Rising Stars: Meet Shelby McKee of Other / Not Applicable

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby McKee.

Hi Shelby , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It all started with a pair of scissors and a Sunday football game.
On a chilly fall day in Cincinnati, Shelby McKee was getting ready to head to a Cincinnati Bengals game. She wanted to wear her favorite ballet flats but also wanted warm feet. The usual no-show footies weren’t cutting it. They slipped, scrunched, and definitely didn’t keep her warm.

So she grabbed a pair of knee-high dress socks, cut a hole in them, and slipped them on. The first-ever Keysock was born.

Determined to share her simple solution with other women who’ve sacrificed comfort for style, Shelby teamed up with her two sisters, Christy and Stefanie. Just like that, Keysocks became a family-run brand built on practicality, problem-solving, and a whole lot of sisterly love.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to Keysocks current success has not been a smooth path! In the beginning stages, the challenge was finding a manufacturer because a knee-high no-show sock had not ever been created. Keysocks are all hand cut and we started with 1 size/1 fabric. We now have approximately 20 SKUS!

I went through a process of recruiting people to our team and slowly learned that not everyone had the same desire to deliver excellent customer experience or shared my heart for ethical and sustainable growth. I believe that getting the right people on your team is important, there is no success overnight and you have to have the passion for driving through the difficult stages!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My sisters, Christy and Stefanie and I started Keysocks 14 years ago with one simple idea: women should be able to wear their favorite shoes without their socks showing and slipping! We created the original no-show knee-high sock, and what started as a simple solution turned into something bigger than we ever imagined.

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to share Keysocks on Good Morning America, QVC, the TODAY Show, and so many other amazing platforms. But one of our most exciting moments happened just this past year when a simple video we filmed in Nordstrom went viral with over 13 MILLION views! After 14 years in business, who would have thought that a spontaneous video in a department store would introduce Keysocks to millions of people? It was such a fun reminder that you never know when your next big moment might happen!

We’ve had incredible opportunities, plenty of challenges, and definitely some moments when we wondered what we were doing! Being entrepreneurs is not for the faint of heart.

What we are most proud of is that we’ve never given up. We’ve built this business as sisters, raised our families along the way, and learned more lessons than we can count. We recently moved Keysocks to Sarasota, Florida, and it feels like we’re starting an exciting new chapter.

I think what sets us apart is that we’re real women who created a product to solve a real problem. We love connecting with our customers, hearing their stories, and watching their reactions when they try Keysocks for the first time. Even after 14 years, that never gets old!

And the best part? We still believe our biggest chapter is ahead of us!

What matters most to you? Why?
Family is everything to us. As three sisters, we’ve shared so much life together. We’ve celebrated incredible highs, weathered some really difficult storms, and somehow always found a way to keep moving forward.

The past few years have reminded us just how precious life is. We lost both of our parents three months apart of each other in 2023, and this year our family experienced the unimaginable loss of my 22-year-old son, Tanner. There really aren’t words for that kind of heartbreak. It’s changed all of us forever and reminded us that nothing is more important than the people we love.

Losing Tanner has made mental health awareness something incredibly personal to our family. We want to help break the stigma, encourage conversations, and remind people that they are never alone. If sharing our story helps even one person or family, that means everything to us.

After 14 years of building Keysocks together, we’re still passionate about our business, but our definition of success has changed. We hope to use the platform we’ve built to make a difference, bring awareness to mental health, and give back in Tanner’s honor.

At the end of the day, it’s about family, loving fiercely, laughing often, and never taking a single day for granted. Life isn’t always easy, but having each other through it all is something we’ll always be grateful for.

Pricing:

• Keysocks range from $14.99-$18.99
• Sizes: Standard fits calves 16″ or smaller Plus fits 17″ or larger. All Keysocks fit women’s shoe size 5-12

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.keysocks.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/keysocks
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/keysocks
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/keysocks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Keysocks