(CNN) Born and raised in Texas, 31-year-old Paul Hedrick has faithfully worn cowboy boots since his college years.

"They may not have been deemed appropriate for the workplace -— and incorrectly so in my opinion — but I've been wearing them for much of my career," said Hedrick, who has become particularly fond of a pair of dark brown, ostrich skin boots he bought in 2012.

He was wearing those same boots in 2014 when he met with his mentor, a former boss at the Connecticut private equity firm where he worked as an associate, to discuss the next step for his career.

Professionally, things were going well for the Harvard graduate, but Hedrick felt unsettled. "I had a yearning to do something entrepreneurial," he said. "All I needed was a spark."

Each Tecovas boot is handmade and requires about 200 steps to make from from start to finish.

They were brainstorming different ideas, and Hedrick couldn't get his mind off his boots. "I was thinking about how I loved wearing them even more after I had left Texas," he said. "I honestly felt that everyone should own a great pair of cowboy boots."

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