INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The direct-to-consumer trend in fashion has been one of the most interesting evolutions in e-commerce in the last several years, and today
one of the trailblazers in the world of footwear is picking up some money from a list of illustrious backers to bring its concept to the
quarter increments and you can buy different measurements for each foot if your feet are among the millions that are not exactly the same
To date, the company has been selling directly to consumers in the U.S
including selling in physical spaces in the future.This Series A speaks to a number of interesting investors flocking to the company.It is
being led by Initialized Capital, the investment firm started by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Garry Tan (both had first encountered
with their previous high-end shoe startup, Markhor); with other backers including Kleiner Perkins, Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin,
Acumen founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, TED curator Chris Anderson, the rapper Chamillionaire and previous
backers Aatif Awan and Shrug Capital.Investors have come to the company by way of being customers
whenever I was stepping out
closing a Series A, the startup has come a long way on a relative shoestring: with just around $560,000 in seed funding and some of the
gradual but strong marketing pipeline with influential people in tech, fashion and design
(That success no doubt played a big role in securing the Series A to double down and continue to build the company.)Within the bigger trend
vertically integrated businesses that bypass traditional retailers and bigger e-commerce storefronts to source their customers and sales
Third Love is another example in this category: The company has built a huge business selling bras and other undergarments to women by
completely rethinking how they are sized, and specifically by focusing on creating as wide a range of sizes as possible.So while companies
the pack because of its own very distinctive approach to building a mass-market business, but one that aims to make its product as
individualised as possible.You might think that approaching shoe manufacturers with the idea of creating smaller-size increments and
manufacturing shoes as single items rather than pairs would have been a formidable task, but as it turned out, Atoms seemed to come along at
how high), but given the principle of economies of scale, the more shoes that Atoms sells, the better the economics.Currently the shoes sell
for $179 a pair, which is not cheap and puts them at the high end of the market, so it will be interesting to see how and if price points
evolve as it matures as a business, and competitors big and small begin to catch onto the idea of selling their own footwear at a wider
range of sizes.My colleague Josh, who first wrote about Atoms when they launched, is our own in-house tester, and as someone who could have
But throwing them in the wash or a rub with a brush and they practically look new
And for a cleaner, more professional look you can tuck the bow of your laces behind the tongue
I can walk all day in them, but then go to a fancy dinner or nightclub
I can hike or even hit the gym with them if necessary, and they pack quite flat
With the quarter-sizing and different use cases, they make Allbirds look like restrictive outdoor slippers
For adults who still want to wear sneakers, the monochromatic color schemes and brandless, simple styles make Atoms feel as mature and
even gone outside the U.S
organisation and business small and tight, with no plans to expand to further countries for the moment.
