“I made so many mistakes and I still make mistakes, and learn from them,” Donaldson told Velocity’s monthly podcast, The Tracks of my Tyres. “You get a lot of rejection on the way, some bad comments that can bring you down, but you get a lot of good comments that pick you back up and [help you] find that purpose.”
Donaldson is on a mission to provide “honest, accessible cycling apparal for the everyday rider”, having been disappointed by what was available to him as a budding iron man competitior in 2017. On Donda‘s journey he’s made a lot of good decisions – and plenty of bad ones. If you’ve ever thought about setting up your own brand or business, save yourself a lot of heartache and hear how he negotiated supply chain issues, fickle consumers, intense competition, massive market disruption – and a trademark conflict with Kanye West leading to this summer’s rebrand as Keada Sports.
Engaging, good-hearted, entrepreneurial and indefatigable, Donaldson talks us through enlisting influencers, holding down a day job while learning how to manage growth, dealing with haters, the power of the Velocity to support a budding business, hooking a deal with Decathlon… and much more, including four of his favourite tunes.
“The most valuable lesson is to just give it a go,” Donaldson said. “But if you’re gonna do it, you’ve got to put the effort in.”
Listen to The Tracks of my Tyres on Spotify here.
