I met Coleman last year while searching for summer internships. I saw his website and fell in love with his shoes, so I asked if I could be his intern for the summer. I showed him my work and he was impressed. Unfortunately, his company was only six months old, so he wasn’t able to pick up any interns at the time. Although, he did give me contacts at other companies such as: Nike, Timberland and J Shoes. I went on to take a couple internships that summer, and had little contact with Mr. Horn, so when this opportunity to interview an entrepreneur arose I immediately had an idea of whom I wanted to learn more about.

Coleman Horn was an industrial design major in college who was recruited by Saucony right out of school. He went on to work for the running shoe company for two years before he was recruited by footwear and apparel behemoth, Nike. He built a great reputation as a creative mind at Nike for six years before becoming a full time freelance designer for major corporations such as: Nike, Polo, UGG, And 1 and Lacoste. In 2003, Coleman started his first entrepreneurial venture called Medium. The company was a footwear and bag manufacturer that did very well in Europe. It did so well that in 2006 just three years after the company began Coleman sold it to Pentlen, a British company that fathers brands such as Speedo and Lacoste. After this transaction Coleman began thinking about his next venture, and in February 2008 he launched his current company, The Vael Project.  

The opportunity for this business came from a hole in the market that Coleman looked to fill. He saw that the market was being flooded with sneakers, and that there was a lack of “better brown shoes.” Also he saw an issue with brands in the industry. “Anybody can make a shoe, but I wanted to build a good brand story that could last.” Hence, foreseeing the direction towards brown shoes in the industry Coleman began building the footwear and accessory brand known as The Vael Project.

Coleman’s preparation for starting the business came from his previous experiences with large companies he worked for and with his first venture, Medium. One thing that he said really is important in this industry is to completely understand the market. For example, he enlightened me on the fact that there is a cycle in the footwear industry, which goes “sneaker, brown shoe, sneaker, brown shoe.” Its understanding things like this that will make a creative entrepreneur into a successful one. Another thing that he mentioned which was somewhat opposite of what I’ve learned at the university is to not do a business plan. His big thing was that business plans do nothing but scare you off because of the massive amount of start up capital they usually suggest. “Nike’s right, just go do it. If you want to do something go do what you have to do to get it done. Everything’s a risk anyway, so just go do it.”

It is this philosophy by which Coleman started up Vael. Not only did he and his business partner fund all the start-up production, but Coleman himself spent 6 months of 2008 in China buddying up with manufacturers until they produced a sample set of shoes for free. Eventually, when the company began getting orders he found an investor to fund the mass production and distribution. Today he has minimal employees, 14 at max, most of whom work part time with Vael for free, and full time somewhere else. A couple people that are fulltime employees at his company include: Customer Service Representative, COO, Sales Representatives, Management and Distributors. As of now the company is still working towards making profit and until then is on a strict shoestring budget. 

In terms of the problems that he encountered during start-up, Coleman stressed that “everything was a Problem,” especially since the industry that he is in makes commodities rather than patentable goods. An important point he made though was that if you have a passion for something and show others that you love what you’re producing they tend to want to help you out in anyway possible. Hence, that’s how a lot of his problems were solved. Many people were willing to help him out for free just as the Chinese manufacturers had in making his first sample set. Other problems that he was forced to solve by hiring professionals included logistics, customer service and accounting associates. Other than these positions Coleman pretty much used his prior experiences as guidance along with some co-workers and friends in the industry.

For a commodity such as footwear, marketing is a very important part of sales. In Coleman’s eyes, it’s all about building a good brand story that consumer’s will seek out. He believes in letting the brand sell itself, and for a new company this is the perfect strategy due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of money to spend on massive promotions. Coleman’s goal is to create a brand that is “mysterious.” He leaves questions in consumer’s minds so they’ll want to know more about his product. For example, his website, VaelProject.com, shows more about the process of making the products and the culture in which the products lie rather than the products themselves. The consumer then says to himself “What is this Vael Project?” and proceeds to google the brand only to find about 4 pages of search results of good reviews the brand has received at trades shows and on fashion blogs. So far this method has worked for Coleman, and it also has saved him an abundance of money.

Another thing that is unorthodox about Coleman is his thoughts on growth. When asked where he would like to take his company in the future Coleman vaguely replied, “ grow as fast as possible, as big as possible.” In his mind the future lends no specifics. Success is doing the best that you can, period.

When asked about the best part about becoming an entrepreneur in the footwear industry Coleman’s first answer was that “you don’t have to sit in a cubicle. I hated that.” Being your own boss gives you leeway to move around and be free. On the other hand, this freedom is so wide spread it could also be the worst part of going into business for yourself. From spending half a year in a foreign country to flying from coast to coast for trade shows, starting your own company takes up a lot of your time. This is a big reason many entrepreneurs such as Coleman haven’t started families.

As a final recommendation for an aspiring entrepreneur, Coleman gave me this advice. First, work in the industry for two or three years so you learn and understand it completely. Next, find a niche, or a hole in the market. Don’t try to fill all of them, but find one that you’re passionate about. The goal is to have as few competitors as possible. Lastly, go do it. Learn from other’s mistakes, but in the end the best way to learn is to see for yourself.

This interview was the perfect compliment to a formal business education. Now I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum, and I can understand that there really is no straightforward formula for starting your own business. It’s all about passion, desire and hard work. Coleman Horn exhibits all of these traits, and in my eyes is not only a successful entrepreneur and designer, but also a successful teacher and friend.