SDSI 2016 Newsletter February 26

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February 26, 2016

SDSI BUILDS PARTNERSHIP WITH ALIBABA ON BEHALF OF SAL

A note from our Executive Director
Not every month has a notable event, but February was a rare exception. As many of you know, Bill Walton made a trip to China late 2015 and networked into the executive team at Alibaba. (In case you forgot, Bill is our number 1 talent scout!)

Bill arranged a preliminary meeting for Nick and me in San Francisco. We made the trip, met the Alibaba executive team and had a good dialog about the California SAL scene. On the way out, the senior exec, Jim Wilkinson, said “if you have companies in your membership that would like to sell more in China, bring them up to the office sometime.”

“Sometime” was this month, February 10^th. I invited a representative group of our members to come along: Jinx, SKLZ, VerifiR, Eagle Creek (VF) and Road Runner Sports made the trip. The mission was to see if Alibaba could facilitate members' efforts selling in China.

As many of you know, I have been sourcing in China for 20 plus years and actively selling into the Chinese retail high fashion footwear market for several years. I don’t think of myself as “China naïve” or as uniformed about the Chinese market, or Alibaba for that matter. Big mistake!

Here are a few notes from the meeting. The numbers are not typos!

The Alibaba.com is a Market Place for living. It is not a Yahoo or Google site. Imagine a single site that combines Amazon, PayPal, eBay, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, email, Twitter, Netflix, Yelp, Fed Ex, Kayak Travel and more.
China is more than 90% mobile device based. Last year 409 million people used the Alibaba website, almost all mobile based. They transacted on average 50 times per user…around 20 billion annual transactions.

Alibaba is an everyday life experience for more people in China than live in total in the U.S.A. The average day for these people is often centered around the site. They go there first to plot out their day…food shopping, restaurants, movies, brand buying, travel, navigation, etc.

Alibaba is a marketing monster. On China “Singles Day,” November 11, 2015, Alibaba sold $14.32 billion. That amounted to 1,640 transactions per second! There are over 1.1 million people in the delivery process, moving 467 million packages per day.
Basically this makes the opportunity almost overwhelming. Imagine if you wanted to start selling in the U.S.A. just to reach around 100 million active users across all the disciplines…then multiply it times 4…mega challenge that will require a serious strategy and funding!

Now, it’s not easy to sell B to C , or B to B in China. It’s not perfect for every brand. There is risk of counterfeit, or channel conflict, or perhaps conflict with your brand’s distributor. It takes money (imagine SEO costs to access this many people). On the other hand, it's a huge opportunity.

SDSI is working on a model to facilitate access to China via Alibaba. I suspect it will take several months to get it done. Of course we will get the plan out to everyone as soon as we can.

It’s not often that a small business accelerator group like SDSI can bring a real opportunity to its members, certainly not of this scope. I am very anxious to see if we can help members who are interested to make the big step into this market!

~Bob

SDSI launches new website!
Welcome to the new SDSI website with sprawling scenes of San Diego’s iconic coastlines, mountains, piers and our favorite outdoor activities that we as San Diegans find it so easy to participate in. Not just because of the 3,055 hours of San Diego sunshine, but because of YOU and YOUR businesses. After all the sum of all the Sports and Active Lifestyle (SAL) industry’s products and services is the San Diego Lifestyle we all enjoy. We hope you feel welcome and represented. Now go outside and play and when you’re done, come check us out and see what SDSI is doing to represent you and make San Diego THE capital of the SAL industry. Check out our new site at www.sdsportinnovators.com.

SDSI Springboard Impact Report – Teaser! $47.5M in capital funding raised!
“SDSI sharpens your focus on your company. It is like a school for pitching businesses. If you are an entrepreneur you need to learn the skills SDSI Springboard develops”, 2015 Graduate. The SDSI Springboard 2015 Impact Report is in (at least in numbers) and we are excited to share the traction our 61 graduates have made. Since 2009, graduates have raised $47.5 million in capital funding, have created 390 jobs and 89% are still in business. And that is just the tip of the iceburg of the cool data we have. Look for the full Impact Report in our March Newsletter. SDSI Springboard Class 7 currently has 6 participating companies who will graduate this April. Applications for Class 8 are slated for late July. Learn more about SDSI Springboard.

SDSI and Bill Walton help Slyde to a $1M valuation
“For west coast businesses working toward the next level, SDSI is one of the greatest opportunities available,” said Slyde’s Angela Ferendo Watts. “It’s fair to say without the education and guidance of Bill Walton and the SDSI Springboard mentors, we’d probably still be looking for investment and possibly even be out of business,” she said. Slyde Handboards, an advanced line of patented handboards that provide “the best body surfing ride across the globe”, has grown from a $40,000-a-year business to one that’s worth over $1 million. Read the full interview with Slyde to learn how SDSI and Walton boosted their success.

Karl Strauss Founder address SDSI Advisory Board
Did you know that San Diego boasts 118 Craft Breweries? SDSI Advisory Board members learned first hand from Chris Cramer, CEO and co-founder of Karl Strauss Brewing Company, how fellow craft brewers have banded together to support their industry and their mission to make San Diego the Capital of Craft Brew. The San Diego Brewers Guild currently has 90 brewery member companies and they worked together to turn San Diego Beer Week, in just 6 short years, into a must attend tourist event with a nearly $1 million impact on San Diego - and a $13:1 ROI! We can learn a lot more from our friends the “beer guys” then just good beer; how to grow an industry too! Get the full event schedule for 2016 San Diego Beer Week here.

Private Capital Market Outlook & Sports and Active Lifestyle panel to feature Bob Rief
This year ACG’s Private Capital Market outlook conference will have a focus on SAL thanks to Procopio. The SAL panel will be one of four tracks and will include SDSI’s Bob Rief, Fernando Aguerre of ISA and Jim Caccavo of Steel Point Capital. Details and registration for this March 15 event here.

100% Speedcraft wins 2016 Design & Innovation Award
100% took home the cycling industry’s coveted 2016 Design & Innovation awards presented by Enduro MTB Magazine for their Speedcraft glasses. With roots deep in googles, 100% has transferred that knowledge into the Speedcraft glasses line for both road and mountain bikers. Read more at ride100percent.com.

Denise Lee Yohn introduces brand building business guide UNSTUCK
Feeling stuck? Experiencing a problem but can’t identify the solution? Check out UNSTUCK: Use the Brand-As-Business Management Approach to Troubleshoot Your Business, Denise Lee Yohn’s latest adaption from her book What Great Brands Do. Unstuck is a short guide that introduces six prevalent business issues and the solutions offered by the brand-as-business management approach introduced in her book. Download UNSTUCK and learn more about Denise here.

EliptiGO athlete Meb Keflezighi headed to fourth Olympic Games
Finishing second at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on February 13 in Los Angeles, Meb Keflezighi secured his spot on his fourth Olympic team. Keflezighi trains regularly with the ElliptiGO, which helps him optimize recovery, increase his volume and keep up with high mileage he needs for marathon success. Keflezighi is one of nearly 80 Olympic Trial participants who use ElliptiGO in their training. Read more here.

Super Bowl 50: Who is the real digital winner?
In honor of the big game Red Door Interactive experts decided to look at the event through a digital lens. We all know the Denver Bronco’s took home the big win, but did they conquer their opponent digitally? Red Door took a look at SEO, website tech and social media, to decide who won from a media perspective. See who took home the win at Red Door.

Red Door Interactive moves to Encinitas
Red Door Interactive will be relocated its Carlsbad offices to Pacific Station in Encinitas. The move will allow employees and clients more convenient access to walkable amenities and reflect the companies’ key focuses of teamwork and collaboration. Read more about their new location at San Diego Business Journal.

Camp Shred returns to Cardiff this weekend!
SURFING Magazine and Surf Ride have teamed up for the fourth year to bring Camp Shred, the world’s largest surf demo and festival, back to San Elijo Campground in Cardiff this weekend! Try out the latest wetsuits, boards and gear, enjoy the food trucks, live music and Saint Archer beer garden. Camp Shred is free and open to the public. Read more at shop-eat-surf.com.

The Enthusiast Network partners with GoPro Mountain Games as media sponsor
June 9-12, professional and amateur athletes from around the world will meet on the mountains and rivers of Vail to compete in nine sports for more than $110,000 in prize money at the country's largest celebration of adventure sports, art, music and mountain living, The GoPro Mountain Games. TEN has been selected as the official media and production partner and GrindTV has been selected to produce the media content from the event and collaborate on the distribution strategy. Read the full press release at The Enthusiastic Network.

Hookit identifies the world’s most influential figure in sport
Portuguese professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, has been identified by Hookit, as the world's first athlete to reach 200 million combined social media followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. That is 99% greater than the following of all the NFL players combined and greater then all MSL players and teams combined. Hookit is the most comprehensive platform to track, measure and value the total sports ecosystem on social and digital media. Read more of Ronaldo’s impressive stats and Hookit’s analysis of his epic rise in social influence at Forbes.

Tower Paddle Boards’ successful 5-hour workday
Tower Paddle Boards has been named the fastest-growing company in San Diego, has pulled in over $17 million in sales and was number 239 on INC Magazine’s Top 500 list of fastest-growing companies, but what is their secret? In addition to their unique marketing strategy, CEO Stephan Arastol has adopted a 5-hour workday which supports the companies “beachy lifestyle” brand and encourages their employees to pursue their own passions. Arastol was inspired by Henry Ford, who changed the 16-hour workday to 8 hours in the early 1900s. Read more about Arastol’s 5 hour work day here.

TransWorld SNOWboarding’s Riders Poll Awards winners announced
For the 17^th year, TransWorld SNOWboarding hosted one of the biggest nights in snowboarding on January 29 honoring the best in the industry as voted on by their peers. Mark McMorris and Jaime Anderson took home the men and women’s Rider of The Year award. Watch the winners’ acceptance speeches and see the full list of winners at TransWorld SNOWboarding.

InjureFree Technology to support concussion awareness & training in DC
InjureFree's real time injury documentation and reporting technology has been activated to support Washington D.C.’s efforts to comply with the District's Athletic Concussion Protection Act of 2011. The Act requires all adults in a supervisory capacity to be fully trained in concussion recognition and response. The District of Columbia is the first major metro area to fund training and public awareness for Athletic Concussion Protection and InjureFree can provide a detailed roadmap for all 50 states to institute similar programs to make youth activities safer. Read the full press release here.

Register your company for Outside’s Best Places to Work 2016
Think your company is one of the nation’s best places to work in the outdoor industry? Register before May 6 to participate in Outside magazine’s annual Best Places to Work program and see if you company has what it takes. Details here.

Turning Point Tip
How efficient and effective are your interviews? Are you struggling to hire the right person, at the right time for the right job? It may not be because of the tight labor market, it may be due to outdated interviewing questions. Gone are the days where an interviewer would simply say "So, tell me about yourself" or "What are your greatest strengths?". In today's market, and given the complexity of today's high touch, technology-laden positions, interviewers need to ask more direct, relevant and situational questions to discern which candidates can actually do the job. For example: "We are a very fast paced, fluid and sometimes chaotic culture due to our hyper growth. Tell me about the last two times where you were forced to switch gears without notice, moving rapidly from one hot button project to another." With a little preparation and focus, the success of your interviews will rise dramatically. Check out our latest blog for more tips on interviewing.

Open positions

VP Sales & Marketing, Consumer Products, San Diego
Director of Dealer Development and Sales, Consumer Products, San Diego
Sales Manager, Design/Distribution, Orange County
Senior Account Executive, Enterprise, Software, San Diego
Senior Account Executive, Channel Sales, Software, San Diego
Business Development Manager, Supply Chain Consulting, San Diego
Product Manager, Technology, San Diego
National Account Manager (2), Consumer Products, Toronto
Director of Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Orange County
VP Sales, Telephony Services, Los Angeles HQ but position location is open
National Sales Manager, Hospitality Services, Southern California

Digital Operative – Multiple positions available click for info

ElliptiGO – Operations Technician/Bicycle Mechanic click for info

Epic Series – Director of Sales click for info

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa – Food and Beverage Manager La Jolla click for info

J!NX – Multiple positions available click for info

KPMG - Multiple positions available click for info

RSM – Multiple positions available click for info

Red Door Interactive – Multiple positions available click for info

SKLZ – Multiple positions available click for info

Mar. 1 SDSI Springboard Class 7: 15 Minute Presentation #3, 8am

Apr. 6 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, with Bob Rief, 8-9:30am

Apr. 12 SDSI Springboard Class 7: Quick Pitch/Elevator Pitch, 8am

Apr. 26 Board of Directors Meeting 4-6pm

May 26 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, with Tony Finn, 3:30-6pm

Jun. 1 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Jul. 26 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Aug. 3 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Aug. 30 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Oct. 5 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Oct. 25 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Nov. 15 Board of Directors Meeting, 4-6pm

Feb. 27 – 28 Camp Shred Cardiff click for info

Mar. 13 – 16 ROTH Conference click for info

Mar. 15 ACG Capital Market Outlook & Sports and Active Lifestyle Panel click for info

May 6 Outside magazine’s Best Places to Work registration deadline click for info

May 18-21 SIMA Surf Summit, San Jose Del Cabo click for info

Jun. 9-12 2016 Summer GoPro Mountain Games, Vail, Co. click for info

Jun. 29-30 Agenda Long Beach, CA click for info

Jul. 18-19 Agenda Miami, FL click for info

Aug 2-6 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Salt Lake City, UT click for info

Aug. 15-17 Agenda Los Vegas, NV click for info

Sep. 8-10 Surf Expo, Orlando, FL click for info

Sep. 21-23 Interbike, Las Vegas, NV click for info

Nov. 4-13 San Diego Beer Week click for info

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