Feetz Funding
* $1.25 million from Khosla Ventures * $275,000 from The JumpFund and its network * “six-figure” investment from former Reebok CEO Uli Becker Feetz touts that it’s “in the business of reducing the negative environmental impact of footwear.” How? * Shoes are made only when they are sold (made-to-order manufacturing) * Additive manufacturing – commonly known as 3D printing – allows for the use of the exact amount of material necessary to make requested shoes. * There are no scraps or waste because shoes parts are not cut from materials.
Feetz, the digital cobbler of startups, has locked down more than $1.5 million in seed funding, most recently from a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
It also has gotten a “six-figure” investment from former Reebok CEO Uli Becker, who’s on the company’s board of directors.
Feetz, which moved from California to Chattanooga last year, makes customized footwear using 3-D printing and a phone app that customers use to take photos of their feet.
About 500 people have tested the app since January, and people have been wearing a few models of the shoes but nobody has paid for them yet, said Feetz CEO Lucy Beard.