It’s no secret: I am a bicycling nut. And of late, my tastes have turned very much toward the classic, bird-like lugged steel frames of a time gone by. I guess my techno-centric work life pushes me toward a personal life of dirt, twine, shellac, and other things that can not be had from the confines of a digital device.
There is a fellow named Chris Kulczycki, who via his Velo Orange blog, has begun to build a classic cyclo-touring business by interacting directly with his customers, and potential customers. The recent post that really struck me as interesting - and ballsy - was this one. Chris asks an open-ended question which has sparked a fervent rash of comments, requests, and of course, doubt. He asks with confidence, “Now don’t get excited, but what if Velo Orange had frames made?” He then lists a few core piece of his frame idea, and finishes his post with, “What else would you want to see on this imaginary frame?”
This is the most concrete example I’ve seen of watching a person build a business, and more importantly, getting explicit and public feedback from his *potential* customers to influence his product design decisions - all via his blog (and probably email).
Are there other interesting examples of this type of thing out there?
Oh, and I have to point you to the Velo Orange store to see the beautiful collection of hand-made bicycling goods that Chris is designing.