founder of an emerging apparel brand called Superfit Hero. She has some serious startup chops, but if you had told her she’d have anything to do with athletics, fashion, or business a decade ago she would have laughed. She grew up a drama nerd who never did sports until she discovered roller derby. And then her whole life changed. I’ve gotten to know Micki’s new company, Superfit Hero, since she joined MAKE IT IN LA’s Catalyst program, which is building a diverse community of creatives that manufacture in LA.
It’s so hard to differentiate an apparel brand these days, but she’s doing it by being at the forefront of the new body positive movement. It’s exciting to watch Superfit Hero hit an inflection point. Her business is just taking off. But... ironically, her challenges are just beginning.
Links:
Superfit Hero website: http://superfithero.com
Social: @superfithero @mickipedia
For more information, bios, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/mickikrimmel.
About Micki Krimmel
Micki Krimmel is a serial entreprenuer, athlete, and loud-mouthed feminist. Micki was inspired by her experience as a competitive roller derby player to create Superfit Hero, a body positive, size inclusive fitness brand with a mission to empower women.
Micki has 15 years experience with technology and entertainment startups. Superfit Hero marks her first foray into manufacturing. With no fashion background, Micki was able to deliver a stellar fashion product by following the principles of customer discovery championed by the tech industry. With a tested and approved product sample, Micki funded her initial production with the help of her roller derby community via Kickstarter. Two and a half years later, Superfit Hero has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Buzzfeed, Refinery29, SHAPE, and many other publications. Micki's goal is to establish Superfit Hero as the go-to brand for the body positive fitness movement.
In her spare time, Micki enjoys lifting weights and riding motorcycles. Her newest hobby is wrenching on her 2004 KTM dirtbike.
Roller derby inspires a body-positive athletic fashion brand that’s just hitting a tipping point. Though finding a factory that will take her business has gotten easier, the real challenges have just begun!
Micki Krimmel is the founder of an emerging apparel brand called Superfit Hero. She has some serious startup chops, but if you had told her she’d have anything to do with athletics, fashion, or business a decade ago she would have laughed. She grew up a drama nerd who never did sports until she discovered roller derby. And then her whole life changed. I’ve gotten to know Micki’s new company, Superfit Hero, since she joined MAKE IT IN LA’s Catalyst program, which is building a diverse community of creatives that manufacture in LA.
It’s so hard to differentiate an apparel brand these days, but she’s doing it by being at the forefront of the new body positive movement. It’s exciting to watch Superfit Hero hit an inflection point. Her business is just taking off. But... ironically, her challenges are just beginning.
Links:
Superfit Hero website: http://superfithero.com
Social: @superfithero @mickipedia
For more information, bios, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/mickikrimmel.
About Micki Krimmel
Micki Krimmel is a serial entreprenuer, athlete, and loud-mouthed feminist. Micki was inspired by her experience as a competitive roller derby player to create Superfit Hero, a body positive, size inclusive fitness brand with a mission to empower women.
Micki has 15 years experience with technology and entertainment startups. Superfit Hero marks her first foray into manufacturing. With no fashion background, Micki was able to deliver a stellar fashion product by following the principles of customer discovery championed by the tech industry. With a tested and approved product sample, Micki funded her initial production with the help of her roller derby community via Kickstarter. Two and a half years later, Superfit Hero has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Buzzfeed, Refinery29, SHAPE, and many other publications. Micki's goal is to establish Superfit Hero as the go-to brand for the body positive fitness movement.
In her spare time, Micki enjoys lifting weights and riding motorcycles. Her newest hobby is wrenching on her 2004 KTM dirtbike.
Previous Episode
Should I make it in the USA? [live]
Four experts explore the dilemma of where to do your manufacturing. It’s is an important question to ask yourself when you are launching a company, and most people assume they need to go to China or elsewhere overseas. We’ve heard a lot about Made in America and retaining manufacturing jobs over the years. But is locally-made just a nice thing to talk about? Or are there times when it makes better business sense to make it here?
We speak with Michael Corr, CEO of Durolabs, formerly head of engineering at several hardware startups in the US and China; Sean Scott, CEO of COMUNITY, formerly of VANS, ASICS, Nike, and TOMS; Clarissa Redwine who heads up Kickstarter’s hardware community on the West coast; and Jaleh Factor, who brings her accounting background to her role as founder and CEO of Sourcing Theory, an apparel factory in DTLA. The conversation was recorded live at the LA Cleantech Incubator, at an event co-hosted by MAKE IT IN LA, ArtCenter College of Design, Supplyframe, Kickstarter, and Califia Farms.
I was curious how to model your expenses, how to assess the risks, and how to consider the hidden costs of manufacturing overseas. We discuss the ethical and sustainability considerations, which aren’t as simple as they seem. We talk about how to find your suppliers. And we hear some horror stories from the trenches.
This episode is not meant as a sales pitch for local manufacturing. Every company needs to do what’s right for their business. But, as I suspected, the decision isn’t as obvious as people make it out to be. This week’s guests give some surprising answers.
Links mentioned:
Cost calculator: Reshorenow.org
Tyranny of Small Decisions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_small_decisions
Episode with Jesse Genet of Lumi: http://makeitinla.org/jessegenet
Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck: http://amazon.com/dp/0143039431
Nomiku - sous vide cooker: https://www.nomiku.com/
Turntouch - wooden remote: https://shop.turntouch.com
Wood Thumb – woodworking makerspace: https://woodthumb.com/
PODO Labs – the first stick and shoot camera: https://podolabs.com/
Sourcing Theory: https://www.sourcingtheory.com/
Kickstarter: http://kickstarter.com
Durolabs: https://www.durolabs.co/
COMUNITY: http://comunitymade.com
For more information, bios, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/podcast/makeUSA.
Next Episode
Wiivv: Shamil Hargovan and Chris Bellamy
A startup builds custom, on-demand 3D printed shoes and gives a glimpse of what innovation might look like in the future.
Recently, I took a little road trip to meet some manufacturers. And this week we’re visiting Wiivv, a startup shoe factory just north of San Diego that’s bringing modern digital manufacturing to the consumer. Imagine taking pictures of your feet with your smartphone, and getting custom-molded sandals delivered to your door within 10 days.
While I visited Wiivv’s factory in San Diego, I sat down with their co-founder and CEO Shamil Hargovan and their senior engineer Chris Bellamy. I wanted to hear what it’s like to start a company delivering custom, on-demand products. I was curious about their production process, which combines digital manufacturing (like 3D printing) with more traditional approaches. We start off the conversation with a story from Chris about how he ended up running the marathon in a pair of their flip-flops! And we get some really interesting insights into how the trend towards digital manufacturing might change the way we live, work, and play.
Links:
https://wiivv.com/ www.facebook.com/wiivvit/ Instagram: @wiivvit Twitter: @wiivvit https://www.linkedin.com/company/wiivv/
Twitter: @shamilhargovan https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamilhargovan/
Twitter: @CWBellamy Instagram: @c.w.bellamy https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherbellamy/
For more information, bios, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/wiivv.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-art-of-manufacturing-365/micki-krimmel-superfit-hero-48540"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to micki krimmel: superfit hero on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy