JAMES MANN '86, CEO and co-president, 3N2, Schenectady (B.A., political science)
3N2 designs, manufactures and sells baseball and softball cleats and other athletic products that are manufactured overseas and imported, with distributors in eight states, Asia and Europe. A former Nike executive, Stride Rite shoe engineer and competitive race walker, Capital Region native Mann formed 3N2 (a full count in baseball) in 2001 with several teammates from the Asian Softball Circuit and several Union College classmates. The company had gross sales of between $350,000 and $500,000 in 2004. Its goal is to capture 2 percent of the $5 billion sports apparel market.
“I joined ENS last year, when my partner, Jamey Storvick, the head scout in Asia for the Seattle Mariners, and I brought 3N2 back to Schenectady from Newton, Mass. Ours is a hot field. When people watch sports on TV, they don't realize that the game itself is only 5 percent of what's involved in the business, that there's so much more.
“ENS is perfect – it's about entrepreneurs, it's about Union, it's about people doing great things.”