Comfy Cup LLC

Comfy Cupの進捗: 米国全50州で1万5000個のスポーツ用カップを販売
月商 $25,000 · 創業者2人 · 従業員2人 · Midwest, Kansas, USA
Kyler Russell（Founder, Comfy Cup LLC）· 創業 August 2016 · 記事掲載 — · thecomfycup.com · 元の記事

何の商売か

誰が野球やコンタクトスポーツを始める少年（7〜11歳）の親。従来の硬いプロテクターが不快で、子どもが試合に集中できないことに悩んでいる

何のために子どもが安全で快適にスポーツを続けられるよう、柔らかく体にフィットする新しいタイプの下腹部プロテクターを見つけたい。子どもが痛みや不快感でスポーツ嫌いにならないようにしたい

何を買うか少年用スポーツプロテクター「Comfy Cup」のワンサイズを、青・黒・緑の3色から選んで買う。売値は確認できず。Amazon、The Grommet、地元のスポーツ用品店（Scheels）、公式サイトで販売

創業者の当時8歳の息子が自身の不満から考案。販売は2016年8月から開始し、2020年には年商9万1000ドル（約1365万円）を達成。創業者が15歳のインタビュー時点（おそらく2021年）で、これまでに1万5000個以上を販売。集客は口コミ、AmazonやThe Grommet（発明品専門ECサイト）での販売、地元のスポーツ用品店での取り扱いが中心（推測）。広告はGoogle Adwords、Facebook、Instagram、Twitter、YouTube、Pinterestを使用。コロナ禍で2020年は売上が落ちたが、2021年には回復基調（推測）

売値の出典: 売値は確認できず（2026-10-13 取得）

使っている道具

会計: QuickBooks
広告: Google Adwords
分析: Google Analytics
customer service: Zendesk
デザイン: Canva, Adobe Suite
education: Udemy, Coursera
メール配信: Klaviyo
freelance: Fiverr
その他: Amazon, Google Shopping, Walmart
決済: PayPal, Amazon Payments, Square
ネットショップ: Shopify
業務: Google Workspace, Dropbox
seo: Logical Posit...
発送: Amazon FBA, Stamps.com
SNS: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest
web hosting: GoDaddy

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

My name is Kyler, I am the inventor and co-founder of the Comfy Cup. I am currently 15-years old, but I was 8-years old when I came up with the idea to create a more comfortable athletic cup for boys. I was frustrated by the protective athletic cup my baseball coach required boys on my team to wear. It was hard and uncomfortable. I would fidget with it in the batter’s box, on the field, and in the dugout. It was constant interference from focusing on the game. I tried a variety of athletic cups available in sporting goods stores and online, but couldn’t find a better solution. Instead of whining about it, my parents challenged me to come up with a solution. And now, I hit a homerun! Comfy Cup is changing the game for youth boy athletes. My simple invention has grown into a successful business venture for me and my family. Comfy Cup is now available on Amazon and The Grommet and in my local Scheels sporting goods store. I have sold Comfy Cups in all 50 states, plus Canada and Australia. My company grossed over $91,000 in 2020 and profited around $30,000--which helped fund my college savings and my Roth IRA.* *

Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

We have sold Comfy Cups in all 50 states, Europe, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. To date, we have sold over 15,000 Comfy Cups. We used our profits at the end of last year to purchase a year’s supply of Comfy Cups, which are currently housed in our basement warehouse and at Amazon distribution centers. We are feeling grateful for this decision, as the factory in China is currently not able to manufacture our product due to COVID-19. Create a solid business plan and marketing strategy so you will be ready to take off when the economy gets back on its feet. Create a solid business plan and marketing strategy so you will be ready to take off when the economy gets back on its feet. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in our sales, with baseball seasons on hold, orders for equipment have slowed. Our sales were down 52% from 2019 to 2020. Already in 2021, our sales are increasing, so we are hopeful that we will start making a comeback as boys get back to playing contact sports. We have explored adding bigger sizes, but there is a lot of testing that goes into that, it is not as simple as just making a bigger cup. We need to consider a stronger material for bigger, more advanced-level players. We also have explored adding slider shorts to our product line, but again, that requires manufacturing many different sizes and minimum orders for each size. So, for now, we are sticking with what we know and what works. We currently offer one size Comfy Cup for boys ages 7-11 in three different colors. I hope that the Comfy Cup will be the solution for boys all over the world who are just getting started with contact sports, looking for a softer and safer solution for athletic protection. We did not make it on to Shark Tank Season 12, but we are trying out for the show again and hope that the third time is a charm. We have our fingers crossed that you will see us on Shark Tank-Season 13.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

We learned the value of staying connected to our community resources such as the Small Business Development Center and our amazing accountant, Kelly Klusman with OwlFi to stay educated about available grants and loans. Comfy Cup was able to get $20,000 in EIDL, SPARK, and local county grants to help keep us stay afloat and have the money to buy products so we have plenty of Comfy Cups available for our customers when they are ready to purchase them.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

We are hopeful that this is the year that we will get to appear on Shark Tank (fingers-crossed). We would love to recruit the help of a Shark to take Comfy Cup to the next level. Of course, isn’t that every entrepreneur’s dream? We feel grateful that Comfy Cup has consistently grown year over year, except 2020. We anticipate COVID-19 will continue to impact our sales in 2021, but we are already seeing sales begin to grow again.

Have you read any good books in the last year?

We read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the story of how Nike was founded and its growth. The parallels of Nike’s start and slow methodical growth were inspiring to us, a fellow sporting goods company. We love Chris Guillebeau's new book The Money Tree. He was so kind to share an advanced copy of the book with us and we couldn’t put it down. The story was engaging and interwoven with valuable nuggets of inspiration for creators and entrepreneurs. This is a wonderful book and a fabulous gift for any aspiring entrepreneur, student, or anyone who wants to make money.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

Hang in there. 2020 was an uphill journey-- it can only get better! Use this time to re-evaluate what is working and what isn’t working in your business. Create a solid business plan and marketing strategy so you will be ready to take off when the economy gets back on its feet. Be sure to connect with the Small Business Administration. They have valuable resources right now for government grants that can help you stay afloat during these challenging times. Consider applying for opportunities under the CARES Act, including SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), the Paycheck Protection Program, (PPP), and the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

We are not in the position of hiring any new employees at this time, but hope as Comfy Cup grows to add new team members to support us in growth and marketing strategy.

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