Hailey Coleman was backpacking across Europe with a friend when she found herself "in London, England, hobbling home barefoot" with her heels in her hands. She realized then that an innovation was needed to keep the feet of nighclubbers safe.
Now, at age 22, she's the founder of
Damn Heels, a company that produces and sells foldable slippers in a small case designed to be carried in a handbag. At the end of the night, the slippers fold out to fit on a woman's tired dancing feet, and the case folds out to fit her heels. She sells the product for $20 (including tax) on her website, and is now seeking Toronto retailers to carry it.
The path between inspiration and corporation was a natural one, Coleman says. As a student, she was taking a business-plan-writing class. "I found myself going through all the steps of creating a company -- hiring a designer, finding manufacturers -- so I thought I'd just continue until I had a company."
After launching the company in December 2009, Coleman remains the sole employee -- for now -- running her business from her Chinatown apartment. But she doesn't expect to stay small for long, as she says the response to her product since it was introduced at a
Motionball event has been "awesome."
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Hailey Coleman, Damn Heels