Imagine a hot, exciting product that creatively reuses existing resources and creates a platform for its customers to advocate for the social causes that drive their passion. Look no further! SoleStrong upcycles unused silicone wristbands that represent a cause and discarded fabric swatches to create affordable yet fashion forward footwear with an extremely long life-cycle. In addition to making good use of historically discarded materials, SoleStrong's business model also generates awareness and funding for social causes, tailored by its customers. It's simple; all it takes is a person to buy the desired pair of shoes, and depending on which band the shoe is made of the respective organization will receive a portion of the proceeds.
The footwear market will grow to be a $371.8 billion market by the year 2020. Within this market, our product is targeting people within the ages of 10 and 29 which correlates to a total market of $84 million. Considering that the casual footwear market is roughly 21% of the total footwear market, we are estimating total market potential to be 17.64 million people for our casual shoes. Due to the significant market size for casual shoes within our age range, we believe that we can create a viable and profitable social business by starting with a small niche. That niche will then provide the foundation for further growth and expansion for our company and the organizations we support alike.
SoleStrong's scalability stems from three key components: availability of supply, new revenue streams, and ease of manufacturing. There are several organizations that harvest fabric books and make their own wristbands like Austin Creative Reuse and Livestrong. As we grow we can reach out to these organizations to increase support and awareness and at the same time gain material inputs. In addition, SoleStrong can implement new revenue streams in the future by turning wristbands and fabric swatches into belts, wallets, and other accessories. Lastly, SoleStrong's product is easily manufactured meaning ease in training more workers as the company grows along with manageable costs. To summarize, SoleStrong will sustain growth and continue to grow because of the amount of supply available, possibility of new products and ease of training and manufacturing.
SoleStrong's model is designed to take a small upfront investment. Given that we want to involve our customers in as much of the business operations as possible, we envision a small test order designed to garner customer feedback. The overall cost of the product will be managed such that significant materials like the bands themselves will be donated, helping to keep costs in line. Labor will be a key cost, and a living wage will be a part of the product cost. As the company grows, we anticipate growth capital requirements, but due to high margins and expected fast market penetration, we anticipate good access to capital at strong valuations.
While our team is young, we bring an impressive knowledge base to SoleStrong. Avish, Aneesh, and Omkar are in the Business Honors Program and are pursuing degrees in finance and marketing. Veshal is pursuing a degree in supply chain management. This combination of skills plus all the resources of the McCombs School of Business will equip us with the know-how to execute the business. In addition to our skills, we have all demonstrated the creativity needed to launch a startup. For example, Avish created a business idea and pitched it through a competitive program through the University of Houston. Aneesh and Veshal started a Stock Market Club in high school and taught finance lessons to a local elementary school. Omkar helped bring DECA (competitive business club) to his school in the Middle East. Our social awareness is the key to building the philanthropic aspect of the business.
Our goal is to staff SoleStrong in a socially responsible way, by reaching out to historically underrepresented communities. We plan to explore labor opportunities in the following areas: previously incarcerated individuals, refugee/immigrant shelters, and homeless shelters. With regards to materials, the product will utilize the Livestrong bands and fabric swatches in addition to rubber sheets. The Livestrong bands will replace the traditional sole where the bright yellow will stand out. The fabric swatches will be cut, folded, and stitched to become the outer structure and inner lining of the shoe. The spine of the shoe will be made out of quarter inch recycled rubber sheets. Simple gluing, folding, and stitching techniques is all that is required, and these skills can be easily taught. The result is a great opportunity to earn a living wage regardless of technical skills.
Based on research, the estimated total carbon emissions for one pair of shoes is 2.655 lbs. Due to our use of silicone, the environmental impact would be significantly reduced - specifically 1.265 lbs for each SoleStrong pair. The resulting difference in carbon emissions would quickly lead to high efficiency. Also, transit-based carbon emissions will be reduced by SoleStrong providing materials to sites, rather than all employees commuting to one location to hand-make shoes. Therefore, instead of vehicles causing high levels of carbon emissions (5,612 lbs/Texas commuter/year), a few vehicles delivering the materials to different sites will increase the carbon efficiency as transit time per vehicle increases. The hand construction of the shoes decreases the energy consumption that machine-use would otherwise require. Currently, shoes use about 28 billion liters^3 of landfill space per year. However, with increased SoleStrong shoe consumption, the shoe landfill amount per year will decline because SoleStrong commits to extending the shoes’ life-cycle as far as possible. This is made possible by the use of durable, reusable, and recyclable materials for example silicone and fabric can be repurposed into future shoes too. By striking the right balance between carbon/energy and economic efficiency, SoleStrong will greatly decrease the environmental costs of an extremely scalable shoe production.
The most compelling aspect of our product is that its raw materials have the potential for multiple reuses, significantly extending the life cycle and possibly even eliminating an end of life. Silicone is known for its durability, so the silicone soles on our shoes will last for many years. Once used, the silicone soles can be either reused/recycled and washed to be placed on a new production batch of shoes. The other option is to wash the shoe and transfer it to non-governmental organizations that provide the shoes to needy communities.
SoleStrong prides itself on offering a high quality, stylish product this is produced in an environmentally and socially safe manner. While we intend to make a profit, it is our desire and plan to do so in a way that protects the environment and advances social justice. By contributing to greater causes, SoleStrong will change the Austin society through different product incentives for people who want to help create change but don’t necessarily know where to begin. By creating diversified products, each with unique messages, the consumer can ideally choose to support the cause he or she best stands for. This model not only allows the consumer to walk away with a tangible-hot product, but the consumer will ultimately be extremely satisfied with making a true difference by doing a routine task. All it takes is one pair of shoes to invigorate the multiple dimensions of a cause.
