Louis-Victor Jadavji is a serial entrepreneur and tech business owner. He lives in Vancouver, Canada, and has a background in health and 3D printing. He co-founded Wiivv - his third company - with Shamil Hargovan in the summer of 2014. With a team of over 30 members, Wiivv has gone on to raise $8 million in venture capital. The company’s BASE insole is the most successful consumer 3D-printed product of all-time. Prior to Wiivv, Louis-Victor worked in marketing and business development roles at Atlassian Software (NASDAQ: TEAM) and Pardon Services Canada. He also co-founded Turnyp, an app service that pushes restaurant dishes that match nutritional needs, and NexDrive (EXIT), a natural gas compressor distributor. His 3D printed vintage auto parts company, Vroomeo, has been featured on Counting Cars and Pawn Stars on the History Channel as a key piece of innovation in the car parts aftermarket. This year, he was selected as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for Manufacturing and Industry. At 22, he was the youngest honoree. He certainly is one busy guy!
Wiivv BASE insole design
I spoke to Louis-Victor at great lengths about Wiivv, his primary startup. “We started out in the summer of 2014,” he said, “with what was an idea to make the experience around custom footwear, like insoles or orthotics, one that doesn’t break the bank, takes minutes (not weeks) to build, is centered on sound principles of biomechanics, and has a variety of components that make for a better end product. I believe that Wiiv’s custom wearables will one day usher in the era of bionic human beings.” Woah!
Wiivv’s business spans two cities: Vancouver, Canada and San Diego, California. The Vancouver location is focused on the core technology, product, and marketing, while the San Diego location deals with 3D printing and related manufacturing expertise. The expertise of the employees ranges from computer vision and digital marketing to machine learning and industrial design.
Louis-Victor wasn’t (initially) interested in entrepreneurship. He just wanted to solve a problem that had bothered him. He became inspired by his personal dissatisfaction with the lack of science, the high cost, lack of personalization, and high wait times involved when getting fitted for custom orthotics or insoles.
“After being annoyed with the lack of comprehensive tools for tracking nutrition, I co-founded a company that tracks nutrient consumption from restaurant meals. This is similar to what got us started on Wiivv. I was getting refitted for orthotics and couldn’t stand the absurd cost and wait times. I’m always finding solvable poor experiences in everyday life, so I’m sure being an entrepreneur is something I can keep doing for a long time.”
Like all other startups, Wiivv has had their own challenges. Their business incorporates many cutting-edge technologies required to make the experience of buying a custom product as seamless as possible. Building the technology was - understandably - difficult in the beginning. “It’s like a ‘where do we start?’ question over and over,” remarked Louis-Victor. Luckily, Wiivv had patient investors who understood the resource requirements for building a “vertically-integrated hardware and software company.” Wiivv is still building and optimizing their technology. But as Louis-Victor noted, having a flawless design is the “surest thing to a long-term competitive advantage.”
The week of the 2016 Consumer Electronics show was a turning point for the company. Wiivv won several awards and experienced wide adoption of our product at the launch. This was the “catalyst for further interest from venture capital, customers, industry experts, and some companies that would eventually become important distribution partners,” Louis-Victor said.
I asked him a few more questions regarding his life as an entrepreneur:
Has your business inspired your choice of college and field of study?
“It was the other way around. Claremont McKenna College has a strong history of fostering entrepreneurship. One of its neighbours, Harvey Mudd College, is a great place to get exposed to the different tech. I spent hours tinkering with 3D printers in the lab there.”
What has been the most surprising aspect of running a company?
“Regular communication with stakeholders - just how important it is. Everyone wants to be in the know for what you’re thinking is the “next” move, as they are also making important sacrifices to be involved. While doing so, keep your own counsel.”
Do you want to continue as an entrepreneur?
“Yes, leading the life of an industrialist, showman and inventor has been the best vehicle for my creative expression. If I can continue to be creative in finding solutions to important problems, I’ll be happy.”
What advice do you have for prospective young entrepreneurs?
“To follow your principles - your interests will follow. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a code or value system and to stick to it.”
Thank you to Louis-Victor Jadavji for sharing his experiences with me. I wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.
Check out my other posts in this series: