In Her Shoes: The Ida Sports Story | #080 - a podcast by Nathan Bush
from 2021-05-16T19:00:15
In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Laura Youngson and Ben Sandhu from Ida Sports, who have created the first football boot specifically designed for women’s feet. Only a couple of years old, they have grown from an idea on the back of a napkin and an early prototype they called the ‘frankenshoe’, to selling out of their first range, getting stocked in Dicks Sporting Goods and having Isabel Dawes kick a goal in the AFLW grand final wearing their shoe. In this chat, we hear how Ben and Laura used LinkedIn as an outreach tool, why their first crowdfunding campaign failed miserably and how removing barriers to entry for women in sport is their ultimate goal.
Links from the episode:
Laura’s Ted Talk (Mount Kilimanjaro)
Shopify Plus & Peter Sheppard (sponsored)
Questions answered:
What are some of the key differences between men and women’s needs in a sports shoe?
How did you go about designing a women’s football boot from scratch?
What are some of the most significant barriers to entry for women in sport?
This episode was brought to you by…
Some would say that turning traditional plastic packaging tape into strong, eco-friendly paper tape is impossible. Not for our friends at Signet! In fact, it is a simple and cost-effective way to reduce your plastic usage and create a more sustainable packing offering - and available to everyone. Our partners at Signet have been helping leading retailers such as T2, Lush Cosmetics and MECCA reduce their plastic usage and create a more sustainable supply chain with their range of eco-friendly packaging products. Visit signet.net.au to find out more.
Peter Sheppard Footwear pride themselves on delivering their customers the perfect fit. Unfortunately this didn’t apply to their own eCommerce technology. Stuck on a niche legacy platform, it took the Peter Sheppard team up to 24 hours to make simple changes. It’s not quick enough in today’s eCommerce fast paced world. Enter Shopify Plus. Peter Sheppard migrated to Shopify Plus including a full pos migration, reliable media library and an automated recording suite, oh and did I mention? Instant updates. As a result, Peter Sheppard tripled their conversion rate and increase eCommerce revenue by 30%. Talk about some nimble footwork. To read more of the Peter Sheppard Footwear story and see other case studies visit the customers sections on shopify.com.au/plus
About your host: Nathan Bush from 12HIGH
Nathan Bush is the founder and lead strategist at eCommerce consultancy, 12HIGH. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.
About your co-hosts:
Laura Youngson from Ida Sports
Laura Youngson the co-founder of Ida Sports, a serial entrepreneur who has set up and run a number of businesses and not-for-profit organisations. Laura studied physics and has since worked as a diplomat, on the London Olympics and for PwC, before starting her own businesses. She is a TEDx speaker and holds four world records set with the organisation she founded, Equal Playing Field, which advocates for gender equity in sport.
You can contact Laura on LinkedIn
Ben Sandhu from Ida Sports
Ben Sandhu has advised startups and accelerators for a number of years in both the UK and Australia before joining Ida Sports. He is passionate about using business as a force for social change, most recently heading up RMIT’s LaunchHUB programme in 2020. He was a semi-professional cricketer who deeply understands the athlete experience, helping Ida Sports land two lucrative contracts with some of the US's largest sports retailers.
You can contact Ben on LinkedIn
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