DiVERGE Sneakers - How Custom Sneakers and Social Impact Walk Hand-in-Hand

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, I sit down with João Esteves, founder of DiVERGE Sneakers, a brand that's rewriting the rules of footwear from the ground up.

We discuss why customization matters, how DiVERGE puts the customer’s individuality front and center, and what it truly takes to build a business rooted in purpose, not just profit.

João opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, including the emotional resilience required to stay the course and the people who believed in him when the business needed it most.

From launching a brand inspired by a Robert Frost poem to becoming a B Corp committed to people and the planet, João shares how DiVERGE is challenging mass production and the wasteful norms of the fashion industry. We also dive into the brand’s incredible social impact program that helps underprivileged youth design their own shoes and share their stories with the world.

🎙️ Key Highlights from the Episode

* Why João built a brand around personalization and empowerment

* The emotional resilience required to start a business later in life

* How DiVERGE is combating fashion overproduction and landfill waste

* The power of a B Corp to align values with action

* Training underserved youth to design sneakers and share their stories

Join me, Ramon Vela, as we listen to how DiVERGE is helping people make their own way, one custom sneaker at a time. Whether you’re into fashion, sustainability, or founder stories that go deep, this one’s for you.

For more on DiVERGE Sneakers visit: https://www.diverge-sneakers.com/en-us

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Today’s Sponsors:

Compass Rose Ventures - Advisor for CPG Brands: https://compassroseventures.com/contact/

Compass Rose Ventures can help your CPG brand increase customer lifetime value, expand into the US market, create a consistent omnichannel presence, optimize customer journeys, build brand communities, and more. Visit the link above to learn more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	So that's why we only make two order.
0:01.8	If I worked, we only make two order.
0:03.8	We only make what we sell.
0:05.8	And that sometimes means losing cells, so be we decided to do this because we want to be
0:13.7	responsible.
0:14.7	I tend to avoid using the word sustainability.
0:18.7	Because for me, sustainability is a constant journey you never reach the destination
0:24.5	you there are no 100% sustainable sneakers i've been going compensate by planting forests and i'm
0:35.2	compensating i'm still not making them sustainable, right? I'm just
0:39.3	balancing it out. I like the word responsible versus sustainable. If the business, what I can do
0:46.3	is to try to have the minimum possible impact in terms of environment that I can have by doing my seniors. And that happens in two areas.
0:56.0	The first one is, if I only produce what I sell,
1:00.0	I at least make sure my products are used
1:03.0	and are basically ran down naturally by the use
1:08.0	and at least the resources that were used to make them have a good use.
1:12.6	Right? The second element is quality-wise. I tried to make, we try to craft sneakers that stand the test of tie that use quality materials that still look good two years after being used.
1:38.7	Hey, everyone. This is Ramon Vela, and this is another episode of the story of a brand. Like always, we have an amazing
1:45.7	guest and brand that we're going to feature on today's show. But before we do, hi, I speak to
1:50.6	hundreds of founders and CEOs of CPG brands each year and they are facing unprecedented challenges
1:57.8	from changing consumer behavior, inflation, election year anxiety, the cost of capital, and more.
2:05.1	However, finding an experienced knowledgeable advisor shouldn't be challenging. And that's why I'm
2:11.7	personally recommending that you reach out to Compass Rose Ventures, whether you're looking for
	...

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