Entrepreneur Profile: Jenifer and Sarah Caplan from Footzyrolls

by Irina Patterson / Entrepreneur Blogger

I was thrilled to speak with sisters Jenifer and Sarah Caplan, who recently launched their own fashion brand, right here, in South Florida, in fact, out of South Beach, my old stomping ground.

Irina:Tell us about your background and how you arrived to this point.

Jenifer: Sarah has a finance background. She still has her day job as a vice president at a large financial institution in New York where she's based; while my background is in public relations and accounting. I run our operations from South Beach. We used all of our skills and financial resources to start this company.

We started Rollashoe dba Footzyrolls because we saw a real need to create fashionable, yet functional footwear and accessories for women.

Footzyrolls, our first product, are street walkable ballet flats that rolls up. It makes them portable, so that women can take an extra pair of shoes with them in their tiny clutch bag or even their pockets.

Footzyrolls is sold at $25 which includes a rollable shoe with a gift package and 2 bags, available in a variety of colors and sizes such as snakeskin and prints to meet the needs of the most fashionable customers. 

The second product we launched in May 2010 by Footzyrolls is the Rollable Flip Flop. This is perfect for pedicures, beach, travel, etc. 

Going forward, we will continue to create and distribute solution oriented fashion products for women to enjoy all over the world.

Irina: How did you come up with the idea of Footzyrolls?

Jenifer: We, ourselves, like many young women, were strutting in stilettos with heels of all sizes, but in reality, we didn’t make it very far before feeling the pain.

After years of angry boyfriends yelling at us for early departures from all kinds of events (weddings, concerts, and big sporting events) because our feet just can’t take it anymore, we knew there is a real need for a solution here. This is how Footzyrolls, the rollable shoe idea, was born.

There was a long research and development period, but the company was actually started in February 2009.

Irina: How did you finance your company?

Jenifer: The company is co-owned by us, two sisters, Sarah and Jenifer. The company is completely self-funded by us. We have been working and saving prior to this launch. We are long time savers.

Irina: Tell us about your challenges.

Jenifer: With no experience in this type of business, we learned everything on our own through the internet and talking to people who were industry experts.

We focus on quick product development, changing of the design to stay ahead of the growing competition along with internet promotional marketing and extensive PR efforts.

We see ourselves as a consumer product that is fashionable, yet can be sold anywhere from a grocery store to Bloomingdales, including non-traditional distribution methods such as infomercials.

Irina: What is your target market?

Jenifer: Our sweet spot is women from ages 15 to 65 who have experienced foot pain from uncomfortable shoes.

Irina: What are your distribution channels?

Jenifer: Footzyrolls is sold in large retail chains around the world, smaller boutiques, and through the Footzyrolls website.

We are selling at over 1000 physical stores worldwide. In the US, we are at Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, and  will be at Macy's 300 stores by October of 2010. Oversees we are in major department store in Spain, called El'Corte Eglase, and in Ireland, Japan and Australia. We are in the process of securing distribution in Dubai and the Middle East, as well as Germany and Russia.

Irina: Tell us more about your marketing efforts.

Jenifer: Footzyrolls appeared in a variety of major national and international media outlets such as Oprah magazine and Good Morning America TV show as well as in catalogs in Japan and Germany, and trade publications like Footwear news.

All of this media effort has helped to secure us as one of the top brands in the compact footwear category.

We also use celebrity endorsements that help us build our brand as well. A lot of times we personally gift the shoes to celebrities and, sometimes we know when they buy, like Susan Sarandon just ordered from the site. To our knowledge Footzyrolls are worn by celebrities all over the world. Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian, Mariska Hargitay, Gayle King, Liz Lange, Barbara Walters are just a few names.

Irina: What about online marketing?

Jenifer: We use all social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.

And our PR outreach ties nicely into our online marketing. For example, we had 1.4 million visitors to our site, when Footzyrolls were featured on Good Morning America in December 2009. It translated in $45-$60,000 in sales just from that 20 second media exposure. We captured the sales that day and the following three days.

On average, we receives about 500-1000 hits a day on our Footzyrolls retail website.

Irina: Let's talk about your business numbers.

Jenifer: First of all, we work seven days a week, about 20 hours a day to keep the business growing.

We have been selling the product for about 8 months and our sales are closer to $1mm and we are turning a profit. We use all of the revenue to purchase inventory and develop new products.

Product development is huge for us as we have other items that we are going to showcase in the next few months that are solutions for the everyday woman.

We have a two year plan that calls for sales of $5M in the second year of business.

We think this is a long term brand.  In the future, we might open Footzyroll stores that feature all of our solution orientated products in location where women need them the most.

Irina: Do you see any need for financing as you grow?

Jenifer: We may be looking at factoring or other financing options as our orders get larger.

We will most likely look for funding in the next few months after we have been selling for about a year. We may even do a public offering as our long term distribution agreements provide for stable contractual obligations that are easily monetized.

Irina: What would you say some key ingredients of your success
so far?

Jenifer: We are a very small business. I run the operations while Sarah helps focus on product development.  All major decisions are made together. Outsourcing the fulfillment was a big part of the success of the company as well as hiring great administrative help.  We utilize technology such as GoogleVoice and magicJack  as well as grasshopper to keep our communication costs as low as possible.

Additionally, we also utilize part time help as well as interns from local colleges and high schools.

Over all, I'd say, we have at least 20 people who work as contractors with us. They are web designers, marketers, PR, administrative and shipping help.

Irina: In conclusion, what would be your advice to others entrepreneurs?

Jenifer:  Number one, surround yourself with people who you trust. Number two, make sure you understand it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of time to start and run your business.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It is a lot of work.  But it is such a great learning experience. And we love it!

This blog is a part of my volunteer efforts to build a strong entrepreneurial community in South Florida and worldwide.

About me: I am Irina Patterson. I was a medical doctor and tech PR executive in the past. My current passion is entrepreneurship. I'm a volunteer for the Silicon
Valley-based Global Initiative 1M1M that offers free online guidance to entrepreneurs worldwide.

Thanks to Debra Cortese for reading the final draft.