We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adam Nicholson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adam below.
Adam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I started San Util with the goal of providing space to create, design, and love people. For years I have pondered the reason I am where I am, and I ended with my personal mission to make peoples lives better around me.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a small business owner based out of Winter Park, Colorado. I started San Util Design LLC after many years in the cycling industry and a massive love for everything bikes. A few years back when I was gravel riding a lot, I wanted bags for myself but wanted to design them myself to suite my needs as a rider. I borrowed a sewing machine, purchased the best fabrics I could, and got to work. Nearly 4 years later, I continue on the mission of providing the cleanest and most customizable bags I can. I am proud that over the past few years I have stuck to my guns and built a small boutique bag company in a town that has very little outdoor manufacturing in it. Follow along San Utils journey as we continue to grow and meet the needs of more cyclists.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
About 2 years back I was at a stand still with San Util. The business needed more time, but I couldn’t figure out the balance of working my full time job and my little startup. I decided something needed to change.
Through the early summer I started working on a new line of bags to drop in a Kickstarter Campaign. I filmed a commercial, took photos and emailed as many people as I could. The Kickstarter went live and over the course of the next month, I raised about $20K. It was go time. I quit my full time job as a coffee roaster, purchased a few more sewing machines, and moved into my own workshop in town.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social Media has been a difficult job for me. I have always hated the comparisons the platforms afford people. At the beginning of San Util, everyone was giving me advice on how they thought I should run my business and how I should create my brand presence on social. I would post something that people suggested to me and then would get so bummed about the post. I decided that if I wasn’t excited about something, I wasn’t going to post it. Since swapping my philosophy, my social has grown exponentially and I have been actually excited to share with people.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: sanutildesign
- Facebook: sanutildesign
- Linkedin: Adam Nicholson
- Twitter: [email protected]
Image Credits
David Britnell, James Barkman