From sewing prototypes to a sold-out launch with Morgan Tuohy of Dera

Morgan Tuohy built the world's first dial-fit running belt in his attic — sewing a Boa dial salvaged from a worn-out pair of shoes onto a remade prototype. In this episode, he traces the line from crying through his first marathon at age 12 to launching Dera 35 days before we spoke. Morgan is candid about the failure of his first company, Near Zero Labs, and the lessons that reshaped how he builds: ask for help, pay for people's time, and don't try to be the person behind the sewing machine forever. He walks through finding a factory as a single-product startup, running email-first instead of chasing Instagram followers, and a five-minute masterclass on landing pages. Along the way, he pushes back on startup orthodoxy and shares why he wants Dera to feel like going on a run with him and his friends.

Episode Topics

The origin story: from marathon to maker
Building prototypes in the attic and validating demand
Lessons from a failed first company
Finding and winning over an overseas factory as a single-product startup
Email-first marketing and building an owned audience
Anatomy of the landing page and launch funnel
Building community differently in the outdoor industry
Rethinking startup gospel: not being embarrassed by your first product

Links
Dera's website
Sign up for Second Nature's Slack community
Courier Socks

For more about the KORE Outdoors Podcast, visit https://koreoutdoors.org/podcast/

The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.

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