Custom Dreams with Mike McCabe

Mike McCabe spent his early teen years up to his 20s around CAD-CAM and tooling work, removing heavy aluminum parts and replacing them with carbon fiber in his first full-time job. Always a hands-on person, he was building homes through his college years while skiing professionally in Freeride Competitions. So he knows a thing or two about hard work...and breaking skis.

Mike McCabe is the co-founder, CEO, and Master Builder of Folsom Custom Skis. Turns out that jumping off cliffs in Freeride Competitions for many years while weighing in at 6'2" and 200lbs results in lots of broken skis. This lead Mike on a journey to create hand-built, innovative, and exceptionally durable customized skis that can work for the hardest skiing pro or the most casual skier. Folsom is now one of only two companies in the US that creates a truly custom ski in which every component is hand made and the raw materials sourced internally.

In this episode, we had an inspiring conversation about Mike's journey into entrepreneurship, his business model, and how it is for a small organization to put its foot through the door in such a competitive industry. We also talked about his company's principles on how they operate and its unique approach to business that lead him through . Finally, Mike shared the incredible story of how his company had to pivot during COVID and how hard it was for him to be on the verge of losing his company. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• We'd love to hear how you got into the ski products business. (1:52)
• When you started making skis, did you know immediately, like, this is what I want to do? (8:02)
• How did the improvements you made in the skis translated to the maybe average or even higher-end ski demographic? (13:17)
• You mentioned running lean. How did you develop the principles for operating that way? (24:10)
• Does the seasonality of your business ever make you want to think about expanding into summer sports? (35:47)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How Mike decided to focus on the product side of skiing (7:16)
• Quality over quantity approach. Mike's business model and its possibilities (11:15)
• How hard it was for Folsom Skis to get into the market (17:23)
• Reinventing the wheel once a year. Mike's constant effort in rebuilding their system and making it more effective (34:48)
• An emergency pivot. How did Mike's company adjust to the new reality during the pandemic (37:21)

Resources:

• Folsom Custom Skis website
• Folsom Custom Skis Instagram

Connect with Mike:

• LinkedIn
• Email: mike@folsomskis.com 

Let's connect:

• What Didn't Kill You - Instagram
• What Didn't Kill You - LinkedIn
• What Didn't Kill You - Website
• What Didn't Kill You - E-mail 

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