Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew McLeod.
Hi Drew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Back around the beginning of 2019, my future business partner Kenneth Duncan and myself decided to try and re-sell products on Amazon. The idea was that we’d purchase products in bulk from American-based suppliers and list them on Amazon for sale. In my personal life, a couple of friends had reminded me that I had set a goal of leaving my corporate job at age 26, and here I was, age 26, and no clear exit opportunity to leave my job insight. With our business not gaining any traction due to Kenny and I being busy with our jobs, I decided to quit my job, invest the money I had been saving up for a home in the business, and also drive Lyft when I had time.
After more months of us not gaining a ton of traction and my business partner starting to lose interest in what we were doing, we both decided it’d be beneficial to pivot. We ultimately settled on golf, a sport that my business partner was very passionate about (I don’t really have a subject I’m passionate about to make a physical products company around), and something that allows us to stay in the ecommerce space. So since the fall of 2019, we’ve been building Renegade Golf, a company who’s mission is to bring more diversity and change to the game of golf through education, fresh clothes/gear, and events. Dealing with the pandemic has certainly disrupted our plans, but we’ve stayed pushing forward, and I’ve learned a ton about business and myself along the way.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Golf bags aren’t an inexpensive product, which means that sourcing them isn’t inexpensive as well. Purchasing our golf bags from China, paying the Trump tariffs, figuring out storage & logistics, as well as customizing them and shipping them out in a timely fashion was a big challenge. Oh yeah, and China was going through a shut-down while we were trying to do all that. Another challenge I’ve found is trying to make the right decisions in our company when you have a partnership. Kenny and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on things and figuring out who needs to take the lead on certain projects or figuring out who has the better ideas has been challenging. It feels like being married sometimes lol. You really have to pick your battles. One recent setback that we had was a presale that we launched back in October for some black and gold golf bags. Our plan was to deliver the bags by Christmas time and they had not been manufactured in China yet. We were told by our supplier that there was a tropical storm that “disrupted” our shipment in November, come to find out in December that the ship carrying our cargo had lost thousands of containers of cargo (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-shipping-container-accident/container-ship-loses-nearly-2000-cargo-carriers-in-pacific-storm-idUSKBN28E0T7) and we thought that we had not just lost thousands of dollars but had also failed to deliver dozens of bags to new customers. As a new brand and new business owner, this really hurt. We just found out at the beginning of this week that our cargo had been recovered.
We’ve been impressed with Renegade Golf, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Renegade Golf is a company whose mission is to increase diversity in the game of golf. We believe that if we create imagery around golf that better represents the country while educating people about the benefits of the game and providing products that they can be proud to wear/use, we can move golf forward. Right now, we sell golf bags, golf gloves, golf hats, hoodies, etc. We are going to start offering group training sessions in the spring and also connect with local trainers that we trust to train those who want individual attention. What separates us apart from other golf companies is our combined emphasis on training and as minorities, our perspective on knowing what it’s like to feel excluded. We think that this will allow us to not just appeal to current golfers that align with our vision but, more importantly, connect with those who want to get started in golf but don’t know where or how to begin.
I’m proud of the fact that when people see our brand, they agree with the issue that we see in golf and want to support us. We’re mostly known locally, and I know that when we figure out how to market our company and mission properly to a wider audience, we’ll resonate with people across the country. That’s very exciting. If you’re reading this and you’re looking to get into the game of golf, please reach out to us at golfrenegade@gmail.com, at @renegade.golf on IG, and Renegade Golf on Facebook. We have some gear for you if you’re looking to make your first purchases, and trainings will be offered soon, so you want to get your spots before we run out! We’re a very young company that is eager to please our customers in line with accomplishing our vision, so if you would like to make some suggestions on how we can improve our branding, products, product offering, or anything you can think of, please feel free to let us know. Constructive criticism is one of the best ways to improve.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My business partner Kenneth Duncan deserves the lion share of the credit since we wouldn’t have entered this market without his expertise in the area of golf. His previously established network of minority golfers also helped us get the ball rolling on sales early on. One of my friends Aaron Petty, founder of the company Mitivate (a healthcare data analysis company), was the first person I know to leave his cushy job to pursue full-time entrepreneurship. Seeing him do that made me much more comfortable with making the leap myself. If I had to characterize myself, I would say that I lean more towards risk-aversion than risk-taking. So for someone to give me more courage was huge. My plan was to always leave my full-time job but not without a solid way to make money like I did. If I hadn’t seen him jump ship, I probably wouldn’t have left my job so soon. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive as well. I always hear entrepreneurs tell stories about how people told them that they wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything and how they were doomed for failure. I’ve experienced the exact opposite. Sometimes I feel like that means I’m not thinking big enough (lol), like I should be setting goals so ridiculous that someone would have to say, “Hey bro, you need to chill.”
Contact Info:
- Email: golfrenegade@gmail.com
- Website: https://renegade.golf/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renegade.golf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Renegade-Golf-101227018077129/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GolfRenegade
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgrUoENyb5Z6woSyA9qxH3w?app=desktop
Image Credits
Tevin Williams Kalin Cook
