Secret Academy Episode - Derrick & Stephan WilliamsAbout:
Wheel companies pop out left and right these days and it seems that very few actually survive more than a few years. While that may be the case, there are those wheel companies like D2 Forged, which not only survive, but work hard to become a true competitor to high line wheels everywhere. Founded in 2008 by Stephan and Derrick Williams who have spent the majority of their past five years working to transform D2 Autosport, their previous tuning business into D2 Forged, a very high line boutique wheel company. They share with us the struggles, the failures, and how their past experiences enabled them to move forward and reach this point. They also break down for us the inner workings of what makes a wheel company make it while others fail.
Lesson's in Today's Interview:
- How to grow a product into a brand
- Their humble beginnings.
- Their failures and learnings in the wheel industry.
- Expenses associated with starting up.
- Their initial marketing strategies.
- How $5000 is a big oops when you are bootstrapped.
- How they choose what wheels to design.
- How to create a niche within the industry.
- The reality of just working on exotic cars.
- The expansion of a small shop to wheel manufacturer.
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