SoleSafe founder and CEO Phil Terrill became a sneakerhead when he got his first pair of fire red Air Jordan 5’s, a cult classic that would sit on his desk at his home in North Minneapolis. But it wasn’t until Terrill insured his wife’s engagement ring that inspiration struck: Collectible sneakers can be worth as much as a diamond in some instances—shouldn’t insurance be available for them as well? Turned out most traditional insurance carriers didn’t offer it. In summer 2020, while working as a business strategy architect for Microsoft, he began sketching out the framework for SoleSafe, which caught the eye of the Twins Techstars accelerator program. While participating in the program earlier this year, Terrill decided to broaden his business plan beyond insurance and create a community and marketplace for collectors, tracking values and connecting buyers and sellers. Expected to launch later this year, St. Paul-based SoleSafe already has a waiting list of 1,400 would-be subscribers.

Back to 2022 Tech 20 main page