{"id":7473,"date":"2015-12-09T23:26:37","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T04:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T23:29:28","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T04:29:28","slug":"now-thats-one-tough-mudder","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/","title":{"rendered":"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tough Mudder is an extreme obstacle-course event designed to test the physical and mental limits of each individual in a team oriented environment. Held at various worldwide locations throughout the year, each event attracts thousands of participants. In this post, I will examine how they were able to align their business and operating models to produce an event that continues to grow in popularity.<\/p>\n

\"Tough_Mudder_SoCal_2013_Walk_the_Plank\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tough Mudder was founded in 2009 with just $20,000 in seed funding. Demand for the first event greatly exceeded the 500 participants that were anticipated\u00a0in the first three months, signing up over 4,500 participants in just one month. With margins estimated at 48% and yearly revenues reaching $100M, in just five years they have set themselves apart in the arena of outdoor adventure challenges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The firm generates revenue primarily through recruiting individuals, teams, and organizations to participate in its events. Through the use of tiered pricing, participants are encouraged to sign up months in advance, allowing Tough Mudder to more accurately forecast demand for each event. With an average advanced payment time of six months, this creates a huge amount of working capital for the company to use in the buildup to each event.<\/p>\n

\"king-of-the-mountain\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tough Mudder\u2019s operations align perfectly with its business model. Of the initial $8,200 that Tough Mudder invested for marketing its initial event, 100% went into Facebook advertising. This was seen as a brilliant move that took advantage of network effects. As they open each new event, moving from city to city, social networks provided the perfect platform to spread word about Tough Mudder. With a large number of participants signed up well in advance, this gives them the perfect opportunity to post information about the event and encourage other friends to join in on this painful yet fun experience. Obstacles such as vertical walls, greased monkey bars, rope climbs, and even electrically charged wires are located throughout the course in order to challenge, frustrate and inspire each raucous group of adventurers. After successfully completing the event, participants are given a free beer and a Tough Mudder headband to signify their achievement and almost simultaneously are encouraged to post photos of their experience to their Facebook page, creating yet another form of free advertising for Tough Mudder. Some participants are so inspired after the event that they even get Tough Mudder tattoos.<\/p>\n

\"Fruit<\/p>\n

Building upon its earlier success, Tough Mudder has more recently expanded its event offerings to take advantage of a wider range of demographics\u00a0while still attempting\u00a0to maintain its trademark toughness. The Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder \u2013 along\u00a0with its own unique charity partner \u2013 was recently introduced as an attempt to include children in the mayhem of Tough Mudder. Tough Mudder Half \u2013 a scaled down version of the main event\u2014was also introduced in order to attract groups of people who may find 10 miles in the mud to be a bit ridiculous.<\/p>\n

Like the individuals who come together to conquer each obstacle presented at its events, Tough Mudder\u2019s operating model works hand-in-hand with its business model to help continue to redefine adventure challenges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/mikeozanian\/2010\/10\/26\/tough-mudder-has-created-a-new-business-model-for-sports\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/toughmudder.com<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mensjournal.com\/magazine\/tough-mudder-mud-sweat-no-tears-20121030<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/tough-mudder-growth-show<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/smartceo.com\/tough-mudder-finding-stride-no-plans-slow\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Images:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.crossfitsoto.com\/2015\/09\/17\/4233\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/toughmudder.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look into the company that redefined mud-runs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":613,"featured_media":7474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[593,1186,1187,167],"class_list":["post-7473","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-mayem","category-mud","category-sports"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"\nNow That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A look into the company that redefined mud-runs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-10T04:29:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/\",\"name\":\"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-10T04:26:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-10T04:29:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"A look into the company that redefined mud-runs.","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2015-12-10T04:29:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/","name":"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026 - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-10T04:26:37+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-10T04:29:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Tough-Mudder-Picture.jpg","width":720,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/now-thats-one-tough-mudder\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Now That\u2019s one Tough Mudder\u2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/7473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/613"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/7473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}