Channel Mastery - Ep. 163: Jennifer Kriske, Founder of Machines for Freedom
Machines for Freedom
encore episode, replay of jennifer kriske, machines for freedom
“...It's exciting to see like the industry being infused again with some entrepreneurial spirit, right? Like a little bit of that willingness to experiment and to push the envelope and to try different things. I think that's what the industry needs, to kind of shake things up a little bit.”
- Jennifer Kriske
episode preview
For this week’s show, we’re replaying our MOST downloaded show ever in four plus years of Channel Mastery - the Jennifer Kriske, Machines for Freedom show, originally released as episode 118 in January 2020.
Jennifer is founder and CEO of Machines for Freedom, a very specialized, very awesome women’s cycling apparel brand. Her entrepreneurial spirit and approach showcases a spirit and drive to serve her target consumer. She does that through the right mix of channels, remarkable content and a comfort around putting a continued stake in the ground with inclusivity. She was a groundbreaking leader in this regard and I am completely inspired by her.
Her message in this episode is one that should really resonate with the specialty business community served with Channel Mastery.
Enjoy this encore episode, and know that within a couple of weeks, Channel Mastery will enter a new season with a stellar line-up of guests. We’re up-leveling the show to be the vehicle you need to know what’s working and what’s not to serve your focal consumer today.
featuring
Jennifer Kriske
Jennifer Kriske is Founder of Machines for Freedom, a high quality, high performance, women’s cycling apparel company. Prior to Machines for Freedom, she held positions ranging from entertainment media and hotel and restaurant design. In the midst of designing restaurants, she took up cycling and realized the need for kits that were more specifically designed for women.
Machines for Freedom launched in 2014 and immediately created palpable changes in the cycling world which has led to an industry-wide shift in the way cycling apparel is designed and marketed. Machines For Freedom not only proved to the industry that an entire market exists, but the company innovated and elevated cycling apparel for women in a way no other brand has, while building a strong and organic community riders who support each other, challenge themselves, and spread good vibes.
topics covered
cycling, cycling apparel, digital launch, IBD, independent bike dealers, specialized and Machines for Freedom relationship, apparel for women athletes
select quotes
“Where Machines is able to really remain distinctive is that we built a Kit from the ground up. Our patterns are all built from the ground up. We innovate and we really rethink what riders might need and want in a cycling kit. And so keeping that core value is really important. It's one of the reasons why we don't just launch a print every month and become more of this fast fashion business model.”
“...Part of the ethos of the brand has always been to show what the sport looks like from a different point of view. So the pictures that I would see through marketing materials through larger brands, that wasn't necessarily jelling with what I saw in real life in this sport. And so I wanted to show what the sport looked like from the rider's point of view and just change what the sport looks like.”
“...Sometimes you have to just trust your gut even if maybe you don't have as much experience...That doesn't mean that your ideas about things are any less valid and there's still just those struggles of selling apparel…”
“They're {people are} going to go down the path of least resistance, the path of least frustration. And so if the {shopping} experience is negative then they're going to try a different channel.”
“...It's exciting to see like the industry being infused again with some entrepreneurial spirit, right? Like a little bit of that willingness to experiment and to push the envelope and to try different things. I think that's what the industry needs, to kind of shake things up a little bit.”
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
related links
Machines for Freedom on Instagram
Relationship of Machines for Freedom and Specialized
Scott Galloway Interview re: Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook in 50 Years
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