Portland footwear startup Hilos secured $3 million from investors and added some big industry names to its cap table and as close advisers.
Retired Nike Chief Operating Officer Eric Sprunk and retired Nike Vice President Greg Bui are among the investors in the round. Sprunk is expected to help advise the young company and build out its board. Bui, who led global footwear sourcing and manufacturing, will help the team scale its technology and supply chain.
Also in the round were venture funds Better Ventures, Builders VC and XRC Labs.
The startup is based in Old Town. It has developed a way to make sustainable shoes using 3D printing. The shoes consist of 80% recycled materials that are 100% recyclable They are designed in three separately printed parts that fit together and can also be taken apart and repurposed.
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has long been held as a way to bring production closer to consumers and cut the environmental impacts of consumer goods.
Last year, Hilos won a pair of awards at the influential tech festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Hilos won Best in Show and Innovative World Technology awards.
Last year also saw the company launch three styles of on-demand shoes: mules, clogs and sandals.
Hilos is co-founded by CEO Elias Stahl, who previously worked to help companies become more environmentally sustainable but found challenges surpassing legacy supply chains. Co-founder and chief creative officer Gaia Giladi comes out of the fashion industry where she wanted to change how the industry designed and manufactured for sustainability.
