44 responses to “Olympic Skeleton Racer, Mother, Entrepreneur”

1. 

   Zach Morgan March 8th, 2010 at 08:09

   I think that there is definitely a niche market for great creative ideas such as this one. It also helps that her product is connected with her personality and how she directs it to others. This will greatly help her succeed to make her company a viable business.

2. 

   Austin Collins March 8th, 2010 at 11:14

   I think that this is a good market for her because she knows the style that kids like when they hit the slopes. She also is an Olympic athlete which gives her some time on camera to market her hats.

3. 

   Angeline Tran March 8th, 2010 at 11:20

   The hats are cute, but I hope she has more hats in her line up because fashion goes in and out like a speeding bullet. Is it me or do a lot of success stories happen to the youngest of many children, or the oldest…

4. 

   John Gorbandt March 8th, 2010 at 11:25

   I think its neat that she is selling beanies to help fund her “habit.” That was a very good video also.

5. 

   Spencer Abrams March 8th, 2010 at 11:26

   It’s really cool that she has found a way to support her sport, something she loves, with a business that she loves as well. After sliding through those curves at 80mph, I doubt the risk of starting her own company phased her too much.

6. 

   Brett Cohen March 8th, 2010 at 11:39

   Those hats look really neat. This woman seems to have an extremely fulfilling life. Being able to do a sport you enjoy and be an entrepreneur at the same is incredible.

7. 

   Loïc mazet March 8th, 2010 at 11:40

   Waouhhh. Such an amazing woman. The idea of greating a company in order to go to the Olympics is great. And I like her slogan: SnowFire Hats are made specifically for you: the athlete, the mom, the adventurer, the student, whoever you might be… be original

8. 

   Shawn Gearhart March 8th, 2010 at 12:33

   Looks like Noelle went through some trying times just like many entrepreneurs go through when developing their business. My only question now is, did she win gold?

9. 

   Alexandra Graves March 8th, 2010 at 12:34

   She is really inspiring. Being able to be an Olympian, Mother, and Entrepreneur is extremely hard and time consuming. I’m really happy to hear about her doing so much with her life that she really enjoys.

10. 

    Colleen Cahill March 8th, 2010 at 12:51

    Celebrities have an advantage when starting a business, as they already have publicity for their products. I love the hats, they are adorable and I suspect they will sell well.

11. 

    Anthony Sikorski March 8th, 2010 at 12:58

    It is amazing all the things people can do at once and achieve great things. She is able to run a company, have a family, and be a professional athlete. She seems like the entrepreneur type, not being afraid to take risks.

12. Noelle Pikus-Pace: Olympic Skeleton Racer, Mother, Entrepreneur « The Utah Olympic Park Blog March 8th, 2010 at 13:03

    [...] Click here for the entire post. [...]

13. 

    Colby Beacham March 8th, 2010 at 14:34

    I agree with what everyone is saying, she’s in the perfect spot to start her own business, publicity through her sport, a good knowledge of her target market, and not afraid to take risks, all very successful qualities.

14. 

    Brian Corley March 8th, 2010 at 14:36

    Its always awesome to see when something someone loves to do turns into a entrepreneurial opportunity.

15. 

    Jacob Higbee March 8th, 2010 at 14:46

    Marketing these hats is a good way to better familiarize people with skeleton seeing as how it is not a super popular sport. She seems like a very interesting and achieving woman!

16. 

    Kelly Plantz March 8th, 2010 at 15:51

    Her hat business is very interesting. Out in Colorado at all the ski resorts everyone always has crazy hats. I know that when my family goes to Breckenridge my dad wears a goofy hat himself. This is a market that will exist for a while. Since it is helping her compete for the Olympics more people would want and be willing to help support her!

17. 

    Harsh Sanghvi March 8th, 2010 at 15:53

    I wonder where she finds the time to do all this.Its amazing!! And snow fire hats her website looks good.

18. 

    Thomas Gick March 8th, 2010 at 16:37

    She must be a very busy lady. Quite an idea she’s come up with in these hats

19. entrepreneur | martin gover dot com March 8th, 2010 at 17:06

    [...] Olympic Skeleton Racer, Mother, Entrepreneur @ thinkbeta.com [...]

20. 

    Matt Kompara March 8th, 2010 at 18:18

    I wonder if because of who she is, she get more people to be interested in her hats…

21. 

    Curtis Brackett March 8th, 2010 at 18:19

    Sounds like she has quite the work load between being a wife, mother, Olympian, as well as an entrepreneur. She definitely has some knowledge of the current fashion and trends in the extreme winter sports world. I’m sure her camera exposure from being in the Olympics is a huge benefit in marketing her products. Good for her.

22. 

    Ryan Poxon March 8th, 2010 at 18:36

    Again, this entrepreneuer solved a personal problem and turned it into a business. She wanted to be unique and show her personality, and did that by creating beanies.

23. 

    Letteer Lewis March 8th, 2010 at 19:49

    I can’t believe how fast those things go! 80+ miles per hour and about an inch above the ground wow.

24. 

    Kyla Garrett March 8th, 2010 at 20:18

    After looking over the website I have to say that there is a definite market for these hats. I’ve seen a number of students walk around campus with hats and headbands that have this crazy “Fire Hair” and I have to say they’re pretty appealing. They have just enough goofiness to them that they are great for a laugh without being too over the top that they come off weird or strange. They also have the family appeal, this hat is definitely something I could see families with little kids having; one crazy hat for each crazy hat.
    Also the site provides products aside from the crazy hair style, allowing a greater market to appeal to the company. Sure, customers may only go to the site because of seeing the crazy hats but at least when they get there people see that there is greater variety. All in all, I think it’s a great product that’s really all about having fun.

25. 

    Justin Riley March 8th, 2010 at 20:26

    Yeah, there is no way I would participate in this sport! I am not a big enough risk taker to do this. I would be so scared it would not even be funny! The hats are pretty cool though! I would like to have one of my own.

26. 

    Michael Tym March 8th, 2010 at 20:48

    Wow this lady must be very busy. it is great that she can do all these things at the same time and still manage to do really good at running a family, being an athlete and owning her own business.

27. 

    Soroosh Karamyar March 8th, 2010 at 21:10

    Its a really cool hat idea. I like the angle she pick to sell the hats. It supports individuality and personality.
    The hats are not for me but I can see how she is successful.
    Another cool idea!

28. 

    Lauren Cassidy March 8th, 2010 at 21:36

    She sounds like a very motivated woman, working through her injuries and all. I think the hats are a great idea, my only concern is the style of the hats. The style seems to match her personality, but I don’t think the hats are very functional to others ( I know I wouldn’t wear it). I wonder if she sells toned-down hats?

29. 

    Casey Piquette March 8th, 2010 at 21:41

    I checked out the website, and it looks like some pretty cool hats. There wasn’t too much variety, but they are definitely unique! I really liked the USA ones, and I noticed they are all sold out. What an opportune time to promote this business right after the winter Olympics, while everyone is still hyped up on snow!

30. 

    Molly Longest March 8th, 2010 at 22:06

    She is an inspiring entrepreneur. I like how the money is going to support her olympic career. I wonder if we all had the drive to start our own business what we would put our money towards. I love the idea!

31. 

    Keegan Klauke March 8th, 2010 at 22:26

    my hats off to her for being good at skeleton and wanting to do it time and time again. that race is not an easy one.

32. 

    Kyle Egbert March 8th, 2010 at 22:29

    I don’t know how she does all that she does. She must have no free time. It must help that the things she does in her life all sound fun.

33. 

    Amanda Edmondson March 8th, 2010 at 22:36

    Noelle saw a gap in the market and found a way to fill it with her unique beanie business. Her story is very interesting because it shows you can really do what you love. Her sport inspired her to become an entrepreneur and added a product many consumers have a need for. The best part about Noelle is how she intertwined her interests to start a successful venture. I think the key to entrepreneurship is to do what you love and love what you do, and Noelle has found this balance.

34. 

    Alan Dawson March 8th, 2010 at 22:48

    I think I have seen some of these hats around campus or something at least simmilar, but I like the fact that her business was supporting her sport and olympic training.

35. 

    Zachary Mirsberger March 9th, 2010 at 00:38

    She had a passion in her life that needed to be supported, she found a gap in the market that could be filled, very good for her to be able to keep doing what she loves.

36. 

    Ben Albers March 9th, 2010 at 01:09

    It was a good time to market her hats around the Olympics. During these times, patriotism is really running strong and the country wants to support their athletes. It also helps to have such an attractive product and target audience too.

37. 

    Frank Hettlinger March 9th, 2010 at 02:23

    She’s an awesome athlete. I know that many people would be afraid to go back to a sport that gave them such a terrible injury. That just proves she has the spirit and drive to do anything she wants. What a great entrepreneur that makes! I hope she does well with her hat business.

38. 

    Dan Wyss March 9th, 2010 at 11:22

    She is quite the overachiever. It is really impressive that she has time to train and run a business and be a wife and mother. Pretty cool story.

39. 

    Ariana Zades March 9th, 2010 at 20:55

    Those hats are really cool. They remind me a little of North Face hats, with the strings and all. The video of her is really inspiring as well. She has seemed to face a lot of adversity and challenges these past couple of years, but that hasn’t stopped her yet.

40. 

    Stephanie Mellady March 9th, 2010 at 22:39

    This is a great story. I have heard of a few olympic athletes that are also entreprenuers, like the olympic figure skater that started a social networking site to find ice skating partners. Pretty cool!

    http://icepartnersearch.com/

41. 

    David Hyman March 10th, 2010 at 01:52

    I think this is amazing that she can be an olympain, mother, and entrepreanuer! Her husband must be a pretty patient man!

42. 

    Aditya Chaudhari March 11th, 2010 at 13:09

    I like how she is familiar with the market and she executes it well. She uses her knowledge well and distributes it in her product to a specific target market.

43. 

    Arpit Bawa March 11th, 2010 at 18:16

    The hats are unique. Although not my thing, I can see that there is a market for this and the fact that she is doing the thing she loves will definitely help her achieve a successful business.

44. 

    Mahmood Alrawi March 20th, 2010 at 21:26

    i thought i had a hart time keeping up with what i have….i don’t feel as stressed out anymore. she seems like a really hard worker, just coming back after her accident amazes me.