Lucy Beard and her innovative company Feetz were recently profiled in a PandoDaily article by James Robinson titled Feetz wants to 3D print shoes and revolutionize the shoe store. But is it too early in the space?
Feetz is a Graduate of the San Diego Founder Institute and a winner of the 15th Founder Showcase.
After leaving her job at Zinga in Silicon Valley in 2013, Lucy Beard spent six months with her husband and dog driving through Alaska in an RV to decide what her next venture should be. After Beard came up empty handed looking for the perfect size shoe, she retired to a nearby coffee shop. It was when she looked at the espresso machine that a unique idea came to her:
Why could three machines make 87,000 types of coffee and I couldn’t get a pair of shoes?”
Doing some research, she developed the idea of employing emerging 3D printing technology to create customizable shoes. She took her idea to the San Diego Founder Institute, where local Mentors thought it was one of the best ideas they’d ever heard. The process entails users downloading a Feetz app, taking photos of their feet, and answering questions about their lifestyle and preferences. Users can expect to get their perfect pair of shoes in about a week.
Beard pitched her idea on stage at Southland Conference 2014 earlier this week, where judges seemed skeptical of a product that relies heavily on a technology that is still in its infancy, and have noted the failure of previous clothing customization products.
However, Beard remains optimistic about her company’s future, having already acquired 1,000 customers sign up as beta testers, and expects $200,000 in sales by the end of the year. She also believes Moore’s law is on her company’s side: as 3D printing technology improves, so will her product and market.
For more information on Feetz or if you would like to sign up as a beta tester, check out Feetz’ official website.
