After 4 months of attempting to navigate the process of shoe design and manufacturing by ourselves, we decided we needed some help.

By a stroke of a luck, I reached out to an Instagram account that I found to be very helpful. The account would post all about the different phases of the shoe design and manufacturing lifecycle. It was the beginning of COVID lockdowns and I thought I’d reach out - I didn’t have much else to do.

Omar Bailey happened to be the person who ran the account. When we got on the phone, we introduced one another and I shared that I was trying to create the “Yeezy of Golf”, which to me meant, a golf footwear company that created unique designs that felt different. He immediately understood my vision and shared that he was the current Head of Yeezy Innovation Labs under Adidas. His role at the company was to help the design teams rapidly go from idea to physical shoe.

Omar shared more about his background and experience. What I came to learn was that he was truly “full stack”, meaning that he wasn’t specialized in one particular area, but he could work from 2D/3D designs, sourcing factories and all the way through the physical manufacturing lifecycle. In other words, Omar is a unicorn - he can do it all.

Since we started working together, Omar went on to found his own footwear company, FCTRY LAb. I was fortunate enough to be able to invest in the company. Since founding the company, they’ve designed and released iconic shoes and partnered with celebrities like NLE Choppa and athletes like Jalen Ramsey.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Omar. Without him, we wouldn't be where we are today.