How Design Thinking Helped Me Build The Best Glove — One Painful Prototype at a Time

Last week, I went back to my old university, ESG UQAM, to speak in the same Design Thinking class that once changed everything for me.
Walking through those doors again felt strange. It reminded me of when I was a student sitting in that same room, full of ideas but with no real plan. I had no clue that one day, I’d be standing in front of that class telling my own story — the story of Invictus Gloves.

From Instinct to Intention

When I first started Invictus, it wasn’t born out of a business plan or market research. It came from instinct, a mix of emotion, frustration, and curiosity.
After I stopped playing football, I realized that professional players had access to custom gloves that the rest of us didn’t. I wanted to create something that allowed every athlete, not just the pros, to express who they are through what they wear.

But the truth is, I had no background in product design. My first prototypes were far from perfect. They looked more like gardening gloves than performance gear. Every mistake cost me time, money, and a bit of my pride. But it also taught me something: instinct alone can’t build a brand. You need structure. You need empathy. You need Design Thinking.

Learning to Fall in Love with the Process

That class at ESG UQAM was the first time I truly understood what it meant to design with people, not for them.
We were taught to start with empathy, to really understand what users feel, think, and struggle with before trying to solve anything.

That lesson stayed with me.

In the early days of Invictus, I began talking to athletes. Not to sell, but to listen. What do they love about their gloves? What do they hate? How do they want to feel when they put them on?
It sounds simple, but listening deeply is hard. You have to let go of your own ego and your assumptions. You have to stop thinking like a seller and start thinking like a human.

And from there, every prototype became an experiment in empathy.

The Slow, Painful Road of Creation

People often see the final product, the sleek glove, the brand, the videos and think it came together overnight.
But behind every launch, there were nights when nothing worked.
Materials that tore apart after a single test. Factories that said no. Designs that looked beautiful on paper but failed in real life.

I spent years perfecting what seemed like a simple product: a glove.
But gloves are complex. Every stitch affects grip, comfort, and flexibility. Every millimeter matters.

The biggest shift for me was understanding that innovation doesn’t always come from big ideas, it comes from listening.
Every improvement we’ve made at Invictus came from paying attention to what athletes actually needed: better grip in the rain, lighter material in the heat, designs that reflect their personality.

And so, I learned to slow down. To prototype, test, and prototype again.
Design Thinking isn’t about perfection, it’s about iteration. It’s about falling in love with the problem, not just the solution.

Full Circle

Standing in front of that class, I told the students:

“When I first sat where you’re sitting, I had no idea that this course would teach me how to think, not just how to build.”

Design Thinking gave me a new lens, one that I still use every day as a founder.
It taught me that every setback is just a prototype that didn’t pass the test. And every failure, if you look closely, hides the blueprint for what’s next.

So to the students sitting in that room today:
Don’t rush your process. Don’t fear your mistakes.
Listen deeply. Stay curious. And most of all stick to your game.

Because sometimes, the slowest path is the one that truly builds something worth creating.

Karl Lavallée – Founder