YouSaid · the spoken record

Wayne Edy

lines on the record: 65
first: 2021-09-13
most recent: 2021-09-13
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Days and days training, you know, she used to train for two or three hours a day and she achieved it in, so she's the first person to cycle to the South Pole. Unbelievable. And she did it in human speed record as well, which still stands today.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Actually, ended up developing what she calls the polar cycle, which was a three-wheeled trike so that it would be a lot more stable when you got into high side winds. Wow. And we developed it. She put the project together. She did a great job spent.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It is a combination of them both because you've got to have a certain amount of luck along the way. But I do take a certain amount of risk. And I've always done, you know, that's in my nature. I'm a bit of a risk taker. But I like to think that I manage that in a balanced and considered way. One of my parents good friends, John Whitehead, when I'm growing up, he was a businessman and I was always saw him as a real mentor. And I used to love spending time with him talking about business and going to some of his businesses and just learning from what he was doing. And he gave me a great bit of advice once. He said to me, with all these things, he says, get as much information as you can, but then go with your gut instinct. Because he said to me, he said, you've got a good instinct. He said, go with it.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Closet for shoes. I've got some in the garage, some in the coach house. And yeah, I like to test every single shoe. Yeah. That's important to me that I've had them on my feet.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Maria's always complaining, she says she doesn't know anyone that has as many pairs of shoes as me, but in all fairness, I do own a sports shoe company. So I probably got about currently about 40 pairs of shoes. I do like to wear.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think we've got a long way to go actually because we're well known in the small niche markets, but actually they're not big enough to grow the brand to its full potential. So one of the big challenges and part of our strategy is now how do we actually get more awareness out there? Because once people try our product, it's amazing with the letters, the emails that we get coming in, people saying the product's fantastic. It's changed my running. So brand awareness is the big thing now to take us to the next level. And we're working on that.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The big plan is to grow the brand to its full potential and to be able to transition back to chairman of the business as a brand people believe the brand is bigger than it really is, which is good because we're projecting ourselves very well as a brand, our marketing is very good. We've got some of the most technical product available in the marketplace. And just in the short time I've taken back ownership and control of the business, it's in really good shape. We've done a lot of good things. We've taken good decisions and the team, despite them working from home during COVID, have responded very well and pulled together very well the business is in a lot better shape now than it was when I took over the business, which is good to say.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it's been fantastic base for us because it's a good place to recruit talent to. And I said that most of the team go out running. Well, at lunchtime, a lot of them are out there running because we've got great runs just from the office and they're out there running testing product and come back. We've put showers in. They all shower and back to work”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So it's in Staveley in the Lake District and it's right next to a mountain range. It's actually there's an outdoor hub there. So there's a number of brands that operate out there, outdoor brands. So we decided to set up our headquarters there.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I have, but my reasons for doing it were that I just felt that the brand was better off going through a epidemic like we were facing with me at the helm. Despite me having taken on that risk with my own funds. Was better that I was in control of the decisions because, you know, who knows what would have happened based on the decisions being taken by a Japanese corporate. They had also been hit with COVID and the impact of that on their core business. So I just felt it was the right thing to do. I also feel a huge sense of responsibility for the team. You know, we've got a fantastic team at Innovate. They're very passionate. Most of them are...”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was, and many people say to me, what a risk you've taken at that time. And actually, when we were due to sign the deal, which was in January 2020, I had to push back the deal because it was just too risky. The team and I were worried about the situation and COVID and the impact of that being in Asia. We hadn't really considered the huge impact that it would have in sort of Europe and North America and South America, but then in March I had no option. I had to decide to sign or to abort the deal. So I went ahead with the deal.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So in 2019 there was a major change in DeSants Board and the president who was very pro-innovate he left the business and they brought in a new president and a new board and I met the new president and he talked me through the strategy in 2019 and said that Desante were going to move away from an international growth strategy to refocus in their core markets of Northern Asia. So I then thought about it and decided that I would approach the new president and I flew out there in October 2019. And negotiated with him and said, Well, I don't see where innovate fits in your new strategy. Why don't you look to sell the business back to me? He negotiated hard and I reciprocated. And we ended up agreeing a value that we shook hands on. And in 2020, I bought back the business and actually signed all the paperwork.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, I think about twenty percent of my time was spent within a rest was spent with family and working on that other project.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Correct. So actually I ended up taking a shareholding in Garmont and I was actually the second biggest shareholder of Garmont International and I held that until 2020 when I sold that shareholding and I've exited that business”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, to a combination of military and civilians, majority were to military but special forces, and they would buy that for their own money. So it wasn't through the tender process. they would buy them from specialist military retailers”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was called Tactical 8. And we developed a boot with an Italian brand called Garmont. And we were very successful at that. So from 2015 to 2019, built that to be upwards of a $12 million brand.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, being the entrepreneur I am, I started a tactical business in the USA. Doing tactical footwear use for special forces”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I didn't want to be seen as the founder that didn't want to let go and was trying to hang on to everything. So I think I did hand over correctly and keep the right balance on my involvement in the business, but it is very difficult”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's very difficult. And I've been through that cycle, particularly when you see it's not tracking as well as you would hope it would or that your vision is for the brand. And when some of the decisions that are taken are not ideal. So, you know, there we were part of this large Japanese group. So, I mean, they're a billion dollar group. They have a number of brands in Northern Asia, which they're very strong. I chose them as a partner because they understand technical brands and they also are very good at clothing. So what they got from the deal was footwear expertise and knowledge from us. And we got clothing from them. But it has its challenges. They Japanese corporate. And suddenly I'm sitting as a 20% minority shareholder with only a small amount of influence and we were only a small part of their big group”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, he did, but not on the financial side. They made it very clear that they only wanted me to be involved on innovation. Of course I then became a real minority shareholder with only twenty percent, so I have to accept that this brand that I founded and have nurtured and has gone through that sort of bumpy patch 2012 to 15, I would then let it go and I just own 20% and I would dilute down from there. So over five years, they wanted me to dilute down to zero”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, DeSant bought eighty percent of the whole company. They bought out all private equity shares and they were very keen for me to retain 20% because the president of DeSante at the time, he was very passionate about the brand and he wanted me to stay as a shareholder in the brand”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I wouldn't say so actually. I think the business was probably more profitable when I was CEO and in ownership of the business because it, you know, I always looked at the longer term best for the brand, but I was very careful with the money because that was all self-funded by just myself. And I couldn't afford to drop that pool.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But that's part of business and that's part of that journey. So I still stayed close enough to the business, but I wasn't involved on a day-to-day basis.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's right, we're now married and she was great because she loves being outdoors. I actually met her at one of the races that we put on as Innovate. And she then went off to New Zealand and rode the length of New Zealand and ran across the width of New Zealand. She loves doing sort of those long ultra stuff. We then started living together. So that was very good for me. But there's that fine line because it's quite difficult to actually hand over to someone else that will then start taking all the key decisions on this brand that you founded when you see some of the stuff perhaps decisions that you wouldn't agree with. And, you know, there were certain board meetings where I didn't agree on certain things, but I was outnumbered on the board and overruled on some of those decisions.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Honest, I needed that break at that time. I'd been traveling at the peak for I was away out the country for anything from six to seven months of the year. I was in the USA, Asia visiting distributors, going to races and promoting the brand all over the world. I think I got a bit of burnout because I just done too much for too long and the pressure of everything.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“allowed me to de risk to a degree I was still the major shareholder of the business so they took Forty two percent. And by de-risking that took a lot of pressure off of me. I was in a position to relax a bit more.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Because if you're too small, there's that vulnerability. And that's what I was afraid of. And as you grow the brand, the brand becomes, you know, it's bigger than any, you know, I'm only the founder of the brand. So I see as I'm the caretaker of the brand. And I was worried that if there was another financial crash or big hiccup in the financial markets, that we wouldn't make it through. So I took that decision. And it's a difficult decision because you're bringing in partners into the business. We went with private equity and they have a different agenda. Because they work on their cycles.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And that put a lot of pressure on my personal relationship with my wife because she was less prone to taking risk and she was much more cautious. So actually, unfortunately, we ended up getting divorced and I went on my own way and put more effort to innovate. And in a lot of ways. I had so much pressure on me I had to make it work, and I took it as far as And then I felt at that stage I had no option. So I went to the market and we went through a process and I raised some capital through a private equity deal.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's always difficult when you're juggling so many balls and you've taken that risk and you sort of committed and you can't pull back because you've got enough momentum. You've got to follow it through. But the big thing that surprised us and caught me out was the 2008 crash, market crash, the factory that we were working with changed our terms to when we actually placed the orders, which was a huge change to the terms that we were on. And it just put so much pressure on me. And I managed to secure another loan through a US bank, but I had to sign personal guarantees with this. And I can remember the bank manager saying to me, he said, Wayne, just to let you know, he said, you sign this document. He says, if you drop this ball, he says, the whole company's gone. He said everything that you own is gone.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Was bad, yeah, yeah. This is a small profit, but it was enough for them to support the loan. And that was very important for me to take the brand, you know, to that next level”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So it would have been two years in, so 2005, and that's when I managed to negotiate the bank facility for that quarter of a million pounds.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No investors, no investors. I managed to get a secure loan with one of the UK banks for a quarter of a million pounds, which was a very good scheme. It was government-backed. There were a lot of hurdles that I needed to go through to get the scheme and demonstrate that, you know, we were Not a high, high risk, and eventually I managed to convince the bank manager and we got sign off on that quarter of a million and that really helped us in those early days.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So all prophets went back into the business. And of course, I was taking only a salary that I needed to live on at that time. And we would just be very careful with our development costs. And we were adding more shoes. So we've got three main categories, and that is trail and off-road running and then fast and light, which is our outdoor category. And then fitness, which is focused primarily on the CrossFit market.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And yes, that's right. And I showed them the shoe. And Thomas was so excited about it. And he was the same size as me. And I remember giving him the shoes and saying, Thomas, why don't you go and run in these tomorrow? And I walked back to my room just in my socks. I had a few people laughing at me walking out of the restaurant in my socks. But the next day, Thomas said, what a fantastic shoe. He said, I've been out first thing in the morning, had a fantastic run. And he said, it's a brilliant shoe. That became the shoe that the CrossFit community rarely adopted.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's correct. So less aggressive cleats and slightly different design. And we called that the F-light. And I remember I came up with the idea and got a sample made. And I had the sample made in my size. And I was wearing it and I can remember very clearly I had dinner with Thomas and Lisa in the hotel near Boston where our office was.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, I think I was just talking to Graham and I said, I've got this idea, why don't we create a sort of mountain flat running shoe, but creating a sort of a hybrid mountain flat more suited for the alpine type running.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I was very fortunate. I had an ultra runner named Thomas Mecclson, and he contacted me because he had read about the shoes and said, you know, at any chance he could buy them. I said, well, we're not selling them in North America as yet, but I sent him two pairs and I said, why don't you try them and give me some feedback on them? And he absolutely loved the shoes. And so him and I started talking and I said I was looking for some partners to set the business up in the USA and run that. And I ended up agreeing a partnership with them. And his wife, Lisa Michelson, ran that business from then when we set it up until probably about 2009 or 2010. It was a great partnership and we started marketing to CrossFitters. And it was the early days of CrossFit. And we got some real traction. And that helped fuel the growth of innovate.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Absolutely. Well, afterwards, she was interviewed by the press and they were taking voters and she actually took the shoes off and held them up and said, these shoes help me win today. Wow. And you can't pay for that sort of advertising.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, they fit her. Yeah. And she went for only a very short run in them and then decided I'm going to run the World Mountain Running Championships in these shoes because she didn't really have another option. So she ran the race and it was a very close finish and she ended up winning. In our shoes.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Was sponsored by Adidas, and she had some Adidas racing flats. So she woke up in the morning and there was all the snow and she only had these road running flats. So she frantically went around asking if anyone had some shoes. And that very pair of shoes that I arranged for that junior runner, she loaned them to Melissa. And they fit her.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So it's a great story, and that was probably only a month and a half, two months into the brand's lifetime. And I got a phone call on a Friday evening from one of the English junior runners. And she said to me, I've heard you've got this new shoe. I'm going to the World Mountain Running Championships in Alaska. Any chance you could arrange a pair of shoes for me? And I said, yes, no problem at all, you know. So I said, when are you going? And she said, tomorrow. So I arranged for her to collect a pair from Pete Bland on the way to the airport. And the night before the woman's final, there was a dump of about three or five inches of snow. And Melissa Moon, who was in New Zealand, only had racing flats. So she had, I think, as you say,”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So that's the nice thing about working with a small community like that. They saw that we were really serious about trying to make the best product for them. They accepted that it wasn't perfect for everyone and that they were prepared to give us another chance. So that's very good about the community. And, you know, today, if you go to a Fel race, there's probably 70% plus people are wearing innovate shoes at these races, which is fantastic to see”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Early version of the shoe. Yes, that gave them, they had some pressure points and some of them would rub. So yeah, that was a concern, but we very quickly rectified that and we softened the whole heel area down with the second production, of course, which I ordered within... I think within a month of launching the brand I ordered the second container because I knew that it would take six months to get that in and you had to plan for that. And I'm pleased I did order that second container because we were rarely building some momentum and the word was getting out there”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“These shoes You're right, and it was fine for some runners, but with some people that had quite Achilles tenant that came quite low on the heel.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It did, but that was where we took quite a purist design approach. So the soul was quite aggressive because it was targeted for fail runners. And we had quite a low back on the shoe also, so it wouldn't put pressure on the Achilles tendon. And it had quite a high front and lace up so that you could get a good lace up. And when you're running downhill at speed. Your foot doesn't bash forward and damage your toes or toenails. So that was part of the look. And yes, you're right. It was very distinctive. And we had a met cradle, which gives you a very good hold around the foot and stilted to today, all our shoes carry certain DNA all the way through their design.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And that started part of my sponsorship where I was giving some product to some top athletes. I gave some product to some Italian athletes and I sold some product to some other UK athletes. And that's where it all started from there to get international word out on the brand.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's correct. So it's in North Wales, and it's the largest mountain in North. There's a race which is an international race there every year. So I went to that, I was fortunate. I had made contact with a farmer that farmed near Snowden. His name was Tim Davis. And I made contact with him and sent him a pair of shoes. And he... And he won the first international race only two weeks after launching the brand, wearing this new shoe of mine. And he was so pleased because this is these local race, these local mountain. And of course that was great for me because I just had so many people coming to me after the race wanting to know about the shoes and wanting to buy the shoes.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Used to the shoe and break it in, yeah. And then the next morning, I was having a coffee with Pete and Matt. And three of the runners came up and looked at me and gave me the thumbs up and pointed at their feet and they were wearing the shoes for the start. And I thought, wow, here's me launching a new brand and a new shoe. And these guys are going to run a two-day mountain marathon in it. And they've never run in it before. So I thought, this is make or break. You know, I just hope it works out. And it was great, actually, because on the Sunday after the event, people started coming to me saying the shoes were fantastic. And other people would come and say, oh, a friend of mine ran in your shoe and said it was brilliant. Can I buy a pair? And then the following weekend I went to a race called the Snowden Race, which is”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When we launched the product and had it all available, but we had a four-wheel drive pickup and we filled the back with shoes. And I actually used to go to races. And the first weekend when we launched the brand, when we had the product available, it was at a large mountain marathon where Pete Brand was retailing. And we were selling the shoes there. So I was there myself and telling the story, talking about the technical aspects and the benefits of our shoes, and started selling them. And I had a couple of people come to me the next morning because this is the night before the race. And it was actually a two-day race. And they were saying to me, well, can I wear this for the race? And I said, well, I wouldn't recommend wearing a new shoe for a two-day mountain marathon. I said, really, you want to.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, so that's our naming system, our naming system is a soul name or shoe name and then the number is the weight of an average size shoe.”
2021-09-13 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · inov-8: Wayne Edy · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT