“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”
-Roger Von Oech
For DKE senior Fletcher Cox ’17, this quote sums up how his invention, Strip-Straps, came to be.
A true lover of adventure and playing in the outdoors, Fletcher spent some time working as a kayaking guide and scuba instructor in the US Virgin Islands in 2014. His boss happened to be a DKE alum.
The environmental studies and economics major noticed that both he and his kayaking clients struggled with what type of footwear to wear. They needed the openness of flip flops, but with something more durable and supportive.
One day, Fletcher pieced together a strap from a life jacket with a piece of fishing line. He attached it to the back of his flip flops, and Strip-Straps was born.
“People would come in to the shop, about to go on a kayaking trip and not really know what kind of shoes to wear,” he said, “At the same time, I was hitchhiking about eight miles round trip to and from work wearing a heavy backpack and a ratty old pair of Rainbows.”
Perhaps because of his time at DKE, Fletcher would eventually also like to include a philanthropic aspect to his company, much like TOMS Footwear has done.
“At DKE, we’ve always come together for a variety of philanthropic and social causes that have a real impact on our community,” he said. “That’s important to me.”
Fletcher also credits DKE with giving him a home base during college, a place where he could socialize and come together with like-minded people. He says that those relationships will last for many years to come.
“For me, it’s not so much about any single memory, but more the everyday experience of seeing my friends at the house for lunch and dinner,” he said. “The relationships I’ve forged will last much longer than my college career.”
Upon his return from the US Virgin Islands, Fletcher continued to develop his idea and eventually took it to New South Manufactory, a Raleigh-based manufacturing company. He has worked with them to streamline the manufacturing process using all U.S.-sourced materials.
Fletcher has seen some traction with his idea so far, advancing to the final round of TigerLaunch, a nationwide entrepreneurial competition at Princeton University.
In true Fletcher-style he has put Strip-Straps to the test with a ten-mile hike through the Spanish Pyrenees and a 35-foot cliff jump in Jamaica. He will continue his adventures this summer with a hiking trip to the Italian Alps, no doubt taking his Strip-Straps along.
Fletcher attended high school at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. He is working in sales for Oracle in Austin, Texas, and will continue to build and grow his Strip-Straps business.
Strip-Straps are available for purchase online at www.strip-straps.com and hopefully soon at a store near you wherever flip flops are sold.
