Anyone who has mulled leaving the security of a good job for the instability of a startup should talk to Becca Brown and Monica Murphy.
Stability is the very foundation of their Solemates Inc. ”“ when it comes to women”™s shoes, anyway.
If the recession proved a knife”™s edge for many companies, that was not the case for makers of stilettos, with one researcher telling CNN in 2010 that previous economic downturns have been marked by elevated heels as women take refuge in a form of escapism.
Solemates led CEO Brown and cofounder Murphy to escape their corporate careers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., with the pair having met while studying at Columbia Business School.
Brown tells their story May 29 to members of the Inventors Association of Connecticut, with admission free at Fairfield University”™s Dolan School of Business.
The Solemates “High Heeler” is designed to thwart a high-heel shoe sinking in soft turf ”“ remember the soggy wedding season of June 2011? ”“ not to mention gaps in wooden boardwalks, cobblestone drives, among other perils. The attachment, which sells for $9.95, works by increasing the surface area on the base of the heel.
“The first time I realized this was a problem was at my high school prom,” Brown said, recalling the soft turf under a willow tree as her friends posed for a photo. “Most of us wearing heels for the first time and we were all sinking.”
Today, Solemates is finding firm footing via not just its core market of brides and bridesmaids, but at signature events such as the Kentucky Derby. This year Solemates”™ widgets were included in the official “horseman”™s bags” given to wives of jockeys and trainers, also distributed to female employees at Churchill Downs.
“We have never worked in marketing or PR, and that gave us some unbridled enthusiasm,” Brown said. “We just looked for opportunities. Because this is a new product, there is no set path.”
Can a Serena Williams sponsorship be far behind?
The company launched in the summer of 2008 on the eve of the recession and demand has spawned new colors and sizes. Today, the shoes are sold in 2,000 stores nationally, both retail chains like David”™s Bridal and DSW and boutiques such as Abigail DeG. Fox Designs in Greenwich or The Plumed Serpent Bridal in Westport.
Solemates has expanded to selling high-heel shoe tote bags, pendants and other accessories, with its website (thesolemates.com) currently generating 30,000 hits monthly ”“ with the most action on Sundays and Mondays, which Brown assumes is the result of women searching for the company”™s website following wedding weekends.
Brown promises more is in store.
“This is not a one-trick pony,” she said.
