In 2014, Katie Lefkowitz, co-founder of Lundí and MBA candidate at Harvard Business School, moved from Los Angeles to Boston, just in time to witness the snowiest winter on record. While there were warm and satisfying clothes to tolerate the cold, the quality of boots available didn’t seem to suffice. Ugly in Uggs, Freezing in Fryes, Sweating in Sorels were a few of the boot products in the market that displeased her and provoked her to start a new venture developing the world’s first luxury, heated smart-boots called Lundí. She has been ably supported in her efforts by her father, Sheldon Lefkowitz, a nuclear and mechanical engineer with a Master’s from MIT.

“The pain of footwear in the winter is undeniable,” said Katie, “People have controlled temperature indoors for over 100 years – it’s time we bring this outside, starting from the ground up.” Sheldon elaborated, “Wearable technology has so far failed to impress on form, while underwhelming users on function.” She also says “The problem is women are not well served by current winter footwear options. Fashionable boots are not warm enough for winter climates, while snow boots are clunky, leaving the user hot & clammy once indoors. No current offerings provide temperature customization or auto-control”.

Lefkowitz didn’t care for the common trend typically associated with regards to winter footwear. She realized she had two options: She could either sport clunky boots that were more practical, or wear fashionable ones that left her feet frigid and hurt. “Going back to how I envisioned the idea, it came to me when I had moved from California to Boston for business school. I was in no way prepared for the seasons in terms of clothing and all of that good stuff,” Lefkowitz said. “I was able to find jackets, gloves and hats that I liked, but I had trouble finding boots that suited me.”

“I thought, ‘there has to be a better way to be dealing with this issue.’ I started talking with my friends, and, based on my conversations, it turned out this was a common problem,” Lefkowitz said.

About the Founders

Katie graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. from University of Pennsylvania. She worked for three years at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Los Angeles before moving to Boston for her MBA at HBS.

Sheldon is a Nuclear and Mechanical Engineer from MIT and has 40 years of experience in nuclear power, waste management and remote equipment development.

About Lundí: Product, Technology and Fundraising

Lundí boots are handcrafted in Italy with full-grain leather and are only 0.1 kg heavier than regular boots. From the outside, the boots have a classic leather look. Meanwhile, on the inside, they are equipped with a heating pad throughout the soles, which is covered with a soft material to diffuse the warmth. As a result, you can crank the boots all the way up to 100°F and the heat is still gentle enough that it won’t burn your feet or ruin the leather. Additionally, the heating component is built to be waterproof and shock-proof, so the boots are safe to wear regardless of the weather conditions.

Lundí technology is the after-product of wearable tech experts working alongside consumers. Lundí boots provide comfortable heating via a simple, user-friendly temperature control application, connected via Bluetooth 4.0 (°F/°C) settings available in European and American markets for now. Lundí’s technology keeps you bundled up and its smartphone app allows for effortless control of each boot’s temperature down to the degree. It’s personalized air-conditioning for the feet. They’re compatible with iOS and Android and it takes less than a minute for them to reach the desired temperature. To charge the boots, a shaper needs to be inserted into the boot taking 1-1.5 hours to charge a discharged boot. Lundí boots are available in sizes 6-12 (US) and 36-42 (EU).

Available to order starting March 22nd on Kickstarter, Lundí has a goal of raising $55,000 by Thursday, May 5. They’ve reached about 50% of their target since they launched their Kickstarter campaign. After working tirelessly to bring this product from idea to prototype, they hope to leverage Kickstarter to bring their idea from prototype to production.

 

HBS’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Lundí operates out of iLab at Harvard Business School. Lefkowitz credits HBS with helping her bring the idea to this stage. “It has been absolutely spectacular – I can say with confidence that I would be nowhere near the level I am at without the help of HBS, and the Rock Accelerator & iLab support. Moreover, my professors have gone above and beyond to help me think through this venture – I simply cannot thank them enough.” The HBS faculty is equally thrilled about the product and are more than proud to have helped Katie establish history in the making. Lundí was one of 14 semi-finalists among 57 competing teams in HBS’s New Venture Competition 2016.

Lundí’s Future

In the near term, the father-daughter duo is focused on the high end of the market. They believe with scale and more manufacturing experience they will be able to bring the price point down and target a wider range of customers and not just women. The Lundí team sees a highly scalable option with licensing in the 3-year time horizon.

Following the crowd-funding campaign, the venture is likely to continue selling its boots through e-commerce, but at a steeper price point. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price on these things is $875. But the pricing for the earliest customers will start around $249, which is a very viable amount. Lefkowitz said they’d eventually like to sell their products through a major retailer, but that won’t be a priority until 2017.