Mountain Riders Collective is a global community of mountain bike coaches and riders where we gather to inspire, grow and create impact in our mountain bike coaching through unique experiences and education as a collective.
I'm leading the development of this new venture with my mountain biking coach. We're shaping the company's strategy, defining its values and devising a content strategy to support our goals. In this role, I own the branding, web design and information architecture to ensure a cohesive and professional direction for the venture.
Connection
Community
Approachable
Growth
My role involves: Brand & identity design Visual design Illustration Web design Creative direction
Common themes:
Lack of diversity in imagery. They mainly portrayed white, male riders.
It's challenging to show visible diversity in people because they are wearing helmets and so much gear while mountain biking.
Most of the images were of people doing epic jumps and tricks. As a new rider, I didn't feel represented because I can't do those things yet.
We want our images to:
Be inclusive and represent a wide range of riders from visible diversity.
Depict different types of terrain should be represented: forest, mountains, desert.
Show various rider levels, from people just cruising down a trail to riders doing epic jumps.
Website performance since launch in May 2023 indicating that direct links and referrals are the top two traffic sources.
Branding
Social media presence on Instagram and Facebook
Website with a sign up form
Email list and newsletters
Planned some virtual events
Test our mentorship MVP
Build out a membership coaching platform
Determine a membership fee structure
Paid marketing to direct people to the platform
Keep planning events to engage the community
A user flow for what the marketing to product path could look like, once we build out more product offerings.
We’ve been brainstorming ways to capture people with different intents. These user flows show what it could look like for a Coach, Rider and Non-member/Events membership.
Defining a mission and establishing brand values provided us with a clear guide, directing all our efforts to seamlessly align with these core principles.
In the early stages of starting a business, a lot of ideas typically emerge. I found it beneficial to engage in brainstorming sessions, then narrowing down the options. This process helped in strategically selecting and launching the most promising idea for testing and development.
Collecting emails for our newsletter and updates serves as a powerful gauge of interest in our project, providing a valuable metric for assessing the resonance of our offerings.
My previous experience working in a startup environment unexpectedly broadened my business skills. It was genuinely enriching to develop my skill set in this domain while building Mountain Riders Collective. The unique challenges of this setting tested and enhanced my strategic thinking.
© 2024 Amanda Wondergem