A few years ago, Natalie White got an email from a mom. She’d walked into a Dick’s Sporting Goods with her daughter, an athlete. The girl had picked up one of Moolah Kicks’ Neovolt shoes off a shelf.
“Oh my gosh,” the girl said. “Mom, these are made just for me.”
At first, the mom didn’t understand. She asked her daughter if she wanted to try on a pair.
She started crying: “You don’t understand. These are made for girls like me.”
Moments like these are the most fulfilling for White, the founder and CEO of Moolah Kicks — the company that engineered the first basketball shoe made specifically for women.
“That’s what this is all about,” White told amNewYork in an exclusive interview. “Making players across the country, even if they’re not selling out crowds in Barclays [Center], we are here for them. We celebrate their game, and we’re 100% devoted to giving them the equipment they need to succeed and reach the next level.”
White is a lifelong basketball player, born and raised in New York City’s Upper East Side. She started playing basketball when she was in elementary school, around five or six years old. She played for Team Prince of the AAU, and went to Fieldston in The Bronx for high school, where she also played.
White attended Boston College, where she managed the varsity basketball team and played on the club team. Throughout her career, she never questioned the fact that she had been playing in men’s, children’s or unisex sneakers.
That changed in her senior year at Boston College, when she saw an ad with four WNBA players holding out sneakers they were wearing in games. All of them were named after NBA stars: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Paul George, LeBron James.
“You see that,” White began, “And you’re just struck with, ‘What is the message here?’ That you can be the very best in your game and still be wearing and promoting sneakers named after somebody else.”
“Moolah” is slang for money, a nod to New York’s streetball culture and to the brand’s commitment to women’s basketball: every dollar it earns goes back into the sport.
The first step in starting the company, White explained, was creating the interior mold — called the last. White credits the New York City women’s basketball community for helping with wear testing and giving feedback on early designs.
Creating a silhouette, White said, takes around 18 months from start to finish. Perfecting it has taken half a decade — and is still a work in progress.
But now, according to White, Moolah Kicks has the best-performing sneakers on the market. The company has implemented features like a dual density midsole and a full TPU plate, providing a great cushion that balances energy return and softness. The best part: they take no time to break in.
“There’s no burning when you’re playing,” White explained. “And it’s taken us five years to get to where we are today. And every single season we’ve gotten a little bit better.”
There’s no greater testament to Moolah Kicks’ growth than WNBA players wearing their shoes. White has been attending New York Liberty games for years, dating back to when the team played its home games at Madison Square Garden.
The rise of women’s sports, she said, was inevitable, and while White loves seeing her shoes in action in professional games, Moolah Kicks also serves the youth and women’s recreational markets. It’s all for the love of the game.
“I think there’s just so much to celebrate from the pro level all the way down to elementary school,” White said.
As an entrepreneur, White treads carefully around the question of whether she thinks she’s “made it.” She maintains the mindset that she hasn’t. She remains hungry.
What lies ahead for Moolah Kicks, she said, is continued growth. That goes beyond basketball — White said the shoes are also good for sports like volleyball and pickleball.
“We really are excited for folks to learn about the brand, put the shoes on and carry our mission to their communities, their teams, and continue to elevate women’s sports and women’s basketball in our own way,” White said.
