About
Raaja is the co-founder and CEO of Bucketfeet where he oversees the company's growth and development. Founded in 2011, Bucketfeet is a footwear company that collaborates with a global community of artists to design limited-edition shoes with the goal of sparking meaningful conversations to create a brighter world. Alongside co-founder Aaron Firestein, Raaja is focused on empowering a community of 40,000 artists from more than 120 countries to share their stories and perspectives using the universal language of art and the shoe as their canvas.
Prior to starting Bucketfeet, Raaja began his career in investment banking at UBS Investment Bank, followed by private equity at Prairie Capital and Mubadala Capital. After four years in the finance industry, Raaja decided to pursue his lifelong dream of backpacking around the world. While traveling in Argentina, Raaja met Firestein and purchased a pair of his hand-designed shoes. After seeing the strong response the shoes received throughout his journey across six continents, Raaja saw the potential to create an innovative fashion platform. Today, Bucketfeet is redefining the $300B global footwear market by using new technology and its extensive artist network to increase speed to market for original artist-designed footwear products.
Raaja is a member of the Chicago Chapter of Young President’s Organization (YPO), the Economic Club of Chicago, and is an alumnus of Chicago Global Shapers (affiliated with the World Economic Forum). Raaja is a frequent speaker at many conferences and universities around the US and is an angel investor, primarily supporting other Chicago-based entrepreneurs. Raaja graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Economics.
