4 Tips for Building a Mighty Brand

It all started with a shirt.

Kevin Plank, University of Maryland football player, wanted to practice and play something a little more high- than cotton. He was tired wet, soggy, thin T-shirts —he needed something that would him dry, but not weigh him as an athlete. Seven prototypes followed. The most impressive iteration was of lightweight polyfibers and didn't hold to moisture; it also applied compression —which hadn't done . It became the staple Under Armour T-shirt.

Sixteen years , the desire to continue to create something better than already exists has led Plank's sportswear firm project a 2012 net revenue exceeding $1.78 billion. Plank is Under Armour's president, CEO, and board chairman. He led the expansion of the Under Armour brand a wide array of kinds of athletic apparel, well as street-wear shoes and accessories.

It's easy to forget that not so ago, Under Armour wasn't a household . Here's how Plank took his company from left-field idea to mainstream .

Solve Real-World Problems

When you work , you sweat. When you sweat your clothes wet — and then you're stuck them. To Plank this was a problem. So he says he a solution. "Our job is to be smart , to be humble enough, to identify what's happening out in the world and what are the things we can do to it a little bit better," Plank says. He worked to Under Armour an aspirational brand — but not one that's too out of for average consumers: The brand's self-stated mission to "empower athletes everywhere."

Stay Focused on a Single Mission

a white board in Plank's office, a simple message helps not lose of his initial goal: "Don't forget to sell shorts and shoes," it . In other words: Never lose sight of your primary . It was a steadfast focus on this goal that first enabled Plank to start his business in 1996 — and for its growth to reach rocket-speed. By 2003 Under Armour was No. 2 the Inc. 500.

Believe in the Power of Other People

When Plank started Under Armour, had $17,000 in cash and $40,000 available credit cards to fund the company. "[I was] smart enough to be naïve to not know what I couldn't accomplish," he says. But Plank says not knowing quickly he could burn his funds made Plank take the entrepreneurial leap of , and learn the value of the people believed in him.

Incredibly grateful to those who helped him started, Plank launched a fund at the University of Maryland finance budding entrepreneurs. "We can get up with all the things we can't do, but I encourage people believe," Plank says. "Optimism is a free stimulus — so why not us — and not you?"

Trust Mom

When Kevin Plank spoke National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C., he brought his mother. Karen Mills, Small Business Administration administrator, approved, saying as introduced Plank: "Anybody brings their mother along is OK by me."

But Plank more than polite reason to bring his mom along. It was who introduced Plank to some of his most valuable initial relationships. And — many entrepreneurs' mothers have at one time or — she also provided some funds his fledgling business. "Any self-respecting entrepreneur has borrowed money form their mother at some ," Plank says.


Adapted from: CNBC, July 13, 2012.