shoes :: millennialentrepreneurs.com

Archive for shoes

Paul Van Doren

Posted by mcdonnellbj22

· Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

· No Comments

Vans is a famous skateboarding and lifestyle brand that was founded by Paul Van Doren. He was born in Boston on June 12, 1930. Van Doren grew up during a time when the United States was undergoing significant cultural and social changes. His entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset would later play a pivotal role in shaping the fashion and skateboarding industries.

In the mid-1960s, Paul Van Doren, along with his brother James Van Doren and two business partners, Gordon Lee and Serge D’Elia, decided to go into the footwear industry. Their vision was to create a shoe company that not only offered high-quality products but also catered to the unique needs of skateboarders. One of the key features that set Vans apart was their rubber soles. The design was a new innovation, making Vans sneakers a popular choice among skateboarders. The design looked new and was something that skateboarders had never seen before.

In 1966, the first Vans store opened its doors in Anaheim, California. Different from traditional shoe retailers, Vans manufactured shoes on-site. This gave customers the opportunity to customize their footwear according to their preferences. This strategy not only streamlined the production process but also fostered a strong sense of customer engagement and satisfaction. Under Paul Van Doren’s leadership, Vans became an integral part of youth culture, especially within the skateboarding community. The brand’s distinctive checkerboard pattern and the “Off the Wall” slogan became well known by many skateboarders and others in the apparel industry.

Over the decades, Vans has grown into a household name, with a wide range of products spanning from footwear to apparel and accessories. While Paul Van Doren passed away on May 6, 2021, his legacy lives on through the brand and the impact that he had on young entrepreneurs.

Vans® | Official Site | Free Shipping & Returns

No Comments

Categories : shoes

BANGS shoes, Hannah Davis

Posted by masonaj22

· Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022

· 1 Comment

BANGS shoes, getting its name from the Mandarin word help, is a shoe company who dedicates 20% of their profit toward helping entrepreneurs around the world. In 2010, recent college grad Hannah Davis had the idea to take the simple work boots worn by farmers in China where she was teaching English, and market them to the western world in the hopes that she could then invest into other entrepreneurs from the profits. Initially hitting roadblocks with contracts and manufacturing falling through, Davis would eventually hit a stroke of “luck” when she unknowingly met a retired manufacturing executive while working as a bartender. Rightfully a bit skeptical when this man asked question after question about her business plan, she would later discover who he was and partner with him to sign a deal and finally see her idea become a reality.

Now a thriving company, BANGS has helped countless entrepreneurs in countries all around the world. “We have cultivated a company culture and community united around everyday adventure, positivity, encouragement, and a passion to do good.” Starting an ambassador program has grown this community exponentially with hundreds of students from universities partnering with BANGS in just the first two years of the program. BANGS has helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs in 74 countries. Having a 96% loan repayment, BANGS is able to reinvest the money into more and more entrepreneurs as their and other’s businesses thrive and grow.

Sunrise Mountain High Top Legacy High Top Pacific Crest High Top

1 Comment

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Entrepreneurship, Fashion, shoes

Blake Wynn- Marketing Genius

Posted by testacr22

· Wednesday, October 5th, 2022

· 2 Comments

Blake Wynn is a sneaker reseller that has since founded a sports marketing agency called, Enclave & Key. Blake started off buying and selling sneakers and making content through YouTube and Instagram. He was very successful doing that but he always talked about his love for sports, football especially and he thought he could make something out of that passion. He made great connections by selling sneakers to big name athletes and his family ties to the Las Vegas strip, as his uncle was the CEO of Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts. He dropped out of college at the age of 19 to pursue his dream of being a sports agent. Blake moved to Los Angeles to be able to become a partner with the LA Chargers, helping with their players marketing. Being with the Chargers was the first step towards opening his own marketing agency. Right at the start of Enclave and Key, he had over 30 athletes ready to partner. He became a global brand ambassador for the LA Chargers as a result of this early success. Enclave and Key has grown to represent over 150 of the biggest names in sports. Since Blake was very young, he had an entrepreneurial mind and he was always looking for the next venture.

2 Comments

Categories : Marketing, shoes, Sneakers, Sports

Benjamin Kapelushnik

Posted by annatimko

· Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

· 4 Comments

Benjamin Kapelushnik was born on October 14, 1999. At the age of sixteen he had earned almost one hundred dollars in sales with his self-made sneaker business. Kapelushnik interest in sneakers started when his mom purchased him Nikes in middle school. His interest in sneakers grew even more after he used his bar-mitzvah money to buy more sneakers. He then started to consult sneaker magazines and get involved in the sneaker resale market. Using his initial profit, he began to buy shoes in bulk. His first bulk purchase being 85 pairs of Air Jordan 1s. Kapelushnik’s big break was when one of his customers introduced him to DJ Khaled. From there the two began to form a close relationship in real life and on social media. This customer connection was huge for Kapelushnik. Because of his close relations with DJ Khaled, Kapelushnik’s client list grew to an all-new extreme. Big names like Travis Scott, Drake, and Kevin Hart had began purchasing from him. Kapelushnik unlike other entrepreneurs he did not come up with a new idea and or invention. Sneakers have been around forever, instead of coming up with something new he took advantage of the resale market. He then made a brand not out of the sneakers, but himself. His brand revolved around being sixteen, being friends with the rich and famous, and this lead to being so successful

4 Comments

Categories : shoes

Have you seen these shoes?

Posted by Kasianideseg21

· Saturday, September 17th, 2022

· 4 Comments

Have you seen these shoes?

These are BANGS Shoes, created by Hanna Davis. After teaching in China, she noticed the green canvas work shoes worn by locals and was inspired to create change. She came up with the idea to use shoes to help workers provide for their families and build self-sufficiency in other countries. Backed by her family, she was able to invest in an initial shipment. She had a website, business cards, and a model. She paid the manufacturing fee and was delivered no product. As she started over and began to save again, she worked as a bartender. One night she struck up a conversation with an elderly couple who took an interest in her. They began to ask her about herself, and Hanna began to grow uneasy at the targeted questions, not wanting to disclose the specifics. She took down their information and later that week, decided to look him up. The man turned out to be a retired VF executive. VF is a corporation that owns outdoor adventure and apparel companies such as Vans, Supreme, The North Face, Jansport Dickies, and more. Two months later, George and Gayle Darrah become signed investors and business partners.

BANGS Shoes comes from the Chinese character “to help” and the brand prioritizes self-sufficiency. They source their materials ethically and employ the working class to help manufacture their products. They then take 20% of their profits and loan them through a non-profit to help other entrepreneurs get started. They have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs in over 12 different markets in 79 countries.

Today, BANGS can be found all over Instagram, promoting outdoor adventure, encouragement, and positivity. Their unique shoes are a talking point and a casual staple in closets. On their webpage, they feature which rotates to highlight one of their entrepreneurs. Another section, titled “15 Things You Can Do Right Now” encourages movement and connection. Through its mission statement and engagement with customers, the brand effectively uses its platform to help others and create positive change in local economies.

If you would like to check them out you can find their Instagram Here

Or click to view their Website.

4 Comments

Categories : Entrepreneurship, Enviornmental, Handmade, Healthy Lifestyle, Investing, Redemptive Entrepreneurship, shoes, Women Entrepreneurs, Young Entrepreneur

Jacob Zander, Spreading Positivity and Inspiration Through Footsouls.

Posted by methenyem21

· Tuesday, September 21st, 2021

· No Comments

Jacob Zander, a 23 year old from Santa Barbara, became a young entrepreneur after taking a college business class. He wrote in an article last year about how he developed an idea that he had been pondering through this class. At the end of the semester, Jacob had a product and a vision that he was ready and able to pitch to an investor.

Jacob’s idea of Footsouls, insoles for Converse, started when he was an employee at Trader Joe’s. With his friends, he frequently discussed that, although they wanted to wear their Converse to work, they always opted not to as they were too uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. To gauge initial interest for his product and idea, he asked his co-workers about it and sought their opinions. After this, because of his teacher, friends, traveling, and TikTok, Jacob’s insoles went viral.

Through his company and with his product, Jacob wants to inspire people and spread positivity. The product itself, a cream insole with the lettering “Feel Your Soul” written on it, was created to remind people every time they put their shoes on, to go out and truly live their lives. In addition to the insoles for Converse, Jacob’s company has expanded to creating insoles for Vans, clothing, and roller skates! Along with this, the company has a “Smile Fund” that takes a designated amount of every Footsouls purchase and uses it to give back to others.

What makes Jacob particularly creative, is his use of social media to help his company reach so many people. Before Footsouls was even born, Jacob filmed his entire creative and business process. Transparency was a huge goal of Jacob’s. He wanted to show others his success hoping that they would gain the confidence they needed to succeed. Then, once he was able to manufacture the insoles, he began creating and posting TikToks. He used this as a way to advertise but also to give people a behind-the-scenes view of packaging and shipping process.

Since 2017, when Jacob was just beginning his journey with Footsouls, he has come a long way. With the help of mentors, friends, and social media, Jacob is inspiring others to follow their dreams and live every day to the fullest!

Jacob’s Website: https://feelyoursoul.com/

Sources

The Story of How Feel Your Soul Footsouls Started– FEEL YOUR SOUL

How Jacob Zander Spreads Positivity with Footsouls — Comeback Magazine

No Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Blog, Clothing, Fashion, Millennial Enrepreneuers, shoes, TikTok

Tim Brown- Allbirds

Posted by Wilsongr19

· Friday, December 4th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Allbirds’ Story

Tim Brown is a New Zealand native who has long been involved in the merino wool industry. Brown was fascinated with this material due to its durability, sustainability, and comfortability. At one point, Brown realized that this material would be great for the shoe industry, and that’s when Allbirds was born. Tim Brown then teamed up with renewables expert Joey Zwillinger; together, they invented a whole new shoe that would forever change the footwear industry. Allbirds uses raw, all-natural materials comprised of four main elements trees, merino wool, sugar, and their patented Trino technology, a yarn-like material made from trees and wool. After much refining, Brown, and Zwillinger were ready to launch their first product, the Wool Runners. The Allbirds Wool Runners were designed to bring comfort to the DNA of an everyday shoe. The Wool Runner was a great success and is the primary reason that the startup is in the position that it is in today. Allbirds later produced all different kinds of shoes, disrupting the industry even further. They created running, weatherproof, and boat shoes all of which use their natural ingredients.

More About Materials

First, let’s talk about Allbirds most important material, Merino Wool. Allbirds has teamed up with ZQ Merino to ensure that the sheep used are well kept and healthy. Also, Allbirds has a shearing process that uses up to 60% less energy than typical synthetic shoes. The Tree material used in Allbirds comes from tree farms that are located in South Africa. These farms rely on rainfall to water their farms, not irrigation. This lowers the carbon footprint of Allbirds even lower, and not to mention the packaging, laces, and insoles are made from recycled cardboard, bottles, and castor bean oil. Tim Browns Allbirds had truly done something that had never been done before and, for that, tremendously succeeded. Together with Joey Zwillinger, Brown had truly made a great product that was sustainable, fashionable, and comfortable.

1 Comment

Categories : Environment, Recycling, shoes, Sustainable, Uncategorized

Sean Wotherspoon: Shoe Designer

Posted by lockwoodbj19

· Monday, November 16th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Background

Sean Wotherspoon is a 30 year old entrepreneur, whose story is one that can inspire many. Sean has a passion for collecting shoes, and his inspirational shoe has made an impact on the entire world. In 2013, Sean opened a vintage sneaker store in Virginia called “Round Two.” This was his first entrepreneurial step into the shoe business. After opening his store, Sean created a youtube channel in 2015 to follow the progress of his business and share his passion for shoes.

What changed it all…

In 2017, Nike held a contest allowing anyone to design a shoe and submit it in a contest for others to vote on and have the chance of Nike mass producing the designed shoe. Sean entered this contest and ended up winning by a landslide. His unique design involved using corduroy on the outside of the shoe, with various colors that had never been seen before on a shoe. Fans of Nike loved his shoe design. Little did Sean know, this designed shoe would become one of the most famous shoes on the market today. When Nike finally produced the shoe in 2018, it sold out immediately. Today, fans across the world hope to one day be able to purchase the shoe as a once in a lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, the demand is so high for Seans shoe that it sells on secondary markets like ebay and stockx for upwards of $2,000. This shoe is my personal favorite, and luckily I was able to get a pair earlier this year two years later.

Opportunities to follow…

Since Sean designed this first shoe, he has had many more opportunities that followed his popular design. Recently, Sean has designed shoes for Adidas, Asics and other big name shoe brands and continued to be successful in the market. Similarly, the shoes that Sean designed for other brands immediately sell out and resell on the secondary market for much more. Since 2018, he has been able to open numerous other “Round Two” stores throughout the country. His passion and drive for shoes and design has certainly impacted millions of people.

My take on it.

This story is certainly inspirational for all. I personally have a passion for collecting shoes, and Seans story made a big impact in my passion. It is so cool to see the impact that a young individual can have on the world. He simply designed a shoe that he thought would be interesting, and the entire world loved it. This is inspiring, because if Sean wouldn’t have entered into this contest, millions of people would have never discovered his talent or passion. He used his entrepreneurial skills to be able to act on this opportunity and open up more stores with his success in the contest. This is a clear example that anyone with a drive to act on their passion can be a successful entrepreneur.

1 Comment

Categories : Design, Reselling, shoes, YouTube

Travis Scott: Rapper, Designer, MCDONALDS ORDER?

Posted by lockwoodbj19

· Sunday, October 11th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Travis’ Background

When most people hear the name Travis Scott, they think of the 29 year old rapper who is one of the most popular artists today. Although Travis is most well known for his music, he is also one of the most influential designers and marketing influencers in todays culture.

Designing a shoe Empire.

Travis Scott has been extremely successful in the music industry for the last few years. He has produced numerous hit songs and albums, and created a large following for himself. This success quickly drove him to innovate in ways that didn’t involve only music. Travis has a passion for collecting shoes, especially high demand shoes that not everyone can get their hands on. This passion for shoes influenced Travis to go out on his own and begin designing his own line of shoes. In 2017, Travis signed a deal with Nike to begin designing his own styles on many of Nikes popular shoes. For the past three years, Travis has designed numerous shoes that instantly sell out as soon as they hit the market. Travis stands out from other competitors, because his shoes are unique to himself and his design. He produces limited amounts of shoes, which drives his fan base to try as hard as they can to purchase these shoes before they sell out. These shoes are in such high demand, that fans have paid as much as $3,000 on the secondary market to get their hands on a pair. His design success has lead him to begin producing clothing items as well, which continue to be successful each time they are released.

Marketing Influence

This fall, Travis signed a deal with Mcdonalds to market a “Travis Scott meal” for a limited amount of time. This meal was available throughout the month of September, and it was certainly a success. Fans throughout the world purchased this meal, and loved the idea of being able to eat Travis’ favorite burger from Mcdonalds. Social media was a huge influence on the success of the Travis Scott meal, as thousands of fans posted pictures and videos with the limited time offer.

Innovating through a pandemic

This past summer, Travis was unable to perform concerts due to the Covid 19 restrictions. His entrepreneurial mindset allowed him to innovate in a way that would still allow him to connect his music to his fans. Travis partnered with the popular video game, Fortnite, and performed virtual concerts on the platform. In these “concerts”, Travis was depicted as a character in the game as his songs were played for fans. This was a huge hit across the globe, as thousands of fans tuned in to catch a glimpse of their favorite artists during the pandemic. This innovation allowed Travis to stand out from other artists who also couldn’t perform during the pandemic. Although he could’t perform in person, he found a way to still connect with his fanbase and build his following.

My takeaway

Travis Scott has certainly inspired thousands of fans across the world. I personally find it very inspiring that someone at such a young age has already found ways to innovate and become a successful entrepreneur. Not only has Travis found success in the music industry, but he also ventured into other markets and quickly took over. His drive for innovation in challenging times is very inspirational.

1 Comment

Categories : Food, Music, shoes, Sneakers, Social Media

Samuel Bistrian – Roma Boots

Posted by bidelspachcr20

· Saturday, October 10th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Samuel Bistrian was born in a small impoverished village in Romania and lived there until his family had the opportunity to emigrate to the United States when he was a young boy. One of his fondest memories of his time living in Romania was when he received a pair of rain boots as a gift. These boots were significant to him because of the wet climate of his village and his lack of adequate footwear, but even so, they were more than simply a pair of shoes. They were an agent of life-changing opportunities and an inspiration for all he would do in years to come.

Later in his life, while living in the United States, Bistrian happened to be working in the retail store where Blake Mycoskie launched his first line of Toms shoes. After talking with Mycoskie and hearing more about his “one-for-one” business model, Bistrian decided to do something similar with rain boots. Despite his student loans and credit card debt, Bistrian started his company, Roma Boots, with the $5,000 in his savings account. He adopted Toms’ “one-for-one” model by donating a pair of boots to an impoverished child for every pair sold. However, he also took this redemptive aspect a step farther by using Roma Boots to support schools in impoverished villages by donating funds and reading materials. Bistrian recognized that in order to eliminate poverty, children needed more than a good pair of shoes. They also needed a good education that would empower and encourage them to do great things with their lives.

I think Samuel Bistrian is an incredible example of an entrepreneur who not only created a successful business, but also touched the lives of thousands of children in the process. He focused on his vision and not his circumstance. Though he did not necessarily have the capital and support that he needed at the time when he started his business, he sacrificed his own resources and personally took on the risk because he was determined to make an impact. His company’s motto, “give poverty the boot”, highlights the redemptive purpose of helping children overcome poverty. To this day, Roma Boots has been fighting poverty and empowering children in 26 different countries and donating over 100,000 pairs of rain boots!

Learn more at:

https://romaboots.com/

https://www.romabootspoverty.org/

1 Comment

Categories : Charity, Education, Fashion, Kids, Male Entrepreneurs, Redemptive Entrepreneurship, shoes, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact