Katherine Homuth originally thought Sheertex was going to be easy.
In search of the perfect pair of tights (or at least a pair that wouldn’t run), she assumed she’d be able to globally source superior materials, design a cool brand, launch a Kickstarter, drop-ship and go.
Homuth found the superior material, an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene strong enough for bulletproof vests. However, the polymer was an order of magnitude more expensive than nylon.
“This is worth the pain of attempting to figure out how to do it. But attempting to figure out how to do it required us to basically rethink everything about that traditional outsourcing model.”
Using such materials would require in-sourcing the material science, and the manufacturing technology and software, all while vertically integrating as much of the supply chain as possible to drive cost out of the process. “We can’t have labour be one of our core costs,” she told me.
The goal is to have the company’s only true cost be the energy used to produce, something which Homuth believes is not only possible, but a prospect that Canada is uniquely positioned to deliver. It just requires a 21st-century approach to manufacturing.
So as Sheerly Genius became Sheertex and Sheertex became SRTX, the materials and manufacturing B Corp launch pad for its founder’s long-term vision, Homuth has accumulated more and more problems as necessary components to her ultimate solution.
It’s a riveting journey Homuth takes us on this episode of The BetaKit Podcast, and one that stands in stark contrast to current conversations about productivity and ambition in Canadian tech.
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Throughout it all, Homuth has been on a parallel personal journey: a repeat founder, author, and investor trying to find her voice again in the face of a skeptical investor environment and “really mean” internet. Recently, Homuth has been very online, regularly posting about her company’s opportunities and obstacles. On the podcast, she explains why choosing to do so felt like “ripping off a Band-Aid.”
After discovering that it wasn’t going to be easy, Katherine Homuth decided to do it anyway. How’s that going?
Let’s dig in.
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The BetaKit Podcast is edited by Darian MacDonald. Recorded at the AmberMac Media studio.