Today we’d like to introduce you to Ahriana Edwards.
Hi Ahriana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The idea for Vaila Shoes came from the exhaustion of never being able to find my shoe size in quality high heels. I am someone who has always had a larger foot than the average woman and for years it has left me feeling left out, frustrated, and baffled. I felt left out because the most fashionable shoes rarely came in my size. Frustrated because why shouldn’t my size be catered to just as much as smaller sizes? Baffled in the way that fashion has begun to evolve into being inclusive but has yet to address the issue it is to find fashionable and great quality heels in extended shoe sizes.
The need for quality heels for women with extended shoe sizes are at an all-time high. However, the demand is not being met because the majority of businesses are not accommodating to the need. Every woman looking for quality, luxurious heels that fit properly should be able to do so with ease.
The deciding factor to pursue this passion of mine came at a time where the world’s chaos was at an all-time high, but my vision became clear as day. Why should myself and women alike have to struggle to find quality heels that fit comfortably? Let alone – attractive? The short answer is that we shouldn’t. After I realized that I possessed everything needed to produce a brand that catered to women with extended shoe sizes and then some, I got to work.
After finally realizing that I never needed to change myself, I just needed to become the solution that filled in the gap – it was a game-changer for me. I’d always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur, it just took my pain to push me toward my passion to put plans in motion. I took my passion, business knowledge, and desire to provide a solution to the problem and began pitching. Not only to receive funding to build Vaila but to be a voice for this global problem. The very first pitch competition I participated in was the Black Ambition Prize, founded by Pharrell Williams and I won a finalist grant. Winning that pitch competition and many more where many brilliant entrepreneurs alike presented their ideas showed me that I was ready.
The time for Vaila was now. That win along with many others was my first step toward building Vaila Shoes into the business and community that it is today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my biggest obstacles was raising money for Vaila before we launched. Although I became successful in raising over $70K in non-dilutive funding from pitch competitions in 2021, the process of winning that funding was very difficult. Most of the time, I’d find myself was pitching a plus size shoe brand to rooms or men VCs who didn’t get or understand the problems that we went through. In 2021, it took PLENTY of no’s from dozens of pitch competitions before I could finally get to a yes. I would spend hours updating my pitch deck, changing my messaging, even having doubts about my business and my potential. But one thing that kept me going was a good piece of advice from my business mentor: “You can’t say the right thing to the wrong person and you can’t say the wrong thing to the right person – so be authentic and don’t try to change your mission just because you get rejected. The right person and opportunity will be for you”.
Whenever I’m hearing all of the no’s and rejections as I go through my entrepreneurship journey, it reminds me that the right person and opportunity will be for me and there’s nothing that needs to be unnaturally forced to get there. If it’s the wrong person or opportunity, it doesn’t matter how pretty you paint the picture or how much effort you give – the opportunity or person just won’t be for you. But if it is the right person or opportunity, the situation will naturally work itself out and be in your favor regardless of what presents itself.
Having that mindset finally led me into winning the $25K grand prize of my last pitch of 2021. In fact, my first-place win was from my sorority’s pitch competition (Delta Red Tank). It made the most sense because they understood the mission and our customers. What was challenging turned into our biggest pre-revenue win and allowed us to be financially covered for our year in business. My advice: KEEP GOING.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Vaila Shoes?
Vaila Shoes is a modern dress shoe brand for women with extended shoe sizes (9-14). Vaila utilizes the trends of today to create a seasonal dress shoe line designed for the workplace and afterhours. Our seasonal dress shoes include: Pumps, Slingbacks, Sandals, Flats, and Boots. Each of our shoes are workplace appropriate in women’s sizes 9-14 (US) with heel heights up to 4′ tall. For years, we’ve had to buy unreliable shoes that didn’t cater to our foot structure. At Vaila, we engineered our shoes to have a thicker heel base, spacious toe boxes, and insoles that actually covers the larger foot structure. We’re on a mission to empower women of forgotten shoe sizes with access to modern dress shoes that they desire and deserve.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My long for entrepreneurship honestly started when I was really young. My mom knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur before I knew (as she says). I found myself always being a problem solver and innovative thinker at a young age. Whenever I ran out of ingredients for my easy-bake oven and my mom didn’t have the money to buy me more; there I was googling ways and testing out baking formulas with household ingredients for an easy-bake oven. When I was in middle school and I wanted to save up money to attend a summer camp, I sold candy (airheads were my bread and butter too!). When I lost all of my childhood weight and didn’t have enough money to buy clothes, I bought a sewing machine and taught myself how to hem my pants tighter. Whenever I didn’t have a solution to solve my problem or desire, I always found a way to get it done. So even as a young girl – I believe entrepreneurship was naturally engraved in me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vailashoes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vailashoes/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/shoesvaila/
Image Credits
Rance (Instagram: @vellivvs)
