Former Head of Yeezy-Adidas Innovation Lab Secures $6 Million in Funding to Launch Full-Service Sneaker Production Company
Omar Bailey, the former head of the Yeezy-Adidas Innovation Lab, is gearing up to launch BIPOC-led, L.A.-based footwear prototyping lab and venture studio FCTRY LAb with an initial $6 million tranche round of financing.
According to the company, the funding comes from a diverse group of venture capital firms, top professional athletes and angel investors including the co-founder of Tinder via Time Zero Capital, the co-founder of WeWork, the West Coast Head of Warburg Pincus and a consortium of NBA and NFL stars via Chicago-based Aurelien Capital.
Venture capital investment was led by the L.A.-based, Pay-Pal-backed, Slauson & Co, with additional investment from Relay Ventures, Elysian Park Ventures, Level One Fund and Fog City Capital among others, the company noted.
In an interview with FN, Bailey said the company will use the investment to finish building out the company’s lab in Los Angeles, which is slated to be fully operational by the beginning of January. “Our lab is not like other factories,” Bailey noted. “Think of it as a lounge meets lab meets Apple store. I want it to be a cool space where we can hang out as well as work.”
Along with his co-founder former Wall Street and private equity executive Abhishek Som, Bailey is building a new business aimed at democratizing sneaker production and open-source innovation for emerging and established designers and brands of all sizes.
With over 20 years of global product development and manufacturing practice as a design engineer, Bailey’s other experiences include developing footwear for entertainers such as Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, athletes such as Karim Benzema and working alongside brands like Supreme, New Balance, K-Swiss and Timberland.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in shoe factories for major brands in India and China, and now is the time to bring my skills in development to my own company that operates domestically in the States,” Bailey said.
The post Former Head of Yeezy-Adidas Innovation Lab Secures $6 Million in Funding to Launch Full-Service Sneaker Production Company was originally published on Footwear News.
