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Success is not as easy as 1-2-3, and it barely happens out of luck. Ideas will not come to life on their own so you need to take action to make them happen. Young age is never a hindrance to the goals you want to reach. However, success can only be achieved if you have a “never-say-die” attitude.
In today’s episode, listen to Chris Meade—one of the founders of Crossnet—as he talks about how one night changed the course of their lives. A success story that only became true once they decided to transform their ideas into a business. Keep your ears open as Chris shares with us what it takes to go from zero to $2m using a simple approach—not easy, but rather simple.
If you wish to change your story and get on board the train to success. Hop on and tune in until the end to get the most out of this entertaining and valuable episode!
The Birth of The Concept of Crossnet (3:41)
- In the year 2017, Chris and his friends sat down one night and talked about creating a product.
- One of the ideas that came to mind was a four-way volleyball net.
What is Crossnet? (4:24)
- Crossnet is the first four-way volleyball net.
- Two volleyball nets intersecting and one person behind each square.
- Players play against one another in a free-for-all, game to 11, win by two.
- It’s a combination of Volleyball and Foursquare.
Turning Their Idea Into A Business (5:59)
- Coming up with the name, branding, and color schemes.
- Reaching out to manufacturers across the country to find distributors.
- Putting up enough capital from their own bank accounts. (To see the risks and rewards.)
- After finding a manufacturing partner, it took them several months before they got the prototypes they were happy with.
Crossnet in 2018 (7:39)
- Launched their own website.
- Sales weren’t amazing during their startup but they started to gain traction every day.
- Most of their content came from influencers and volleyball players who made their product look attractive.
- At present, 80% of their traffic and sales come directly from their website and then 20% is through retail.
- Crossnet was able to saturate two and a half thousand plus schools by pitching Crossnet to magazines that offer new products to gym teachers.
- After the launching of magazines, Crossnet’s sales have been cranking up.
Crossnet Retailers (10:30)
- Crossnet’s first retailer was a store called Scheels.
- Crossnet is also currently available at walmart.com, and target.com
- Crossnet will be available soon on macys.com, jet.com and wish.com
- Chris explains how they managed to break in and get deals with major retail stores like Walmart.
Crossnet’s Sales (12:36)
- As of December 2019, they hit the $2m mark.
- At the start of 2019, their projections for the year were just around $400,000.
- Crossnet now has nine to seven freelancers involved in the business all across the country.
Future of Crossnet (14:29)
- Chris thinks there’s an opportunity for their game to become a staple in gym classes all around the world.
- With more exciting gameplay, Crossnet could be seen as an alternative to learning volleyball in a more fun and enjoyable way.
- Crossnet currently has distributors in Canada, Europe (Poland and Italy), but mostly North America at the moment.
- Crossnet is looking to expand beyond North America over the next years.
Chris’ Learnings About Business (16:51)
- Waking up to $2 million in sales doesn’t actually mean you’re already rich.
- You still aren’t where you want to be since you’re always reinvesting money, buying inventory.
- Behind the scenes, you’re not only preparing for one month ahead but for six to twelve months ahead.
- Expectations versus reality: Chris and his partners are ecstatic—from just sitting down and brainstorming crazy ideas to actually having their own company.
- Resilience is one of the characteristics that Chris finds to be the difference between them and other people.
- Chris and his partners divide the workload according to skill sets with autonomy and trust.
Potential Challenges (21:27)
- Moving forward from online sales and retailers to physical retail stores.
- Chris finds it challenging for them to be making pitches at physical retail stores, explaining why they deserve shelf space since their product is big.
2020 for Crossnet (22:16)
- The indoor Crossnet model is coming out.
- A massive partnership with one of the world’s largest sporting goods & gaming store.
Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals (23:40)
- Double Your Profits by Bob Fifer
- Chris wakes up at 8:30 every morning and goes to the gym.
- He comes home and makes a protein shake, starts work until 12 o’clock.
- He then heads over to the local Starbucks cafe and gets coffee, then works until 4 o’clock.
- After that, Chris spends time for himself and his girlfriend, they go out to have dinner or watch a movie.
- Finally, he checks emails before going to bed.
To know more about Crossnet and Chris Meade, you may visit their website. You can also connect with Chris via LinkedIn.
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The Winning Teams Podcast is powered by the winning team at Valher Media.
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