20 Under 20s | Interviews With The Business Minds Of Generation Z

Barney Waters is the President of K-Swiss, responsible for all aspects of sales, product, and marketing for the brand globally. Barney is a genius in the branding space, and he has completely revitalized and transformed the K-Swiss brand. He also has some awesome advice for any young entrepreneur or hustler who want to run their own brand or business.   Previously, Barney was the Chief Marketing Officer for K-Swiss. However, to really make an impact with the brand, he had to take it to the next level: connecting the sales with the branding and storytelling. That’s when things really started to click.   The shoe market moves really quickly, so you have to stay ahead of the game to stay competitive; “you can’t follow the formula set by your incumbents.”   So instead of looking for rappers and pro athletes to compete with Adidas and Nike, Barney looked towards the entrepreneur space – and Gary V.   We’re in a new era of entrepreneurship, characterized by young people like us who want to create and run o