On the Creation of a “Hyper-Performance” Trail Shoe Company: Speedland

Why would two friends who’d been working at the highest levels of product design at Nike, Under Armour, and Puma — and in some of the biggest product categories (soccer, basketball, and running) — set out to create a hyper-specific, hyper-performance trail running shoe company? We talk to the co-founders of Speedland, Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon to get the answers; to learn about their paths to becoming directors of design and innovation at some of the biggest brands in the world; and to discuss the design elements of what a “hyper-performance” trail shoe looks like to them.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• What is Speedland? (2:10)
• Meeting at Nike Basketball (4:14)
• Kevin Fallon’s background (6:51)
• Dave Dombrow’s background (10:33)
• How did you get jobs at Nike, Under Armor? (13:46)
• Why is it so hard for brands to move into other product categories? (26:07)
• Starting Speedland (31:39)
• Trail shoe design (36:40)
• Incorporating dual BOA dials (46:27)
• Pricing (51:41)
• Removable carbon plate (55:45)
• 1st shoe: SL:PDX (57:38)
• Speedland’s ‘Give Back’ program (1:03:49)
• Optimizing for specific environments (1:05:20)
• Price & Hyper Performance (1:07:11)
• runspeedland.com (1:11:08)

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