Alum Startup Gives Ski Style a Lift

Kara Baskin, MIT Technology Review Jan. 13, 2026

Kelly McGee ’17 wants to transform the way skiers hit the slopes. “Brands today are so high-performance focused. They’re great, but their marketing isn’t necessarily catering to how most people ski,” he explains.

The CEO of Yardsale, the “seriously unserious” San Francisco–based company he cofounded in 2023, says his goal is to democratize the sport with equipment tailored to hobbyists who don’t take themselves too seriously. In fact, the brand’s name comes from a snow-sports term for a wipeout that makes a skier’s gear go flying. McGee and his friend and cofounder, Cristina Ashbaugh, got the idea for the company when they were relaxing in a hot tub.

Alum Startup Gives Ski Style a LiftKelly McGee and his cofounder, Cristina Ashbaugh, on Shark Tank. Photo courtesy of Yardsale.

Casual fun is the name of their game, which got a boost when producers from the American TV show Shark Tank found the friends’ unrehearsed videos on TikTok. Yardsale’s stylish ski poles were featured on the show in 2024, leading to $250,000 in seed funding and more visibility.

“We never expected to receive an email asking to go on Shark Tank,” McGee says. “The experience was as stressful as it seems on TV, but we treated it like an MIT final or midterm and studied up for any and every question they might ask.”

McGee started his career as a product design engineer for Apple, where he learned the importance of thoughtful design. “Apple spends so much time, care, and effort with the smallest details of their products, which is why they’re still a leader in their industry,” he says. “We wanted to surprise and delight in the same way, coming up with features that just haven’t been done before.”

Yardsale, which focuses on clever products for everyday users, is best known for its adjustable ski poles, whose magnetic handles stick together for easy transport. These come in mix-and-match colors like “Ski Patrol” (red) and “Sunlight” (yellow) instead of standard-issue black or silver. “Looking good is almost as important as skiing,” McGee says.

At MIT, McGee focused on mechanical engineering. His advisor, Professor Maria Yang ’91, emphasized the importance of creative problem-solving. He relished hands-on manufacturing classes, particularly 2.008, Design and Manufacturing II.

“We didn’t make one thing; we made 100 of those things, using injection molding, stamping, and assembly. And then we asked: What are all the horrible things that can go wrong when you make 100 of them?” he says. “MIT really teaches you how to think and how to problem-solve, no matter what that problem is.”

This story also appears in the January/February issue of MIT Alumni News magazine, published by MIT Technology Review.