Enda makes the world’s greatest running shoes. We build them in Kenya, the home of running greatness.
Source: Built in the Home of Champions
Project + Exec is a new series where I’ve decided to seek out footwear executives who are minorities (Black, Latino, Indian, Native American, Asian men and women) who are doing some dope work, but are being overlooked by the larger media outlets. It’s my small part. I really hope you look more into the brands and people behind them.
Project + Exec has primarily been about the person behind the brand. This time my decision to share a post about the work being done by Co-Founders: Navalayo Osembo-Ombati and Weldon Kennedy is a lot more personal because the narrative of creation resonates with me. In 2017 Enda launched a Kickstarter to deliver a new running shoe to the market. Sound familiar? (If you’ve been to this site you know I ran a successful Kickstarter for my third running shoe.) That is where the similarities end.
While I did almost everything out of my pocket, I never really had a strong foundation to build my company upon. I discovered all of the paths to sell the shoes, but without a true narrative to support why people could trust ARCH, I fell short. Enda is born and built in the home of the most incredible runners in the world, Kenya.
I want to scream that last line, because the idea that a running shoe is arriving from Kenya is breathtaking and inspiring.
Enda was founded with a mission of bringing a bit of Kenyan athletic excellence to runners everywhere and fuelling economic development in Kenya. We developed the world’s greatest running shoes incorporating the country’s running history, culture and skills, while at the same time creating jobs. We’re initially assembling the shoes in Kenya, with a long-term vision of having the shoes 100% made in Kenya.
At a time where the largest sneaker companies in the world all operate on the back of low wage earners in countries with questionable employment practices, here is a company looking to bring jobs rooted in the nation’s most prominent field, running. The company is currently looking for sales and marketing person in the U.S. which tells me they are doing well enough to begin growth in the world’s largest sneaker market. They are also entering a market that is the most difficult to crack. The person who they bring aboard will have to be all things to really find the customer, but the one thing that Enda has in its corner is a program Run Like A Kenyan.
The program is currently listed via the link above on Medium. Which leads me to the section where I establish the potential difficulties of what lies ahead. (This wouldn’t be ARCH if I didn’t give the good and the bad.)
1. Currently the site is designed in a manner that doesn’t allow for indexing and search. The product is prominent, but retail is in a time when a static website is a drawback for growth. How do they offset this? The Run Like A Kenyan program should not be linked outside of the website on Medium. As a matter of fact it should be broken down to a minimum of 30 blog posts, on site, as training is the perfect opportunity for information on learning to run. The blog post will be indexed (if they’ve set up the site with webmaster tools and have their analytics in place. They can then see who is visiting and from where).
2. Run Like A Kenyan should be supported with articles on strength training and fitness. This should work in conjunction with YouTube videos. Right now the company has 9 videos on their YouTube. Run Like A Kenyan should have over 30 videos demonstrating the training sessions. These videos will then be incorporated into the site.
There are other aspects of the website which need work, but overall, this is an exciting project + exec for me because I get the chance to introduce a new company and list a potential job for those who read this far, lol. Check out the video below for more details on how to apply for Enda!