Tony Post, the former CEO Vibram USA who brought the FiveFingers phenomenon to the world, last week announced a new footwear startup, again aimed at the lightweight footwear space.
As part of the announcement, the Newton, MA-based Topo Athletic said it secured a $5 million in series A funding from Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), a multi-stage investment firm based in Silicon Valley. The athletic footwear line will be unveiled at Januarys Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City and quickly reach retail by May 2013.
Like Vibrams FiveFingers, the line will aim at the lightweight footwear opportunity. The products are designed to innately amplify, not modify, the body’s natural biomechanics with an aim at helping athletes optimize their training to tackle more aggressive goals. Full details around features and construction are being saved for the Outdoor Retailer unveiling. Design and utility patents have been filed for all of its products.
Were focused on the athletic footwear market, Post tells SEW. The product is incredibly lightweight. Initially to start were focused on the running and fitness markets such as functional fitness training like CrossFit. We think the concept has more breadth to it but we decided to keep the focus on running and strength training because those are two things that almost every athlete has to do. So its a very tight line, tight story.
Acknowledging the challenges of selling the glove-like FiveFingers to a broader audience, Post also promised Topo would be commercially very viable by delivering on not only the functional benefits but offer aesthetic appeal. Said Post, Design is an important value to a lot of people. You can go on and on about all the attributes, but people often wind up choosing a shoe based on its looks.
During his tenure, Vibram USA grew from $3 million in annual revenue to $170 million, he said. Much of it came following the launch of FiveFingers in 2006 that became the extreme-beacon for the lightweight running movement.
Post, who prior to Vibram spent 15 years at Rockport, holding a variety of positions including VP of marketing, resigned as CEO of Vibram USA in the spring after feeling the urge the try something new.
I had a great run at Vibram, said Post. I loved the people, the company-everything about it. But I had been there 11 years and I just felt it was the right time to try to do something new and I knew I wanted to probably try to start my own company.
At the beginning of July, Post spent a month on Cape Cod, taking long bike rides and runs as he began exploring what I wanted to do and the type of company I wanted to create and the types of products I wanted to make. And ultimately what were the parts of the market that interested me and so thats when I decided to go ahead and launch a company that would be focused on the athletic footwear space.
He also been revisiting an idea he had around leveraging the natural biomechanics in your body to maximize your workout versus changing or correcting the way you run or train. Said Post, “We approach product design with humble innovation – were not arrogant enough to think that our products will change an athlete’s performance. Only his or her drive to succeed can do that. Our role is to help them get there.”
By August, a prototype had been developed and he began seeking out financial and other partners to bring the idea to life. Although a few other suitors were involved in the Series A funding, Post had been speaking to Jon Kossow, general partner at Norwest, off and on for the last three to four years and ultimately felt comfortable working with their team.
Id been in the shoe business for almost 30 years and have a long experience in creating and developing footwear products – a lot of which were innovative and interesting products and hopefully added more value to peoples lives, says Post. And so thats what I wanted to do here and Norwest immediately saw that and felt it was a good fit.
“Topo Athletic addresses a key opportunity in the athletic gear industry and is primed for success with Tony Post at the helm,” said Kossow in a statement. “It’s been impressive watching Tony blaze every brand trail he treks, from Rockport to Vibram; so when he came to us with his concept, our entire firm jumped at the chance to support Topo Athletic.”
The company incorporated in August, and now has a full-time staff of nearly 10. They include Georgia Shaw, the former marketing manager at Vibram USA who is now Topos marketing director.
Although FiveFingers sales have slowed in the last year and the market is seeing somewhat of a shift to more supportive yet stlll lightweight models, Post remains bullish on the opportunity around minimal footwear.
I always look for it from the consumer perspective, said Post. And the athlete or even a regular consumer needs a few different types of products in their closet. So I really think that its not about having one shoe they can do everything in. If I make the metaphorical comparison, you need a few different arrows in the quiver. And so theres always a place for minimalist footwear. I still wear and enjoy my Vibrams FiveFingers product but I think you need more than just one product.
He also said consumers dont think of products as much in terms of categories but on their overall functionality and appeal.
When we created Vibram Fivefingers, we were just creating a product that was unique and interesting and served a purpose in that consumers life so I think a lot of us in the industry tend to put these labels on things so we can group things together, said Post. But if you can create interesting products that add value to the experience where a consumer an see it, feel it and recognize it, that those products will sell regardless of whatever category or name you put on those things.
For Post, Topo also marks his first foray as a CEO of a startup without a parent company, another exciting part of the venture.
Theres a lot or risk to this, noted Post. You risk relationships with people, you risk your reputation, you put your financial resources at risk – theres a lot of risk. But at the same time its emotionally rewarding. People probably focus on the financial part but its really about the emotional award I think for all of us who are close to this business that you have a chance to work with people who share your passion and youre all kind of shaping your own destiny.
