For George Nelson, launching his own cycling apparel brand has meant two things: It allows him to combine his passion for cycling and design, and it allows him to control his own destiny.
“I am a senior, senior designer,” he said. “The industry I have been working in and designing in has changed a lot of over the years. As you get older it seems like experience isn’t as much leveraged as you think it should be or you hope it would be.”
Nelson is putting his 25 years of industry experience into Kansept1, a brand that launched last spring that makes cycling apparel for men and women. The company has line of jerseys, bib shorts, and socks. Nelson plans to expand into gear and footwear in the next three to five years.
Nelson is focused on designing elevated and fun products with bold prints that not only look good but offer high visibility on the roads. The target consumer is anyone from a casual rider to a more serious racer on road or gravel.
He has funded the company himself so far. But, now he has a Wefunder campaign going — he hopes to raise the minimum $50,000 — and he is gearing up to raise a seed round from investors.
In addition, Nelson is looking for a business partner.
“We have a modest budget. There has not been a lot of marketing. That is going to be the key to success going forward and making this work and ramping up,” he said.
Nelson is after a piece of the nearly $8 billion global cycling market.
The brand is sold mostly direct-to-consumer online, though Nelson had a small line at West End Bikes in Portland. He is planning to launch a new spring line by the end of April. The company is generating revenue.
The products are manufactured by a factory partner based in Hong Kong. The manufacturer specializes in custom cycling apparel for teams and clubs, Nelson said. If he is able to raise funding, he hopes to add some consulting help with operations and distribution.
Nelson is starting to build the brand. Kansept1 is sponsoring the junior cycling team for East Portland Youth Cycling and it is launching a collaboration with local brewery Away Days.
Nelson’s career includes Nike and Pearl Izumi as well as stints at design and consulting studios working with name brands. As the pandemic hit in 2020 the small studio he was working at reorganized and he was laid off just before lockdown began.
“I hunkered down like everybody else and I said, ‘what’s next?’” he said. “I realized that if I wanted to continue doing what I love doing, which is designing product, my best bet might be to hire myself and start my own brand.”
