Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Sneaker enthusiast (and former Twitter COO) Adam Bain joined the board of sneaker startup GOAT

Bain says he wants to learn more about marketplaces and commerce.

Web Summit Dublin - Day 2
Web Summit Dublin - Day 2
Photo by Naoise Culhane / SPORTSFILE via Getty Images

Adam Bain loves sneakers — he tweets about them all the time.

So it’s not surprising that Bain, who left his job as the COO of Twitter last November, is joining the board of GOAT, a commerce startup that lets users buy and sell rare sneakers, similar to eBay.

Bain met GOAT’s founders because he was a heavy user of the product himself, and was impressed with their drive. GOAT’s co-founders, Eddy Lu and Daishin Sugano, struck out multiple times on startups before hitting on GOAT. The company has raised more than $37 million in funding, and users are buying and selling millions of dollars worth of sneakers on their app.

“They’ve got hustle and heart, which was sort of the prerequisite for me when building or working with great teams,” Bain said. He’s admittedly unexperienced when it comes to the commerce and marketplaces, but says that he joined the board in part because he wants to learn more about the industry. He hopes to be helpful for GOAT as the company grows and scales.

This is Bain’s first board role, and really his first public undertaking since leaving Twitter more than six months back. Bain says he’s in no rush to go back to working full time — he’s enjoying playing tennis! — but GOAT is not the only startup he’s interested in. Bain is also advising a few other early- and mid-stage startups in industries like hardware and digital health.

“For the first time in a long while I’m back to learning mode instead of just doing mode,” he said.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel