Tim Talley ’88 (BS in Electrical Engineering), founder of U-Lace, a company that produces customized laces for sneakers, who recently received an investment from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during his appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” will give a talk on his entrepreneurial journey on Wednesday, April 23 at 4:45 p.m. in Schlegel 407. The talk is free and open to the University community and the general. A reception and meet and greet with the speaker will follow in the Eisenberg Rotunda. Attendees must register in advance online or call 276-3500.
Tim Talley: CEO of U-Lace, LLC and Chief Innovation Officer of Okay, What’s Next?, LLC
Tim Talley possesses a tremendous wealth of experience in product marketing, product innovation and development, growth strategy, trend-spotting and entrepreneurial startups. He is also the founder of Okay, What’s Next, LLC, a product innovation company in Rochester, NY.
Given that Tim began his product development and marketing career as a high school sophomore, he possesses nearly 32 years of experience in business strategy, engineering, strategic problem solving, distribution strategy, growth strategy and new product innovation.
Tim has worked in a variety of industries including electronics, food & confections, cosmetics, fashion & apparel, publishing and sports and has complied a notable track record of success with such organizations as: Eastman Kodak, Nestle, Reed Elsevier, Revlon, Ballgirl Athletic (a women’s athletic apparel brand he co-founded), and New Era Cap Co. (the official manufacturer and licensee of on-field headwear for Major League Baseball). In fact, Tim is the patent-holder and sole inventor of record of the on-field performance headwear systems worn on field by all MLB Players (the first major update of MBL headgear in over 50 years) and is the creator of New Era’s EK fashion line of headwear.
Tim is a multiple patent holder, and has developed products, processes and tools utilized across and broad range of industries.
His latest venture U-Lace Sneaker Customizing Laces is currently sold in over 50 countries across the globe. As a result of Tim’s recent appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” U-Lace acquired billionaire investor Mark Cuban as a partner and is rapidly expanding U-Lace’s business in the United States.
Tim received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester ’88, and his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University ’92.