Jul 24, 2018
icture this: you've taken all the right steps to become one of the most highly respected academic physicians in your field. And then you walk away. To start a footwear company that relies on technology you have no experience with whatsoever. In fact, no one - not even may-jor footwear brands - have experience with this stuff. Because it's never been done. What's more, you actually have to build the machines deploying that technology yourself. With your own hands. What would you do? This week's guest on the Spirit of 608 podcast embraced the unknown, took a leap and ... (sorry not sorry) you can hear the rest on the show.
Oh, so many things. First of all, that whole idea that an aerodynamic, curvaceous-to-the-max shoe is better for your feet and for the body above it? Wrong. A Harvard-trained doctor, Casey pioneered the groundbreaking 90's-era research that showed how damaging footwear could be to human joints, especially those belonging to high heel-wearing women. When it came time for her to reconstruct the manufacturing of the shoe from the ground up (even building her own 3D printers in the process), she opted for flat soles made from a unique, squishy material that lets the foot move in its ideal state.
As a beyond-accomplished academic and physician who could have remained in her beyond-comfortable post at the University of Virginia, Casey went with her gut instead. After years of researching how humans walk and the effects of footwear on different bodies, she knew that the only way she could truly help more people was by bringing a new shoe to market. So she took the leap and went into the footwear biz - even though that ultimately meant bypassing partnerships with major players in the footwear industry to take on the uphill march of building her own factory, as well as the machines inside it.
You've got to hear about this woman, a Harvard-educated doctor who became the first tenured female chair of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation of the University of Virginia, and then left her amazing academic job to go and try to start a footwear company that relied on 3D printers she had to build herself. At the time, she says on the Spirit of 608 podcast, she didn’t even know how to use a wrench. I'm not sure I completely believe that (she's pretty smart, obvs), but nevertheless, she persisted. Today, her family-owned and -operated company has amassed more than a few fans, as evidenced by their summer crowdfunding campaign for the company's latest shoe, which surpassed its funding goal in mere days. How did she do it? Find out in this week’s episode of the Spirit of 608 podcast.
Oh you need a new book, we know it. So check out Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. Casey highly recommends this book if you want a different mindset to push you forward in life (who does not need/want that).
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