

Markhor (YC S15) Takes the Middleman Out of Designer Shoemaking - katm
http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/11/markhor-takes-the-middleman-out-of-designer-shoemaking/#

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sidraqasim1
Hi HN,

I’m the co-founder of Markhor. Our goal is to connect the customer directly
with the craftsmen, who are making your products regardless of in which part
of the world they're being made. Internet has enabled us to do so especially
in the developing countries (this is where most of the luxury goods are made).

Today we are taking the first step towards our goal and launching our
transparency project. We believe you have the right to know where and under
what conditions your products are made and who is making them. We believe no
one wants to wear a pair of shoes/clothing made by a child or a pregnant women
under abusive conditions. Even though our craftsmen have been making European
shoes for decades, it’s only now that we are able to connect them directly to
the end customer.

So what transparency are we bringing to our own company? For every order or a
pair of shoes, you’ll know about the craftsmen/women who made them. You’ll
receive step-by-step details about the work in progress through email. This is
our first step (in beta right now) in this direction and we're experimenting
this with some of our customers and the Kickstarter backers.

You can see the email screenshot here:
[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0427/6309/files/Markhor-
Tr...](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0427/6309/files/Markhor-Transparency-
Email.png)

Happy to answer any questions about our products or the transparency mission
in general.

-SQ

~~~
hueving
Is it bad for pregnant women to work?

~~~
sidraqasim1
I personally would love women (or anyone) to work if they want to.

Unfortunately, exploitative situations are common in the shoe industry in
developing countries and some of the most vulnerable people end up working for
too little, doing work that can be physically harmful to them, and not having
the option to quit. That's the kind of situation I was talking about. We're in
a position to give people new options, like working for a decent wage and
being able to take time off if they need to.

~~~
yummyfajitas
I'm curious. Folks don't have the option to quit because they need the money,
or because people will harm them if they do? In the former case, it seems that
by excluding people from your marketplace - which according to you offers
higher pay and better conditions than alternate modes of employment - you are
harming them rather than helping.

Compare to a hypothetical situation of homejoy or similar service excluding
black Americans from employment on the theory that black Americans are more
likely to really need the money and therefore don't have the option to quit.

Of course, as a matter of PR, you'll certainly avoid problems caused by the
copenhagen interpretation of ethics. [http://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-
interpretation-of-ethi...](http://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-
interpretation-of-ethics/)

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daviross
It's definitely cool to see that they're picking up steam/attention. I got a
pair of chappals from them in the Kickstarter, and they're without a doubt the
fanciest/best-quality sandals I've ever owned.

Customer service is top-notch as well. (Initial pair came in a bit small, I
have kinda-wide feet. They were very attentive in responding and getting a
wider pair out to me.)

It was also fascinating to see how well the Kickstarter campaign was run. Very
personable, very friendly, lots of information along the way... other
campaigns could definitely learn from them.

I'm definitely hoping to get a pair of loafers later, and my fiancée is
waiting eagerly for a women's collection from them.

Seriously, I can't say enough good things about them. They've earned it.

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AndrewKemendo
I would be interested to know how they made the call to sell men's shoes
instead of women's first. Not that I think it's a bad approach, I am just
curious because I assumed this would be for women.

The shoes look really nicely crafted and it seems like a great cross-cultural
thing. The black Chappals look fantastic. Kudos.

~~~
sidraqasim1
We started Markhor with a small group of craftsmen in our village. At that
time (early 2012) they were making just men handcrafted shoes. So it was
natural to start with just men shoes and master that before we add new
products. In addition to me being CEO, 4 of our 7 team members are women - so
we also feel left out. :)

But the good news is we have been working on our women collection for few
months now and will be launching them very soon.

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jonnathanson
Bought a pair of black loafers from Markhor during the Kickstarter campaign,
and they are both elegant and comfortable. Bought another pair shortly
thereafter, and I've got my eye on the chappals.

Best of luck to you guys!

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megablast
I mean, they replace the middleman, right? They don't take them out?

~~~
jsprogrammer
Takes the middle man out of designer shoe business and into the template shoe
business.

I'm curious what the insert says the craftsman was paid net for the $300
shoes. $100?

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LSS74
How much do the craftsman make per month ? How many hours do they work in a
week ?

~~~
sidraqasim1
Depending on the order size a craftsman make $400-800/month. Unfortunately
right now our order size is not as big as we/craftsmen would like it to be, so
they also have to work for other folks (middle men). Monthly average salary in
Pakistan is $200-$300 and a craftsman usually works 45-50 hours/week. Sunday
is full break and Friday is half day at most of the workshops.

~~~
LSS74
Interesting. Based on my experience in the region, if you can truly deliver on
$300/month for a shoe craftsman, it would a be a good thing. If you can bring
this to $600/month that would be phenomenal.

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ddispaltro
I got my shoes hand delivered to my house in SF, that was quite the surprise.
The craftsmanship is excellent

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kaolinite
One of the huge advantages of (high-end) designer shoes is customisation. Do
you have any plans for this? I like the look of your shoes and was considering
buying however I didn't like either colour of leather. One of the things I
love about Berluti is that their off the shelf range can still be purchased in
a huge variety of leathers (or patina) and can still be customised to an
extent. If you're building these shoes from scratch, I'm sure you'll be able
to do even more.

Ignoring my slight complaint above, I love what you're doing - it seems you
will be able to really make a difference, good luck!

~~~
bambax
I too would like to see more options.

Regqrding the "transparency" initiative, wouldn't it also make sense to let
the buyer choose the shoemaker? (on which criteria, I have no idea, but my
hunch is that they're not interchangeable, they must have some specialties or
specific skills, etc.)

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Smirnoff
How is your company even competitive compared to other up-and-comers (Jack
Erwin, Beckett Simonon, etc) that do exactly that but for lower prices?

Really, your shoes are pretty pricey ($225). For that price, I EXPECT to have
some service (with the middle man if it needs to be).

Some questions that I really needed the answers to before I would even
consider making a purchase: \- Can I send back my shoes to be recrafted? \- Do
you offer any warranty (like a year or something?) You mention 100 days if I
have not worn them. Regular $30 shoes last even longer, so 100 days is really
not enough. \- Some of the products that I looked at don't mention what type
of leather you use. That's a bad sign. I expect it to be full grain leather.
Otherwise, it's probably fake. \- What stitching do you use? From pictures
(nice design btw) I can tell that it's Goodyear construction but it needs to
be explicitly mentioned.

From my own experience, custom made shoes take forever to complete. First, you
need to get enough people to sign up for a specific style, then you need to
produce them, and then you send it out. Good luck with it -- I have also been
considering opening up a shoe making business. Great to see such company in
YC.

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jameshk
I met Sidra and Waqas at a YC Dinner recently. A fantastic team and fantastic
and sustainable shoes!

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morpheous
Regarding your recent Kickstarter campaign, first kudos to you, and well done.

However, I'm more than a little intrigued about the mechanics of HOW you
pulled that off.

More specifically - I was under the impression that Kickstarter only raised
funds for companies _operating_ (or at least based) in the US, and a few other
countries (all? in the West).

How was it possible then, for a company based in Pakistan, to raise money from
Kickstarter?. Were there any particular obstacles that you had to overcome?

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Rainymood
>Takes the middleman out of designer shoemaking

>I’m the co-founder of Markhor. Our goal is to connect the customer directly
with the craftsmen

So ... becoming the new middleman in the process ...

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cjrp
The Derby is one of the best looking shoes I've ever seen. Very tempting!

