I had this Mr. Rogers moment, when he puts on his house shoes, Gates said.
The pair put their heads together, developed a prototype in 2015 and sold 1,800 pairs to friends and family that year. Gates continued to work her full-time job at Facebook but left in 2017 as Birdies grew, and the founders decided to fundraise.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visit Redwoods Tree Walk on Oct. 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand.
The brand really took off in 2018 when Meghan Markle was photographed alongside Prince Harry in New Zealand wearing a pair of Birdies flats, causing the shoe to sell out and gain a 30,000-person waiting list.