Team Insight

10 • Team Insight ~ May/June 2023 teaminsightmag.com Kent McKeigg (top row, in gray jacket) with the orig- inal OrderMyGear team: (top row, left to right) Jay Kinderknecht, Laura Campbell and Matt Drollette; (bottom row) Tiffany Hartman and Amber Inman. FOUNDER, ORDERMYGEAR, 2023 SPORTING GOODS INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE KENT McKEIGG THE 1ON1 PROJECT Tell us about how OrderMyGear came about? Back in 2008 school budgets were de- clining, but parents and kids still wanted apparel for their team or group. My father was a sales rep for Larry Black Sporting Goods in northwest Oklahoma and was collecting orders and payments from indi- vidual parents for their team's spirit wear. OrderMyGear (OMG) solved that problem by building an e-commerce platform to streamline the process of collecting orders and payments. It certainly took off in a big way. It became a valuable tool for those selling apparel to small groups and teams that re- quired individual payments. Today OMG continues the same mission of streamlining group apparel sales, with a much broader reach with additional functionality. How did your father influence you? My father had an influence in several ways. Because I understood what my dad's day looked like gave us insight as to the real pain point and thus value. It was complicated and administrative. He had a loyal customer base and built great relationships, but had to do a lot of paperwork. I saw he needed more time to do what he excelled at, which was providing his customers with great cus- tomer service and selling more. And in what other ways did he have an impact on how OMG was formed? He also had a big influence relationally in the industry. By the time I started OMG, I had no idea how many factory reps and other owners knew and respected my father. ose relationships had an enormous impact as well. I got credit for knowing the industry when I still had a lot to learn. Lastly, I joke that he was always our tough- est customer. Having someone that close as a customer really allowed James (Skidmore, OMG co-founder) and I to build soware that had an immediate impact on his day-to-day. We have been told by many team deal- ers – that the OrderMyGear technology and dealer sites kept them in business through the pandemic. It is really hard for me to look at it that way. I believe we were in the right place at the right time and what kept team dealers in business was their scrappiness, their desire to serve their customers and their unwill- ingness to quit. I know we played a role, but we were just a tool. ey are the ones that had to go out and fight. Bit it is undeniable that you and OMG played a major role in that process. I will say that being a tool that helped them keep their doors open, pay their employ- ees and serve their customers is a great feeling. I have a tremendous amount of respect for how the team dealers we worked with adapted and worked to survive the pandemic. What best describes you: a tech guy, a marketing guy, a team dealer, an entrepreneur? Well, I am 47 and still learning about myself, but I would describe myself as an opportunistic people person with a short attention span. Serving people is how I was brought up and I think it is where true joy and meaning come from. I do enjoy seeing big-picture patterns and opportunities and trying to connect how they impact a day-to-day operation. I have always felt the obligation or drive to be a good steward of opportunities that present themselves. Although it is cheesy, I have learned to enjoy the journey and the people with you more than idolizing a destination. What does your Hall of Fame induction mean to you personally? is is hard to put into words, but to be

• Cover