Vineyard, Utah, March 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HandsFree Labs, Inc., the leader in handsfree footwear technology, announced it has secured a $3 million round of financing led by the Frazier Group.
“HandsFree Labs’ technologies are redefining the way people wear their shoes,” said Scott Frazier, Managing Partner of the Frazier Group. “The company’s licensing partnership with Nike and the early success of its Kizik brand are evidence of great things to come.”
The Frazier Group’s portfolio boasts of 80 companies, 45 of which have been added since 2018. The Utah fund’s $210 million of invested capital has resulted in dozens of IPOs and acquisitions.
In addition to licensing its technology portfolio to Nike and other best-in-class footwear companies, HandsFree Labs uses its technologies to power Kizik footwear, a brand of hands-free shoes that brings convenience and accessibility to casual and comfortable shoes for men and women.
“The Frazier Group’s investment record speaks for itself,” said Monte Deere, CEO of HandsFree Labs. “They already are bringing their mentorship and resources to our vision of putting hands-free shoes - through our Kizik brand and through the brands to whom we license - on the feet of billions of people.”
Skip Lei, who spent over 30 years at Nike before joining HandsFree Labs, will be executing the footwear business side for Kizik and Handsfree Labs.
Lei is a true shoe connoisseur. He is deeply experienced to successfully navigate the product creation process from beginning to end. Lei’s expansive background at Nike includes running the global tennis category, creating Nike’s Quick Strike program, as well as serving as the product liaison to the brands that Nike owned, including Converse, Hurley, Bauer Hockey, Starter, Cole Haan and Umbro.
“Skip Lei is a strategist, a problem solver and a true energy giver,” said Deere. “He firmly believes in the concept of team and understands the value of clarity in business. We couldn’t be happier that he is on our team and leading our footwear effort.”
About HandsFree Labs: Hands-free footwear was originally conceived by serial inventor and Ogio International founder, Mike Pratt, when he saw a long-felt but unsolved need to be able to put on and remove shoes without the use of hands. From that vision, Pratt invented a collection of hands-free technologies that are the foundation of the company known today as HandsFree Labs. HandsFree Labs is actively inventing hands-free footwear technologies for a broad range of applications, including for use in its Kizik brand of footwear and for licensing to Nike and others.
About the Frazier Group: Frazier Group is Scott Frazier’s family office. After an MBA from Harvard, Scott has served as CEO of Achieve, ThinkSubscription, and co-founder of TruVision and TruHearing. Scott co-founded the Utah Angels, Utah’s first angel group and has been one of Utah’s most active individual investors for over 25 years. Scott co-founded two direct secondary funds, Lumen Funds I and II and Frazier Fund. Notable investments include Ancestry, Omniture, DOMO, TruHearing, and Galileo.
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