"It's best to have a company registered in Delaware, which is very friendly to small and micro businesses and has better tax incentives than California."

Sophia, who was invited to Bill's house on Saturday night, suggested.

Mr. Ferrari, of course, agreed, "What about the factory?" I definitely wouldn't choose this neighborhood, the state taxes here are too high, and even the labor costs are high. ”

California has the highest state tax in the country in terms of personal income tax and corporate tax, and he just wants to start a sporting goods company, and there is no need to put the factory in a place where the state taxes are even more outrageous than New York.

Sophia flipped through the small notebook in her hand, "This has to be answered by professionals in the clothing industry, we don't have to set up a factory of our own, we can also find a foundry, the quality is guaranteed, and the output can be stable, which is much more convenient for start-ups." In the past few days, I have helped you contact some people in the clothing industry, shall we arrange an interview? ”

"Yes, just Tuesday morning! Our morning training is more free, just talk to the coach. ”

Because the regular season is usually played in the afternoon, the actual practice is also held in the afternoon.

Bill thought for a moment and asked the more important question, "How to solve the short-sleeved material thing?" We want to use materials such as polyester and nylon to make clothes, which university professors or students do we contact? ”

He is currently the equivalent of a product manager, and finding the right material requires a professional.

"The University of California, Berkeley, near us, is strong in textiles, clothing, and textile management, and ranks among the top three in the country. As far as I know, about a few thousand to one or two thousand dollars, they will be able to find you a few kinds of materials that meet your requirements. ”

Sophia said a vague number.

Beal is very familiar with the school's varsity football team, the Golden Bears are old enemies, and the annual San Francisco derby always causes something to happen.

But on the football field, the students from the two schools got along well, and three of Dr. Andy's engineering team were from Stanford University and the other two were from UCB Berkeley.

"This one should be fast, and it is best to see the finished product this month and set the materials we need. Before the start of the '83 season, our training jerseys, short sleeves and other products will be on the market, and I will sell our products to the support team in the interval between Parker 10 League games. ”

Thanks to his status as a varsity football player, Mr. Ferrari has quick access to NCAA varsity team members at the Div-1 level, including the Varsity Team in charge of procurement, including the Red and White, Golden Bears, Bruins, Troy, and other NCAA varsity teams.

During the regular season, the various varsity teams are more closely connected, and if they are in time, more than a dozen teams can use Under Armour's training jerseys and underwear this year to make a little name for themselves in the NCAA circle.

However, this is only the first step, and getting Jordan's contract before the Los Angeles Olympics in July and August '84 is the key to Under Armour's smooth growth.

Founding a company is not a trivial matter, and Bill summed up several difficulties in getting Jordan and even carving up the sneaker market according to his own memory and the current situation.

The first difficulty, of course, was signing Jordan.

As things stand, the top picks in the NBA draft usually get $100,000 a year on endorsement contracts and don't have special sneakers like signed shoes.

At present, Converse has won the endorsement of most of the NBA stars and occupies about 40 to 50 percent of the basketball shoe market, followed by Adidas, with a market share of about 30 percent.

At this time, Nike, although valued at about $20 million, mainly sold running shoes, namely the famous Forrest Gump shoes Cortez, because of these shoes, Nike is also considered by the outside world to be a jogging shoe company, and the Reebok brand belongs to the same track.

As for Nike's basketball shoes, annual sales should be around three million dollars, because Phil Knight, the founder of the hook company, is particularly fond of basketball shoes, and the company has invested a lot of money in the development of sneakers, but has never been able to open up the market. In the basketball shoe track, the hook company belongs to the third rate.

In the entire sporting goods industry, Nike should be between the second and third rate at present, the first-class is naturally Adidas and Converse, brands such as Reebok and New Balance can be regarded as second-rate, and Nike, which focuses on track and field running shoes, follows these peers.

Even if Bill's Under Armour has its own training jerseys, tight-fitting sweat-absorbing short sleeves and other products, in the eyes of these serious big companies, it is a small local factory that does not enter the stream, and only focuses on the rugby industry, and has no competitiveness.

However, there is no difference between Michael Jordan, the third-rate Nike and the non-mainstream Under Armour, Joe is bent on getting the endorsement contract of sports overlord Adidas, but Adi ignores him, and Converse gives a contract of 100,000 US dollars.

The second difficulty is naturally to create a pair of basketball shoes above the standard.

Don't look at the shoes, that's it, without a few years of technical accumulation and a reliable designer, you really can't make a pair of basketball shoes that can be used in actual combat.

The third difficulty is even more troublesome, Jordan will probably go to the NBA draft in June '84 and then play in the professional team, and the NBA will have a Jew as president at that time, and the NBA league will not necessarily accept Jordan to play in certain shoes.

These three difficulties are gradually increasing in difficulty to challenge the start-up Under Armour in chronological order, but signing Jordan is the most important.

As long as Under Armour signed the stingy superstar as a spokesperson, Nike had to choose other NBA stars to endorse their own basketball shoes, although according to the strength and marketing methods of the hook company, without Jordan can make their basketball shoes popular, but after all, it is not as good as the original historical trajectory of a pair of shoes to win $100 million in sales.

According to Bill's plan, from the end of this year to the beginning of next year, he will expand Under Armour's product line, produce the vast majority of football equipment, and take the opportunity to recruit a few sneaker designers to initially design sneakers, and possibly, use a lot of money to poach a few sneaker designers from Nike to launch Under Armour's first-generation basketball shoes around '85.

Of course, in this process, Bill's own financial resources alone cannot support Under Armour to become bigger and stronger. After the NFL draft camp ended next April, Mr. Ferrari decided to raise a large amount of money to allow Under Armour to expand production and get the money to sign Jordan.

"Boss, you are very interested in the company, but you don't seem to have made it clear about my salary." At the end of the conversation, Sophia suddenly changed her title and mentioned the salary.

"What is your weekly salary at drama school?" Bill asked the price first, in case he was overcharging himself with a salary that far exceeded the market.

Sophia closed her small notebook, "Give me three hundred and sixty dollars over there, you have to run around for this job, so it has to go up a little." ”

Three hundred and sixty dollars a week, fifty-two weeks a year, and an annual salary of about 18,000.

Bill roughly calculated, "That's four hundred and eighty dollars a week, and an annual salary of about twenty-five thousand." Externally, you are my assistant, and the expenses on the road are reimbursed by Under Armour. ”

PS: Ask for a recommendation ticket and ask for a monthly pass.

(End of chapter)