If you’re at all into sneaker culture, the app GOAT is essential to keeping up with the latest sneaker prices. GOAT is an app where sneakerheads can buy and sell their shoes, similar to eBay. Its valuation is huge, the last public record has it at worth over 250 million dollars, but for the founders of this app this success is new. Co-founder and CEO Eddy Lu is the brainchild of the GOAT app, but he is also the brainchild of many other failures in his career. After the release of the iPhone, Eddy Lu and his business partner Daishin Sugano decided to quit their respected jobs at Lehman Brothers and pursue making iPhone games and small 99 cent apps. After this endeavor, they decided to pursue a golf apparel company, which failed. After this, they decided to start a high-end Tea company, which failed. It was not until the failure of their next idea of Japanese cream puffs that they decided to pursue the idea of GOAT, an online marketplace where people could buy and sell sneakers.
With an emerging high-end fashion trend, GOAT along with only a few others is among the front runners to this rapidly growing market.
Eddy Lu has an inspiring story not only for his amazing success, but because of his consistent attempts of persistence through times of failure. Failure can be something that depresses and discourages people to stop pursuing their dreams and ideas, and Eddy Lu’s story helps inspire young entrepreneurs to never give up, even when you are at rock bottom.
Eddy’s story is very inspirational. So often we hear stories about how an entrepreneur had a perfect ride to fame off of an innovative idea. Eddy’s story is a perfect example of perseverance in the midst of adversity. Eddy never gave up on his many different ideas and dreams and now he is being rewarded for it.
I am not a “sneaker head” myself, but I recognize the significant value of GOAT and I know tons of people who use it. Eddy’s idea and story are both brilliant! I am very surprised at how diverse his ideas were and it’s inspiring to me that there is no set field for an entrepreneur. The profession is so fluid, a fact that still baffles me.