Our recently-launched VF Venture Foundry is a new internal incubator backed by the power of VF which works with fearlessly curious entrepreneurs and founders hungry to build the future. Venture Foundry associates work outside the box using entrepreneurial skills and an experimental mindset to get to the commercial truth about consumer problems, needs and market opportunities by leveraging the stability and resources of a large organization.

Venture Foundry focuses equally on innovation for VF’s existing portfolio of brands by co-identifying growth opportunities that capture new, organic revenue and new consumers. Associates within VF might identify an idea, an industry trend, or a consumer behavior pattern. Venture Foundry will then help define the consumer need or problem and guide the process to develop a defensible idea that can generate revenue. There are two initiatives taking place with Dickies® and Altra® and both are a work-in-progress. With Dickies®, Venture Foundry co-incubated a Maker Marketplace that provides independent designers with a platform and eventual toolkit to create custom and bespoke apparel designs. With Altra®, Venture Foundry co-identified 10 concept opportunities associated with the activities and consumers most interesting to Altra’s® long-range plan.

Founders and entrepreneurially minded professionals outside of VF are recruited to become Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR). Through the EIR program, individuals have the rare opportunity to ignite change and disrupt the Apparel and Footwear industry while having access to proprietary expertise only VF can offer, including insights from our brand portfolio, go-to-market capabilities, consumer and brand access and distribution platforms. VF Venture Foundry provides EIR’s with access to tools and resources inside of VF to finesse their concept and bring it to market.

At the heart of Venture Foundry are four macro trends that serve as Venture Foundry’s investment thesis and support VF’s purpose of Powering Sustainable & Active Lifestyles.

Health & Self

This space maintains a focus on enabling consumers to decode their health while taking a holistic approach to wellness and harnessing the power of nature to improve overall health outcomes. The need for outdoor movement is key to individuals living their healthiest life, serving both the body and the mind. This focus on well-being aligns products and technologies to foster access to the outdoors, through a commitment to physical and mental wellness. Mountainist is a current Venture Foundry company focused on creating a community model for women who want to engage in outdoor adventure activities.

Marketplaces

Marketplaces are more than a transactional platform: they create a sense of community and make it possible for like-minded consumers to live and shop according to their values. These networks rely on curation, which could come in the form of multiple brands being shown together, or a mix of retail and resale offerings. Consumers are highly engaged, building trust in the platform and the people prior to making shopping decisions. Currently in the program is Out & Back Outdoor, a marketplace for primary and secondhand outdoor gear.