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Founder Kathryn Kerrigan Footwear

For six-foot tall Kathryn Kerrigan, shopping for prom shoes was a frustrating experience. She remembers dragging her dad to six Chicago area malls just to find one pair of pumps that fit her size 11 feet. When this problem continued into college and beyond, Kathryn put her foot down and in 2005 launched Kathryn Kerrigan Footwear – stylish, elegant and comfortable shoes for women sizes 11 through 16. Despite competing with high-end brands such as Stewart Weitzman and Donald J. Pliner, Kathryn has successfully captured the appreciation (and business) of an underserved niche. This year, Kathryn opened the doors to her second store in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Her media recognition includes being named number five on Inc. Magazine’s 2007 Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 and making the finals in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2009 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2008, Kathryn’s company generated revenue of $1.8 million and the 2009 projection is $3.2 million.

Despite her life-long footwear frustration, it never occurred to Kathryn, a former collegiate basketball player, that others may be experiencing the same problem. However, while at Loyola University of Chicago earning her masters in business administration, she had to complete a final project on a niche market. Kathryn made this assignment an opportunity to find out why she couldn’t find cute shoes for her size 11 feet. Kathryn figured once she completed the project and got her master’s, she could get on with her life.

Still, Kathryn wasn’t sure of her career direction once she graduated with her MBA in marketing and finance, and expressed that to her dad who quickly responded, “Are you crazy? Why don’t you just start your own company?” He pointed out that she had a great idea, competed research and a business plan already written. Kathryn had her “ah-ha” moment, and set out to help women yearning for stylish shoes in larger sizes put their best foot forward.

Kathryn took her business plan, refined it, got into the marketplace and checked out her competition. She held focus groups and interviewed over 400 tall women about their shoe size, the styles and colors they liked, and found out what their shoe shopping experiences had been. Kathryn researched everything and secured a $30,000 loan from a local bank. She jokes that her company has always been “on a shoestring budget.” Kathryn drafted sketches and specs for her first line of shoes and worked with craftsmen in Italy to produce her designs.

Despite wanting to manufacture her shoes in the United States, Kathryn realized that handcrafting the quality, luxurious footwear she wanted her brand to represent was a skilled trade, one that no longer existed in this country. Ultimately, she decided to have her shoes made in Italy and, most recently, Spain, where forty different physical craftsmen touch the shoes before they’re finished. Understandably, Kathryn Kerrigan shoes are expensive, running from $150 to upwards of $300 per pair, but they will last a lifetime.

Within weeks of launching kathrynkerrigan.com, Kathryn received orders from women across the Unites States and around the globe, including London, Australia and Dubai.

Since launching in 2005, Kathryn has expanded her brand to include shoes in sizes 6 through 10.5, handbags, a couture clothing line for tall women and jewelry. In 2007, she was approached by Amazon.com (all on sale right now) to have 35 styles sold on its website, Endless.com. In addition to her two locations in Chicago, Kathryn has her sights set on having stores in New York and Los Angeles within the next five years.

Kathryn continues to be inspired by the emotional comments from her customers expressing that her shoes changed their lives. Previously only able to wear athletic shoes, now women wearing sizes 11 to 16 have the opportunity to kick up their heels in fashionable styles just like their smaller-footed friends.

In addition to running her company, Kathryn is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Loyola University and a sought-after speaker. She also developed the OneShoe Project, which collects gently used women’s shoes and donates them to women in need.

What we learned from Kathryn: “Every female entrepreneur needs to find one or two like-minded business women to talk to. Whether you’ve had a terrible day, struggling with a work/life balance or just need to vent without judgment it’s important to be able to speak with someone who ‘gets it.’”

Slow Down

“It’s crucial not to grow too fast or too soon. That’s challenging because entrepreneurs always want more, more – and are looking for the next big sale. It’s hard to grow at a pace that makes sense for cash flow, but you need to slow down and let things grow naturally and organically.”

Employee Angst

“I struggled with finding the right employees and at first didn’t take responsibility for not hiring the right ones. Eventually, I took time to analyze my business structure, got knowledgeable about Human Resources and read books. I ended up learning so much about my personality and the personality of the office. Now I’m a stronger businesswoman.”

This Featured Lady was profiled by Megan L. Reese, WORDrobe™ Stylist for Her Write Image in West Grove, PA.

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