A former Yeezy-Adidas staffer is getting a huge investment to continue innovating in the sneaker production space.
Omar Bailey along with co-founder Abhishek Som will launch footwear prototyping company FCTRY LAb on December 15, and annouced the close of a $6 million fundraise.
According to a news release FCTRY LAb is an independent innovation studio that is US-based to avoid the risks and delays of overseas supply chains, thus shrinking product development time from 8-12 months to a short 1-3 months. Making high-technology accessible, FCTRY LAb is working to provide equity in an industry where large sneaker corporations often make an overwhelming majority of profits off the creative power of minority designers, influencers and athletes.
The fund raise includes a diverse group of venture capital firms, and entertainers including the Co-Founder of Tinder (via Time Zero Capital), Co-Founder of WeWork, the West Coast Head of Warburg Pincus, and a slew of NBA & NFL stars via Chicago based Aurelien Capital. The round was led by the LA-based, Pay-Pal-backed Slauson & Co, with participation from Relay Ventures, Elysian Park Ventures (the private investment arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group), Level One Fund & Fog City Capital among others.
The news release also pointed out that Omar Bailey helped transition the gap from cutting edge conceptual design into physically wearable footwear during the $1 Billion revenue growth of Yeezy-Adidas.
Bailey’s tenure includes developing footwear for Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Karim Benzema among others. He has also worked alongside brands like Supreme, New Balance, K-Swiss & Timberland.