Tyler Strothman – Veloci
Tyler Strothman was a Division I runner at Rice University, and he found shoes to either support his lower legs, but leave his feet cramping, or to support his feet, but leave his lower leg in pain. So, he created his own running shoe that both fits the feet to reduce foot pain while running, but also to keep the support up so that his lower leg was supported and not getting strained.
Strothman demonstrates many important entrepreneurial traits including creativity, persistence, and problem-solving. He stepped outside of what he already knew, went into a big market, and created his own personal shoe. Veloci is an example of innovation because the company challenges some of the traditional assumptions of that running should feel like. Tyler didn’t want to choose between comfort and support, which is what he was doing in the shoes he wore before creating his brand. He wanted to shoe that fit both.
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I agree that Tyler’s story shows how creativity and persistence can lead to innovation. He identified a problem from his own experience and created a solution that combines both comfort and support instead of settling for one or the other.
I love how this is an innovation born of a personal struggle. It’s inspiring how people can turn their pain into profit and improvement in others’ lives. I think it’s also cool how he chose to enter an already dominated market with his innovation because he believed so strongly in his product’s unique solution.
I love how all of these entrepreneurs that we have researched can take an experience from their life where there is a need or a gap in the market. The biggest way to grow quickly seems to be taking advantage of a hole in the market.
I like how the entrepreneurs fixed a problem for himself and then shared it with others. This is an inspiring action because this is a successful business as well as something that is beneficial to peoples active lives!
Sometimes the best problem solvers are the ones with the problem! I’m sure that he was not the only one who had bad experiences with athletic footwear and his innovation is probably benefiting numerous athletes just like himself. I like how he didn’t compromise comfort or support but was able to create something new that accomplished both. I’m sure he will continue to innovate and help change the athletic footwear industry.
It is very inspiring that this young entrepreneur was able to solve his own problem instead of waiting for someone else to do it. Also, this is a problem that many others like him probably face very often. This innovation is truly changing the game runners.