Golf footwear startup Alma Mater adds NFL, MLB, NHL, and PGA pros as investors. The company sold 25,000 pairs in 12 months and plans an $8M raise.
Alpha Score of 37 reflects weak overall profile with poor momentum, weak value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
Alma Mater, a golf footwear startup, announced a group of high-profile athlete investors on July 6 as it prepares for an $8 million fundraising round. The company is in talks with lead investment firms, it said.
The investor group includes NFL players Jordan Poyer and Levi Wallace, MLB veterans Kevin Millar and Jackie Bradley Jr., NHL legends Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin, and professional golfers Taylor Montgomery and Natasha Oon. TV host and Olympic gold medalist Victoria Arlen, former MLB players Jed Lowrie and Chris Young, and NBA broadcaster Mike Smith also joined.
Founders Nathan Brown and Laura Chen bring more than 25 years of combined experience at Nike and FootJoy. Brown was director of Product at Nike Golf; Chen was senior design lead at FootJoy. Their goal is to bridge the gap between performance cleats and casual spikeless designs, a long-standing tension in golf footwear.
“We build with the people who got us here,” CEO Nathan Brown said in a statement. “This group didn’t sign on for a check. They invested because they’ve worn the shoe, they know what we’re doing differently, and they want to be part of building something that gives golf what it deserves.”
The flagship product, the Beta, uses a proprietary three-piece platform called 3PE Technology. Instead of adapting traditional cleat designs, the team used a nitrogen-infused foam midsole common in ultra-marathon running. A perimeter exoskeleton provides lateral stability during the golf swing. The outsole lugs were developed with a gravel bike tire manufacturer to maximize traction without spikes.
The Beta earned a spot on Golf Digest’s advanced list for Best Men’s Golf Shoes of 2026, an early-preview feature based on prototypes and initial feedback. MyGolfSpy also recognized the shoe at the PGA Merchandise Show.
For PGA Tour pro Taylor Montgomery, one of the athlete-investors, the shoe solves a core problem: balancing rotational grip on the tee box with comfort over 18 holes.
Alma Mater sells the Beta Longwing and Beta Lite through select retailers and its e-commerce site. Over the past 12 months, it sold more than 25,000 pairs across the United States and Europe. Retail partners include Golf Galaxy and Trendy Golf. Online sales grew 60% quarter over quarter.
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