INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Atoms come in quarter-sizes you can mix-and-match
how Atoms is modernizing the footwear experience:Pick your quarter-size, say 10.25, and Atoms sends you 10s, 10.25s, and 10.5s, plus
socksTry them on and pick any two, even different sizes for different feet, and send the rest back freeNo logos
preventing funky smellsElastic laces with subtle oval eyelets let Atoms slip on but stay tight so you rarely have to tie themGet a discount
on your next pair if you send in your old Atoms for analysis and donationAt $179, Atoms are pricier than $100 lifestyle Nikes or $79
But the basketball shoe giant just sells in half sizes, while Allbirds offers only whole sizes that fit few perfectly
Everyone who tries them on seems to rave about them
Atoms launch this summer in the United States , with the first wave of customers getting their shoes in late June/early July.The big
bangHusband and wife duo Waqas and Sidra Ali started their first shoe company Markhor in Okara, Pakistan back in 2012
They attacked the market with one of the best qualities you can find in an entrepreneur: curiosity
Instead of coming in with preconceived notions, they traveled the world to research how people actually wear shoes
recalls.After launching a Kickstarter, the Alis came to Silicon Valley to go through the prestigious Y Combinator startup accelerator in
There, they drilled into more customer research and product design.Comfort and style were the big deciding factors in most sneaker
They discovered that more than 70 percent of people have at least a quarter-size difference in their two feet, and more than 7 percent have
By designing just a single unisex model in a limited set of colors, it could make quarter-sizing scalable while stripping away all the goofy
extra fabrics and patterns
Indeed, 35 percent of customers already take two different sizes
to avoid being labeled a Silicon Valley shoe
Rather than coders, the company wants creative types like painters and graphic designers to be its early adopters
The vision is to create a sneaker a head chef could wear all night in the kitchen without hurting, but that look elegant enough that they
Take that other shoe startup Allbirds
He prototyped tons of different versions for Atoms
The result is a strong but light outsole on the bottom with indents cut out for anti-slip traction and to reduce weight
Organic materials sound nice but can break down too quickly
Atoms are holding up great
The foamy mid-sole has frayed a tiny bit in the front like many shoes
And the knit materials ingrained some dust when I went camping in them that needed some brushing to get out
buyers into lifetime wearers
The idea is that when people send their old pairs in for a discount on the next, it can analyze that insole pattern to improve the shape of
future models.One day, Atoms hopes to create a completely personalized shoe shopping experience
It hopes to actually give you slightly different insoles with more or less arch support depending on how you wore the last ones
out with their own minimalist, quarter-sized sneakers
Such a limited set of colors and single style mean plenty of people will simply find them ugly or outside their taste
