Olympic runner Allyson Felix has proven she knows her way around the track. Now she’s showing us that she’s familiar with the boardroom as well.
It was recently reported by Afrotech that Felix’s co-founded athletic footwear brand has secured a multi-million dollar investment in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Iris Ventures along with participation from Redpoint Ventures.
This is coming on the heels of her departure from Nike due to her claims that they failed to support pregnant female athletes and new mothers.
“I did have a little moment. When I crossed the finish line, I looked down at my spikes. These beautiful handcrafted Saysh spikes. And I was like, ‘I did this in my own shoes,’” Felix shared in a fireside chat with UBS.
The investment is set to help to grow “its sneaker and footwear collections, which are made specifically for female feet.” Additionally, it will help “scale its own e-commerce and wholesale distribution.”
Wes Felix, Allyson’s brother, manager, and fellow co-founder said they will be working to find ways to further fulfill the needs of its customers.
“We’re going to look at brand-building, and how we can let women know that we’re building a company, a brand that’s really for them,” said in an interview. “Our overarching goal is to make sure that we’re building a better future for women. We’ll be building our team in a thoughtful way, looking at research and development, and making sure that we’re really creating products that are made specifically for women’s bodies. Right now, in the industry, that’s just not how it’s done.”