Thing #2: After the success of trip number 1, I get a second call from the venture capitalist: this time, we’re to go to the hometown warehouse…in Detroit…the *original* warehouse.
This time, I have an idea of what to expect, but also this time, I’m to go (mostly) solo. The VC will not be with me…it’s just going to be me and the app developer, and he’s decided NOT a sneaker guy. So. Yeah, I’m in. 10000%.
As I’m getting ready for this trip, tryna make the most of it, I take a fall while playing ball in my mens league and I jack up my back. I jack up my back so bad I can hardly walk. It’s BRUTAL. Wifey takes me to urgent care, and I find out I’ve slipped a disc. Yeah, I know, this is old guy talk, but I am 45 years old so, I’m old. For reference, a slipped disc is INCREDIBLY painful. And apparently, it’s bumping against the nerve to my leg. I can hardly walk. I tell the doc - ‘hey, I’ve gotta fly to Detroit tomorrow, is there anything that can be done?’ She says ‘well, come back just before your flight, we’ll hit you with a shot and you should be good for at least the flight out.’ After a really painfully placed needle, I’m good. I hop the flight, catch a few winks and then I’m landing…7am. I’m feeling OK. Not great, but OK.
I meet the dev in the hotel lobby and we talk our strategy. We start walking, realize we’re going to be late, hop in an uber and make it to the warehouse right on time and are met with a *much* more serious (than New Jersey) group of guys. I kinda thought we were headed to the corporate office, but…no…we’re headed to the warehouse. Security appears to be a real thing, here, and we are monitored no matter where we go…which..is fine…and it makes sense.
The guys walk us through the facility and begin showing us their R&D room - the room where they're trying out all manners of authentication…from old school ‘looking at pics’ to sniffing to weight to a $100,000 CT scanner, the thing I can’t really wrap my head around is how many ancillary businesses have popped up around the simple sneaker…I mean…think about it…A single sneaker needs to be designed. And then the materials need to be sourced. And then other materials need to be sourced. And then someone needs to put it together. And then someone needs to package it. And then someone needs to transport it across the world. And then someone else needs to sell it. And then StockX took it to the next level where after the initial sale, they’ve built a business around shipping and authenticating and verifying and tagging and collecting the data…it’s…mind-boggling.
But, back to the observations: this place is MUCH smaller than the New Jersey facility, but they obviously take things A LOT more serious here.
We talk a lot about the business, what they’re looking for, and…of course…sneakers. And things are going well…until…that painkiller shot wears off. I make one wrong move leaning back in my chair and my back goes ‘pop’ and I realized - I’m screwed.
I amble through the rest of the day…trying to just grin and bear it. And by the time we’re done, I realized I’ve got a long road ahead of me. Long story short…my back makes things really rough for me and I’m not really able to take advantage of being in Detroit. I take a bunch of painkillers, watch an episode of Martin and I wake up a few hours later in my hotel bed and I realize I cannot get up. I change my flight because it’s clear that I need nothing more in the world than to just lie down in my bed…and…two ubers, a wheelchair, and an airplane over the course of 12 hours…I’m home.
Lying there in that Detroit hotel bed, I couldn’t help but laugh at how the whole thing played out. I’d flown across the country chasing sneakers and tech and opportunity — and my body reminded me, in no uncertain terms, that I’m not 25 anymore.
But even through the pain, I kept thinking about everything I’d seen — the systems, the scanners, the people. It’s crazy how much of this world we build just to make sure a pair of shoes gets from one person to another.
I didn’t get to see as much of Detroit as I did this time around (I went about 15 years earlier and marveled at the decay), but it was clear that StockX made a not-insignificant financial impact on the local economy…all because of shoes.
Thing #3 coming soon.