How 1 user need formed this startup
Everyday shoes are finally waterproof!
We all know the worries: Stepping outside on a rainy day. Searching a way through puddles and roadside streams. Asking if we can make it to our destination with only little wet socks or if we make a step the wrong way and must go about the rest of our day with soaking wet feet.
This is only one of all the challenges everyday life brings.
But this one valid user problem is all the founders of the startup called Vessi needed to launch an extremely successful product!
Vessi waterproof shoes challenge the industry standard
Vessi founders Tony Yu, Mikaella Go, and Andy Wang, from rainy Vancouver, were as fed up with wet feet as we all are. Asking themselves, why consumers and brands seem to have accepted that sneakers and other everyday shoes get soaked, they researched and brought a newly developed waterproof material together with this simple everyday problem (wet socks on rainy days) to create a product.
This waterproof material serves one specific user need: Keeping feet dry in every weather!
Vessis are made from a new knit material which includes a waterproof, breathable membrane called “Dyma-Tex”.
With this material, they can confidentially claim that Vessis indeed are waterproof. Not water-resistant but 100% waterproof 😉
Vessis are not only totally waterproof, but they also are vegan, and the knit manufacturing process can cut down material waste by 97% compared to traditional shoemaking processes:
Instead of cutting pieces out of fabric and sewing them into a three-dimensional shoe, the outer material is directly knitted into a shoe shape.
An impressive innovation that challenges the status quo for sneakers and solve a huge problem for consumers.
Skyrocketing success for the startup
Vessi’s mission is “to create products that move you forward, get you out there and let you live YOUR best life.” This consumer-centered mindset together with a product that solves a large pain in our day-to-day life screams for success.
Success they had right from the start: Their Kickstarter to start production aimed for 20’000 $ and raised over a million dollars, the follow-up campaign for more designs aimed for 25 k and raised over 1.2 million.
Being active on social media, the hype after the Kickstarter campaigns continued. So much so that demand was often higher than supply (trying to order the pair you want was, and still is, not that easy, in my experience. More on that in my Vessi Review).
Growing the business, Vessi has opened pop-up stores and added more product lines.
Their limited editions in seasonal colors ensure that the out-of-stock stamps on their online shop pages as well as the hype on social media never stop.
Bright future
Our wish for dry feet will stay as long as there are rainy days so consumer demand for their core business is secured.
Once the business is grown into a brand with global reach – not only for presence on social media but also for product shipment – there are many ways to go.
I’m curious how the market for truly waterproof sneakers will shape when more and more new brands with similar technologies appear in the future.
Even more, I wonder how long it will take large competitors to catch up: Will established premium sneaker brands follow the new standard for waterproof (knit) shoe materials?
It seems it’s only a question of time before we no longer accept that our favorite pairs of shoes get soaked in bad weather.
How 1 User Need Formed This Successful Startup
by Corinne
