The winning play behind V-Nation's 3× growth

In 2013, Jonathan Martel started V-Nation in his parents' basement in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec, Canada.

He was barely in his twenties at the time, with $20 to his name, but one very clear idea: create custom sportswear that stands out for its quality.

Like many young companies, he started out having his products manufactured overseas.

He quickly realized the quality just wasn't what he wanted to offer.

Instead of settling for that, Jonathan made a much bolder call.

He decided to bring the manufacturing back locally.

Bit by bit, V-Nation invested in its own equipment, high-quality industrial printers, and built up all its expertise in-house.

Today, even the fabric used to make the uniforms is woven in Montreal.

"It's a huge point of pride for us. We control our quality from start to finish."

Word of mouth took care of the rest: sports teams, associations, and schools started talking about V-Nation.

A few years later, the small company had grown into a well-established factory in Vaudreuil-Dorion, where a team of 13 employees manufactures fully custom sports uniforms.

At V-Nation's factory in Vaudreuil-Dorion

But this growth brought a new challenge...

Optimized Production... Stalled at the Order Desk

Before Kickflip, every order essentially started the same way.

A call, an email, or an in-person meeting.

Then the back-and-forth began: the customer explained their idea, the designer tried to interpret it, a first mockup was sent, sometimes a second, even a third.

Some orders required a lot of discussion and revisions before everyone was satisfied.

"We had customers who went through thirty mockups only to circle back to the very first one."

Each order could take between 60 and 120 minutes of work before it even reached production.

The problem wasn't just the time. The team also had to:

• Interpret colors described over the phone.

• Make sense of hand-drawn sketches.

• Guess exactly what the customer had in mind.

• Even recreate a tattoo sent in as a photo.

The smallest misunderstanding could trigger another round of corrections. And while the team was sorting through all this back-and-forth, it wasn't making uniforms.

"We spent an enormous amount of time trying to interpret what people had in mind."

Jonathan Martel, Founder of V-Nation

A Meeting That Changed Everything

In 2024, someone approached Jonathan with a proposal.

A developer wanted to sell him a configurator custom-built for a competitor that had just gone under.

Asking price: $30,000.

The idea seemed interesting. But investing that kind of money in a tool built for someone else's business gave him pause.

Before deciding, he asked a more tech-savvy contact for advice.

The answer was simple.

"Why don't you look at Kickflip?"

Jonathan then discovered a completely different approach.

Instead of sinking tens of thousands of dollars into a solution built for someone else, he could launch his own configurator quickly, without a major upfront investment, and without depending on a team of developers for every change.

After a demo of the platform, he was sold.

"I was quickly impressed by how simple the platform was. I thought: this is exactly what we need."

But what won him over most wasn't just the ease of use.

It was the fact that the configurator could be built by the right people.

Not developers, but the people who actually knew the day-to-day reality: himself and his employees.

Together with his production lead, Jonathan sat down to build the first configurator.

They worked through every step of the process together: the uniform components, the available colors, the manufacturing constraints, the options offered to customers.

Every choice was shaped around their daily reality.

"What I loved was that we could build the configurator exactly the way we produce. It wasn't a generic solution. We could really tailor it to our needs."

It only took a few days to get the first configurators live.

They started with three models: a hockey jersey, a baseball jersey, and a multi-sport model.

Once that foundation was in place, everything got a lot simpler.

They could duplicate configurators, adapt them to new products, quickly work in new trends, and grow their lineup without starting from scratch every time.

They'd found a tool that adapts to their business, and grows right along with them.

Passing the Puck to Customers

V-Nation's Multi-Sport Configurator

The change was immediate.

Customers no longer need to explain their idea.

They build it: choosing their colors, positioning their logos, entering names and numbers, and watching their uniform come to life in real time.

And, above all...

They become the creators of their own uniform.

"Before, they talked about it. Now, they do it themselves. They're the creators. It gives them incredible pride."

Jonathan often compares the experience to a game.

Like creating your character in a video game.

That feeling of building something that looks like you completely changes the relationship with the product.

Customers aren't just ordering a uniform anymore.

They're stepping onto the ice.

Getting It Right the First Time

V-Nation doesn't offer hundreds of nearly identical shades.

And that's deliberate.

The company knows exactly which colors perform best on its equipment. Rather than presenting an endless array of choices, it selects the ones that guarantee a faithful result and a simpler customization experience.

"We could offer nineteen different shades of blue... but that just makes life harder for the customer. We want them to choose easily and get exactly what they see."

This approach cuts down on hesitation and helps customers decide faster. Expectations line up better with the final result, which considerably reduces errors and requests for changes.

Even spelling mistakes are much rarer now, since customers type the names and numbers themselves directly into the configurator, rather than relaying them by phone or email.

Today, 90 to 95% of orders are created directly through the configurator. The team spends less time interpreting requests and more time producing uniforms, while customers get exactly what they designed.

Time Saved: 80%

Internally, the changes have been just as significant.

Time spent processing an order has dropped by roughly 80%.

Designers spend far less time interpreting requests, employees field fewer calls, and email back-and-forth has dropped considerably.

"We can take on a lot more orders with the same team."

This efficiency has also let V-Nation drop its minimum order requirements.

Producing a single jersey used to simply not be profitable.

Today, a customer can order one uniform for a retirement gift, a prototype ahead of a big order, or a single jersey to bring a new player onto an existing team.

Orders that used to be impossible are now simple and profitable.

Changing the Rules of the Game

At first, Kickflip was meant to improve operations.

In the end... it transformed their marketing too.

Today, V-Nation's ad campaigns no longer just highlight the quality of the uniforms.

They showcase the simplicity of the experience.

• Create your uniform.

• See it instantly.

• Order any time, without waiting on a quote.

Jonathan calls it "the Amazon effect."

"People want everything fast, they want to check that task off their list. With Kickflip, they can do it in a few minutes."

The configurator has become a competitive edge.

While plenty of companies still ask customers to call or send an email, V-Nation lets them jump straight into the action.

"Our ads now put the configurator front and center. It's become our edge."

Clip from a V-Nation ad

The Results

Since launching the configurator, V-Nation has had its best years yet.

Sales have tripled.

Average order value has gone up.

Customers negotiate less on price. They understand the value of the service better because they're saving real time themselves.

"Today, we sell based on our real values. We're not just selling a uniform. We're saving people time."

The company is now expanding across the country.

A Turning Point for the Company

When asked what Kickflip means for V-Nation, Jonathan pauses for a few seconds before answering.

"It was a real turning point for our business."

Then he adds a line that sums up his experience perfectly.

"I'd recommend it without hesitation. At first, you think it's just going to simplify order-taking. In reality, it solves a lot more than you'd expect."

For V-Nation, Kickflip didn't just automate order-taking.

It changed the way the company sells.

It improved the customer experience.

It simplified the team's work.

It made growth possible without piling on administrative tasks.

And above all, it lets customers get in the game by creating the exact uniform they want, exactly when they want it.

It's this combination of local manufacturing, quality, and digital experience that lets V-Nation keep growing today, one jersey at a time.

Ready to change the game for your business?

Try Kickflip.