Kelly Schmutte, Founder + CEO

Meet Kelly.  

(She has been in your shoes.)

Kelly is a serial entrepreneur, passionate inventor, and lifelong dancer.  

Kelly grew up studying ballet and danced en pointe for 7 years with a company in Davis, CA.  In addition to her love for dance, she has always had a passion for design and innovation. She holds two degrees in Engineering and Design from Stanford University and focuses on a human-centered approach to design, letting the needs of the end user drive innovation.

Kelly launched PerfectFit in 2015 after working for many years to develop the PerfectFit Pointe Shoe Inserts.

She is driven by the thought of giving back to dancers and creating impact in an industry often resistant to change.  With her background in engineering and design, Kelly is motivated to explore new technologies that offer creative solutions to dancers' needs.  She is fueled by the daily stories of how the PerfectFit Inserts are improving the pointe shoe experience for all types of dancers everywhere.

Kelly is also a Designer and Lecturer at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (the "d.school") and a Lecturer in the Stanford Mechanical Engineering Design Group.  Her expertise in human-centered design has been the focus of her studies and professional work experience for the past 13 years.  She received both her Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Product Design at Stanford.  

Leilani Tian, Ambassador Program Lead

And meet Leilani!  

(She has also been in your shoes!)

Leilani is helping us design and shape our very first ambassador program this summer.  

Leilani Tian is currently studying Product Design and Dance at Stanford University. As someone who grew up with intense ballet training, preparing for ballet competitions, and stretching in her free time, she is a complete bunhead. In fact, she took some time off from school to dance professionally with Ballet Austin 2.

As a long-time pointe shoe wearer, she frequently had painful corns which hindered her from feeling and dancing her best. However, after her Ballet Austin roommate introduced her to PerfectFit and walked her through the fun molding process, all the corns slowly went away. She was hooked—not only because of how comfortable her feet felt in her pointe shoes but also because she loved the process of creating and customizing. Since then, her PerfectFit toe inserts has supported her in many performances from Ballet Austin to Cardinal Ballet Company’s Nutcracker at Stanford. Little did she know she would eventually meet Kelly, the founder, when she went back to school and even work with her.

As an artist, connector, and Product Design Engineering student at Stanford, Leilani leverages thoughtfulness, her love of human stories, and curiosity to create innovative products and services. In addition to her experiences in product management, counseling, and marketing, she hopes to use her strong background in ballet and design to make it a little easier for ballet dancers to be the athletes and artists they are.