Recent posts
Avoli: Innovating Women’s Volleyball Gear
Sports and Outdoor Brands to Keep On Your Radar: Avoli This week’s brand spotlight is Avoli (pronounced "Ah-Volley"), a brand dedicated to revolutionizing women's volleyball footwear and equipment. This is a brand I commonly reference with clients and students when talking about white space opportunities that exist in plain sight. For background, indoor volleyball has seen rapid sports participation growth over the last five years and has become a top team sport with young women. Yet, when looking at the footwear used, women often turned to men's basketball shoes (or basketball/court shoes mor
Feb 10, 2025
Could Nike’s $90 V5 Rnr Be Its Most Important Drop of 2025?
At first glance, Nike’s new V5 Rnr might not seem like a game-changing release. It’s a clean, $90 sneaker similar to the New Balance 530 or ASICS 1130. But make no mistake—this shoe is one of the most important products Nike has launched in years. Not because of the shoe itself, but because of what it represents. The Challenge for Big Brands: Playing Offense vs. Defense For brands of Nike’s size, being competitive requires playing both offense and defense. Nike has long dominated on offense—leading with innovation, setting trends, and defining the future of sport and style. But defense? That’s
Feb 10, 2025
Speedland: Redefining Trail Running with No-Compromise Innovation
Sports/Outdoor Brands to Keep On Your Radar: Speedland Think about this: What product would you create if you had the freedom to innovate without the constraints of price and margin? That’s exactly how this week’s spotlight brand, Speedland, began. I often reference Speedland with clients and students when discussing ideation and innovation without limits. Founders Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon set out to build a trail running brand with a “no compromises” philosophy. At a time when most major footwear brands were focused on road super shoes, Speedland was pioneering high-performance footwear
Feb 4, 2025