Manduka founder Peter Sterios explains that his company had the high-end yoga mat market to itself during its initial years.
Assertion Supported
Manduka's original yoga mat material was engineered as AstroTurf underlayment
“This mat was engineered as the backing for AstroTurf to be durable and to have a certain amount of stretch, but not too much stretch, and a certain amount of cushion, but not too Soft, not too cushiony. And in the same factory that, that the carpet underlaymen…”
Disclosure
Manduka's acquirers paid Sterios for two years without ever calling him
“At the end of three years, they stopped communicating with me, and the last two years of my employment with them, they paid me, and they never called me, which is the way it happens, I guess, sometimes.”
Disclosure
Sterios funded Manduka's first $25,000 order using 0% credit card checks
“And I, we were remodeling our house, 80,000 dollars in debt with credit card debt, and the way I was funding
The house remodel was at a time when credit cards had these things called convenience checks, where you could get an advance of 10 to 20,000 dollars fo…”
Disclosure
Sterios seeded Manduka's launch by gifting 75 mats to celebrity teachers
“I gave 75 mats for free to every celebrity yoga teacher I knew.”
Assertion Supported
Manduka priced its early mats at $65 against a $15 market
“You get them for like 15 bucks. And these were like 60, 65 dollars was the advertised price.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Manduka's first Yoga Journal print ad caused weekly sales to double
“The first week that ad ran, we doubled sales, and then three weeks later, we're still doubling every week our sales, and it got to the point where that first year, I think we were on back order for three months out of 12, just because we couldn't keep up, and …”