he enjoyed his job at the bank, and the salary that went with it, he asked another question: “Is this all there is?” Turns out, it wasn’t. Walker quit his
job, took a year to produce his first golf shoe, met with a patent attorney and ended up raising a little over $100,000 in investment money, the majority coming by liquidating his own 401K. His mother was his first and biggest investor outside of Bart, with a contribution of $10,000. “I remember my wife asking me,
‘Why would you want to do that (invent a golf shoe)?” Walker recalled. “But after the birth of my daughter, I just remember that I was on a mission to figure out what I really wanted to do.” So Walker kept at it and finally his golf shoe started to take shape. Despite running it by several major shoe companies, no one was interested in Bart Walker’s golf shoe. It didn’t stop him, as he contacted a patent attorney and got in touch with an Oregon-based company called Your Proof of Concept, who had worked with Nike and adidas. They told him they needed a name to brand, and Walker came up with a beauty that he credits to his first two children. “Ellie’s middle name is Grace and my
son is William Jack,” said Walker, who recently had another baby boy with wife Erinn. “My consultants liked Jack Grace.” And Jack Grace shoes were born in
an old, 1,700 square-foot, former LDS seminary building in Ahwatukee. Walker rented it from a friend, who had bought the building and didn’t know what to do with it. “It was really ‘mom & pop’ at that
point, with my wife teaching school and me running around in that little building every day,” said Walker. “I spent all my time for a year and a half in that little building, and somehow still found time to build a website.” A critical move, as the majority of
Jack Grace’s early sales came via the Internet, although there have been more group/corporate sales lately. Having your own logo on your golf shoe apparently is very appealing to some people. But after 5,000-plus shoes and counting, it was time for a bigger building. Last October, JG moved into a 3,600 square-foot warehouse in Tempe. In only two years, not only had Walker doubled his space, he had accrued 12 employees that included
The Innovator golf shoe by Jack Grace boasts state-of-the-art traction and turn (above) along with cool color saddles like Kapalua (above top), baby blue (upper right) and Houndstooth (right).
salespeople, consultants, marketing experts and graphics designers. “Me? I’m the architect of our shoes,”
Walker explained. “It comes out of my brain, and then someone else builds it for us. “How would I describe the
shoe? The Innovator is a modern interpretation of a classic saddle shoe. It’s most unique feature is the Innovator’s interchangeable saddles, which work from a combination of Velcro and magnets. What I’m proud of is our shoes have an athletic style, they’re very comfortable -- like the best brands -- and we have a strong bottom unit that places attention on the outsole, the midsole and the insole.” Walker originally intended to have
the Innovator manufactured in this country, but financial considerations made it necessary to work/buy overseas. As for the price, $160, that’s pretty much right down the middle of the fairway for golf shoes, although the interchangeable saddles that sport those special logos, cost $30 to $40 per pair. “We’ve had some great things happen lately, like we sold shoes to
the Sanderson Farms Championship, which was our first tour event,” Walker reported. “We also sold some shoes to the LaTrobe Classic at Bay Hill, and working with Arnie’s people was a real treat. “But probably the coolest thing
of all is that we recently got an order from U.S. Bank. Those guys were my first employer and now they’re buying shoes from me.” In just five years, it’s been a long
and winding road for Walker. But if he had a chance to do it all over again, would he have stuck with U.S. Bank? “Here’s what I can tell you,” he
said. “I’m working on a new shoe, but making shoes is a tough road. “I still love golf, but I’m working
on another project – a shoe project – that is nongolf. And it certainly would have been easier to have started with a casual shoe or sandal rather than a golf shoe. But, hopefully, I have learned some great lessons that will get us swimming downstream soon. “But, no, I wouldn’t change a thing.” n
www.jackgraceusa.com.
JACK GRACE GOLF SHOES
JACK GRACE GOLF SHOES
JACK GRACE GOLF SHOES
JACK GRACE GOLF SHOES
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