Geox founder promotes entrepreneurial spirit

As part of a business trip to Canada, Geox footwear founder and president Mario Polegato dropped by Concordia’s John Molson School of Business to share his experiences of starting up his own business with students.

Polegato, who has a background in agriculture and oenology, started his business career by following in the footsteps of three generations of his family’s winemaking company in north-eastern Italy. But it was on a trip to Reno, Nev., for a wine fair in the early 1990s that he got to thinking about shoes.

“I decided to take a walk in the Nevada desert wearing rubber-soled sneakers,” Polegato told the 50 students in Jaskiewicz’s class.

“During my walk, my feet suffered because of the temperature,” he explained.  “In my pocket I had a Swiss Army knife with which I cut holes in the right and left sides of the soles.  And I realized that this was ventilation!”

Upon returning to Italy with his modified soles, Polegato began to experiment. He described the challenge of creating ventilated soles that would work in more humid climates. Once he had perfected his innovation of a breathable and waterproof rubber-bottomed sole, he proceeded to patent the technology.

Initially, Polegato had no interest in manufacturing shoes. He was hoping to license the technology to well-established global footwear labels like Nike, Adidas, Puma and Timberland.