Ladies, we’ve all been there.
You’re getting ready for a night out, trying to decide whether to wear those killer heels — that just so happen to kill your feet — or the sensible flats, broken in but hardly causing heads to turn.
And more often than not, what do we choose? A night of hurtin’ feet, because beauty is pain, right? And while sacrificing comfort for style seems like a worthy, noble cause at the beginning of the evening, a near-crippled limp by the end of the night is far from a good look. Neither is braving the city sidewalks with bare feet, heels in hand, for that matter.
So what’s a girl to do? Choose sensibility over a bangin’ shoe? For shame. Women are crafty, not to mention clever — meaning there's bound to be a viable solution. And Esther Flatto, founder of FlipSlip Shoes, has discovered it.
FlipSlip Shoes is a brand new startup based out of San Francisco, with a purpose dedicated to preserving your pretty feet while making sure you’re not doomed to a life of boring flats. The concept isn’t entirely new: these basic flats fold up and fit in your clutch, allowing you to whip them out and slip them on when it comes time to hike it home or take to the streets hunting for a cab, and as women, we've seen this before. The question is — then, why aren't we all using them? Flatto's product is a perfected make of the familiar concept, which is commonly seen in “As Seen on TV” varieties. The new take on the foldable shoe is one that makes it that much more appealing to invest in your sanity, as well as the salvation of your achin’ toes.
Flatto, since moving to San Francisco, faced one too many nights making steep uphill climbs home after a night of wearing heels. So, she decided to do something about it and make a product that women would want to use, and benefit from.
“I always regretted not bringing backup shoes,” said Flatto, who decided that she had to find her own solution one night after having to leave a party early because she was in so much pain.
“I designed the product for myself,” said Flatto. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart; this is a life calling. I created the business literally on a shoestring.”
Flatto’s unearthing of her entrepreneurial side drove FlipSlip into production, even with limited funds. After buying a pair of flats from Payless, taking them apart, and putting them back together with a bike tire, an X-ACTO knife and neoprene, she had her first prototype.
With similar foldable shoes already on the market, Flatto had to set her product apart. So not only did she make the soles of FlipSlip fold into the inside — keeping purses clean — but she added a subtle drawstring cord that would both contain the shoe in its folded state, and provide the wearer with a comfortable, custom fit.
Still, when stores that liked the idea turned it away for lack of variation (FlipSlip Shoes were originally only available in black), Flatto had to think of another way to make her shoe new and exciting to the market. So not only did she add more colors of the original design, but she launched a FlipSlip’s Runway Project, and asked designers from around the world to create a model of her shoe. The winner's design would be featured on the campaign, and eventually available for purchase.
Meline Katchi’s "Exotic Romance" designer FlipSlip shoe became the top-voted design, and the striped version of FlipSlip can be seen on the product’s KickStarter page, and received as a gift for a $77 campaign backing. By incorporating the special edition shoe into the Kickstarter, Flatto’s design gains an edge that other foldable shoes might not have. And one day after launching, Flatto's Kickstarter has already raised $1,381 of its $20,000 goal.
As her campaign gets under way, Flatto’s newfound entrepreneurial spirit has driven her product's success. Priced at $25, FlipSlip is a durable everyday flat, that, as a bonus, can be folded up and tossed in a purse for a night out. Flatto is confident that the shoe can succeed, because if she’s in need of such a shoe, other women must be, too.
“I want to help other people,” said Flatto. “I’ve made every mistake you could imagine. It wasn’t a smooth transition, it’s been hard.”
But as she gains savvy in the startup world, Flatto is prepared to push forward.
“I’m not the standard entrepreneur image that you would imagine,” she said. “But I am trying to create a startup that would save women’s feet everywhere. That’s the dream.”
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