You know what’s great? A well-built, stylish pair of shoes that won’t break the bank.
And that’s exactly what Greats offers. GreatsBrand is a mens footwear maker launched out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn that aims to bring affordable shoes to customers by cutting out the middle man. The company has just closed a $1.5 million round led by Resolute Ventures, with participation from High Peaks Venture Partners, Mark Gerson of the Gerson Lehrman Group, New England Patriots’ Adrian Wilson, and others.
Cofounders Ryan Babenzien and Jon Buscemi both come from the footwear industry with a combined 20 years of experience designing and marketing footwear. The company launched in August 2013 after the duo realized that they could design, build, market and sell their shoes without the help of a single retailer.
And so Greats were born.
The company raised a $500k angel round shortly thereafter, and has since sold out of almost every model they carry. The brand, which caters to sporty, hipster-y style, has seen great traction thus far with price points as low as $59.
However, the capital is needed to refresh inventory, build out the team, and hopefully do a little marketing, according to Babenzien.
As you’ll notice, Greats doesn’t carry any women’s shoes, and yes, I yelled at the founders about it.
“I’m not saying we’ll never introduce women’s shoes, but right now we’re focused on building out the best menswear brand we can,” said Babenzien. “I know I’m turning away revenue, but building a brand is more important than building out the company. Once we have a solid brand, we can scale in a healthy way.”
Babenzien also mentioned that, despite international demand, the company has no plans to offer international shipping anytime soon.
You can learn more about Greats right here.