Four Questions for Founders | Shimmy Technologies | New Lab
1. Why did you start Shimmy Technologies? Do you remember the moment when you first thought of the idea?
I was listening to a lot of T-Rex at the time and there is a line in Bang a Gong that goes “She’s built like a car” and shortly after I heard that song, I was watching a car designer use simulation to sculpt the body of a car and I wondered, could this technology be transferred to the apparel industry to enable better design and fit of clothes on human bodies?
2. How do you see Shimmy Technologies impacting how we live our lives?
We will make the system set up to make clothes one that puts human beings in clothes that actually fit them and moves the 75 million people in this supply chain to decent, dignified work.
3. How have New York and New Lab positively impacted the development of your business?
Starting a company is a lonely experience — even with a great team at your side. I have benefited particularly from startup events focused on female founders and first-time founders in NYC. It is a diverse tech community here, and that makes me really proud.
I’ve been bought in on New Lab from the days it was an idea in a presentation deck. Other founders have been unbelievably generous in making introductions, showing me their battle scars, and brainstorming with me on hard things like pricing, deal structure, and board governance. I also really think there is something to having all that space over our heads — I really do believe it contributes to all of us thinking really large scale.
4. What’s the message you want to send to people about the power of technology?
It is a privilege to design technology that people use to make their lives better — albeit more efficient, more fun, and hopefully, more empowering. With that privilege comes power and responsibility to which every technologist should give their utmost concern and attention. It means doing something really uncomfortable and counter to being human beings (we can’t help but project ourselves all over everything) — stepping outside our human experience and taking ourselves out of the equation for a while.
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Originally published at https://newlab.com on November 19, 2019.
