Kory Stevens, Taft

Kory Stevens, the founder and CEO of Taft Clothing, always leads with his heart! It's the first thing we noticed when we interviewed him and one of many things everyone he meets quickly appreciates. So, when Kory had a dream of starting his own company with his wife, Mallory, it became an obsession. They named their company "Taft" after their son and their shoes after Taft's friends. Taft began in the living room of their small apartment with a successful Kickstarter Campaign for "no-show socks." It wasn't long before Kory was designing and selling high-end men's shoes, exclusively handcrafted in Spain and Portugal. Small investments from friends and family soon followed. Taft started to grow fast! Kory takes the time to have heartfelt two-way interactions that make Taft's followers feel special. He works 70-hour weeks as one of the best designers of shoes in the world. Kory and his team are obsessed with design and quality and running Taft with a personal touch. He finds true meaning in his family, his personal connections to Taft's customers, and designing shoes and boots millions of men want to wear. Taft now has thousands of Facebook Likes and multitudes of Twitter followers. And venture capital firms continue to line up. But other than Kickstart Seed Fund, a relationship Kory describes as "a group of friends," they still haven't taken any outside funding. Now Taft is a multi-million dollar company with a culture and reputation that is priceless. It's an inspiring company with a soul, led by Taft's CEO, Korey Stevens, who leads with his heart!