Why I pitched barefoot at Demo Day, and tips for being relaxed on stage

What's the risk of disabling damage in going barefoot?

If I wasn't balancing damage to spine et. al. with risks to my feet, I'd wear boots suitable for combat, as I did in high school were combat wasn't out of the question. Strong hiking boots, actually, to protect from getting stomped on, and as an implicit message of how I might reply to an assault.

Post-high school, when that would have been clear cut criminal assault, and mobility became more important for avoiding criminal elements, I switched to New Balance 9x9s (high quality running shoes, although I don't run), which I still wear 3+ decades later. Although not around the house.

Anyway, my point is, that as an potential investor, I'd be concerned about your balance of risk and reward; do you feet get dangerously hot that such a risk is reasonable? Severe foot injuries can cascade to death (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Tappan, albeit I'm sure he was older than you). It would be a factor in my making a decision, even though I've known plenty of people over the years who don't meet my standard of foot protection, including going barefoot, without noticeable harm.

I personally think this is a cool concept. It's ballsy, but not provocative. That's a sign of a solid person with confidence, which obviously would help your overall pitch. I love the product, too. Best of luck to y'all :)

I took notes on every presentation at Alumni Demo Day, and one of my notes for yours was specifically "founders seem very good" (both your backgrounds and delivery/confidence during the presentation), so this clearly seems to have worked for you. (I'm pretty sure I saw you doing a run shortly before the presentations started in the afternoon and you seemed much more nervous.)

Ask yourself. 'What is the most important thing I have to say here?' And from what I've read, being barefoot is not one of them. As PG says, 'Yes you can be barefoot.', but that's not the story. And not knowing the difference says only one thing to me - Beginner. But we all have to start somewhere. Might as well be barefooted.

My feet look like a hobbit's. There is no way I'm going to expose anyone to my hairy scary monsters.

Coming from NYC, one of my irrational peeves is men in sandals or barefoot when not at the beach. Every time I walk around SF I can't stop noticing slobby looking men with their toes on display. How hard is it to put on a nice pair of shoes?