“I’ve always had an obsession with jumping. So what spurred the idea for this was my interest in entrepreneurship and my love of fitness and specifically jumping.” –Dave Hunt, USNA ’04
Dave Hunt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004 and is the founder of Crossrope, a company that sells an innovative jump rope system that helps people stay fit. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about how Crossrope helped a business executive lose over thirty pounds.
In this episode, Dave and I discuss:
- How downtime from an injury sparked his idea for Crossrope
- How his team built a 20,000-member online fitness community in a year and a half
- His journey from idea to making his first sale
- How he connected with a manufacturer to mass-produce his product
Words of Wisdom
Before Dave launched his company and invested heavily in inventory, he first created a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test out his idea. His MVP consisted of nunchuck handles, fishing lures, and a weighted cable which he assembled into the very first Crossrope. This strategy helped Dave improve his product design and get customer feedback prior to manufacturing his product. Creating an MVP is a great way get market feedback without taking much risk!
Connect with Dave Hunt
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Special thanks to Dave for joining me this week. Until next time!
-Scott Mackes, USNA ’01
