Sarah and Chris Rhoads, founders of Commbi footwear, share their journey from successful fashion photographers to e-commerce entrepreneurs. They reveal how their extensive creative background informed the development of their brand, emphasizing the power of authentic storytelling and "showing up" to build genuine customer connections. This episode provides actionable insights for leveraging personal experience to create a resonant brand and product.
Sarah and Chris Rhoads have spent the last 15 years as renowned fashion and lifestyle photographers and Creative Directors, partnering with Fortune 100 brands to develop, produce, and shoot highly successful advertising campaigns. Their creativity and a unique, moment-driven approach have helped shape iconic global campaigns for brands like Sony, Google, Levi's, and Keds. From photographing Taylor Swift for Keds to leading product releases for Meta, their work has taken them around the world, creating standout content for some of the world’s biggest companies. Driven by Sarah’s personal experience of working long hours on set and struggling to find stylish yet supportive footwear, they channeled their creative expertise into founding Commbi footwear. Their goal was to create footwear that offered the perfect blend of comfort, support, and effortless style.After years of innovation—designing, prototyping, and collaborating with podiatrists on footbed development—they brought their vision to life. In August, they launched Commbi, a brand that merges style with functionality, and it has quickly gained momentum in the market.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:42] Intro[01:26] A product inspired by real-life challenges[02:48] Innovating to achieve comfort and style[03:48] Creative experience meets product [04:48] An obvious idea no one else thought of[05:51] Testing viability through 3D printing experiments[06:44] Pivoting using past experience for new ventures[08:00] Balancing brand building and performance marketing[08:59] Launching from a place of need and desire[10:15] Evaluating decisions during the brand's early days[10:58] Building momentum by putting yourself out there[12:15] Episode sponsors: StoreTester and Intelligems[15:28] Pushing past the cringe to amp up your brand[16:55] Fighting resistance as an