Ronin Built is built on over two decades of leading product development and solving critical problems for brands to deliver product on shelf.
A "ronin" is a samurai without a master to serve — skilled, independent, and available to whoever needed that skill applied to their problem. That's the practice, plainly: senior level footwear expertise, without the overhead of a large agency, and without the scale mismatch of a firm built for the industry's largest players.
We solve problems for founders and brands directly, be it by providing technical advisory on footwear materials and supply chain to The Footwear Collective, running process analysis engagements to reduce product creation lead times, or sourcing and developing footwear across Asia and Europe.
Patrick holds an MBA from Babson College's F.W. Olin School of Business and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, delivering a technical rigor paired with commercial judgment, rather than one at the expense of the other.
Over more than 20 years, that combination was applied at New Balance (Advanced Products Engineer through Advanced Products Engineering Manager, 2003–2013), Stride Rite Children's Group (Director of Product Development, 2013–2016), Wolverine Worldwide's Sperry Topsider (Vice President of Product Development, 2016–2022), and Crocs, Inc.'s Hey Dude (Vice President of Product Development, 2022–2024) — spanning performance running, children's footwear, boat and casual footwear, and comfort footwear.
| Patent | Number | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cambered sole | US 9,750,303 B2 | 2017 |
| Injection molding systems for forming footwear materials | US 9,708,456 B2 | 2017 |
| Foamed parts having a fabric component | US 9,867,424 B2 | 2018 |
| Mechanical cushioning system for footwear | US 8,387,280 B2 | 2013 |
| Insert for article of footwear | US 7,802,378 B2 | 2010 |
| Fitting system for children's footwear | US 7,293,370 B2 | 2007 |
Product development, technical strategy, and sourcing stay in-house. To go fully turnkey, for go-to-market positioning, footwear design and everything else you might need, Ronin Built refers to Specialists in their Craft. We work as a fluid team to ensure your Brand and Product Program launch in only the best way possible.
For projects that need design leadership from concept sketch through brand-ready product, across men's and women's footwear. Erin and Ronin Built work alongside each other regularly on shared clients.
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Cozelo helps brands get clear on why they win, shape their positioning and messaging around that answer, and carry it through how they go to market. Chris works with founders and leadership teams from strategy through execution, bringing senior GTM capability without requiring them to build the full function in-house.
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