Moudy and I showed up to the Funk-tional world head quarters, on a January morning, cold and under-caffeinated. This was our first interview for starting stories, so we knew we had to do a great job of profiling Katie and Susie’s business. Fortunately, they made the process a breeze by having an amazing product, an indomitable spirit, and an insane amount of business knowledge for two girls that graduated from college less than a year ago. It was hard for us to believe that their company has only been in existence since June of 2009. Their two products, cityslips and aftersoles, have found a foothold in the growing niche known as functional fashion. The flagship product, cityslips, is a foldable ballet flat that comes with an expandable carrying case for high heels. Although Moudy and I are not a part of their target market, we loved the innovative design and intuitive nature of their products. Their hard work ethic and passion were utterly contagious. Their story shows that youth should never be a barrier to starting a business. We left their office inspired to make our own entrepreneurial goals become reality.

Explain your business in one sentence.
An entrepreneurial whirlwind of a company dedicated to providing innovative & functional fashion products with a surprising amount of practicality.

Where did you grow up/go to school?
We hail from not too far outside new york city.
Katie Shea: The Long Islander. Herricks High. NYU Stern 2009. Finance and Marketing double major, entrepreneurship focus.
Susie Levitt: Connecticut kid. Danbury High. NYU College of Arts and Science 2009. Economics.

Who/what inspired you to become entrepreneurs?
The NYU community has been a driving force in our success thus far. Professors and classmates alike have lent ears and ideas on countless occasions. The between class advice complemented by time spent at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, all supplemented by guiding internship supervisors, qualify innumerable influencers as past and current mentors.

Did college adequately prepare you for the business world?
Diving into the entrepreneurial pool is undeniably a great shock to the system. Having had the particular undergraduate experience that NYU provides, however—one requiring urban adjustment, self-reliance, and the unlearning of self-helplessness—you’re prepared to fend. The encouragement and pursuit of internships and on-campus involvement with groups like the Entrepreneurial Exchange Group, or participation in the Greek system all adds to your preparedness. It’s all leadership experience, coordinating with a group, and functioning efficiently toward a common goal. These often-undervalued activities help in realizing organization and provide opportunity to learn and make mistakes on a smaller—much smaller—scale. But were we totally and completely rock-solid and prepared? Well, no. But isn’t it more fun to still be learning along the way?

What is one thing you wish you would have learned in college but didn’t?
Chinese! New product development is loads of fun. Ideas are blurted out every millisecond, the energy is pumping, sketches are drawn and redrawn, and homemade prototypes are slapped together. But then comes the task of communicating your ideas and creating an understanding of what the product is and how it functions. Choosing to manufacture overseas, this language barrier slowed processes some and resulted in misinterpretations here and there. A level of business Chinese proficiency could definitely serve us in our industry, and likewise many others entering business in the near future.

When did you realize that your idea could become a viable business?
When we realized how lacking this niche market of functional fashion is, the potential of our footwear design became real. Our product solves a problem, or several problems rather (providing portable, fashionable footwear to sore feet). Entering the market as a fashion solutions item would position us to cater to a variety of consumers and increase odds for opportunity and success. Of course, friend and family encouragement and support drove our confidence up too…

How did your family react to your descision to start a business?
Our families happen to be of entrepreneurial backgrounds, which softened the blow when we started talks of financial investment and slipped in cost details. They’re supportive and knowledgeable about the path and struggles of the entrepreneur—we really lucked out!

How has starting a business affected your personal life?
People say it, but we mean it: we live and breathe CitySlips and AfterSoles. Our personal lives, yea, they’re in tact, but there’s no denying that the 9-5 (or longer) work schedule changes things and forces lifestyle changes. We’re still young and still having fun, but an adventurous weeknight out these days is typically more of a business dinner scene. We’re pretty peppy though, so we still keep things moving.

How has your initial vision of the company changed?
At the start, we were a one-product-focused company. The foldable ballet flat with expandable tote was the innovative product that we wanted to put all of our energy into. Now that we’ve managed to do so with some success, our company vision is expanding outside the footwear category and looking to tip-toe into accessories. We like jazzing things up, adding unexpected fun to the ordinary. Future endeavors will therefore lead us to broaden our company definition and goals as we go, but the vision will remain dedicated to providing surprising practicality in new products.

Walk us through the best and worst day at work thus far.
Same day! June 1st 2009. We had a full page feature in the New York Daily News which created awesome exposure, however that same day we couldn’t fulfill all the orders! Now we know, have stock before you get major press.

What advice can you give to other young entrepreneurs?
Believe in your ideas and talk about them often. If you’re shy about sharing or weary of idea-snatchers, get over it. You’ll be surprised to see with what enthusiasm others respond with when you open up to them, and you might be even more surprised by the enthusiasm it generates in you! Cliché, but just do it. Don’t wait until the prototype is perfect, don’t wait until the website is perfect. Everything can be fixed. But get started, and the momentum will help carry through.

When did you become acquainted with social networking and how do you use it to promote your business?
Social networking is something we became familiar with in college, Facebook being the first source. Before our June 2009 launch, the social utility didn’t really mesh with business promotion in our minds, but we’ve since realized the potential of Facebook’s communication capabilities. Our CitySlips and AfterSoles pages give company updates and provide information on internal plans, upcoming events, and even just little tidbits of exciting, unrelated news occasionally. Admittedly, our assimilation to the Twitter world has taken a little longer, but now we’re up and tweeting with the best of them. Our next area of interest—as we get more interns on board—is to get those youtube videos rolling. Short reels, if you will, of quirky, behind-the-scenes fun and real on-the-street commentary. We’ll likely strut elsewhere once we’ve cat-walked across the youtube platform, but until then our social networks will consist of old favorites FB and Twitter. Let’s not forget faithful bloggers, however. They’re always great fire-starters, setting fashion trends blazing through the fields. They’re keepers.

How would you promote your business if the internet didn’t exist?
Well, we do in fact promote ourselves offline. We’ve done cold sales calls, door-to-door action, have reached out to magazines, and participated in trade-show type events. Visibility is key, so whatever it takes to be on display, we’d be up for. We’re still feeling out the television route, but are expecting some great exposure on that front.

What are your favorite online publications?
Entrepreneur Magazine is a frequented one. And then you have to add a couple of fashion ones in there (inspiration, you know!). Glamour, Cosmo. Forbes always has some quality business news, if you’re up for it!

What is the future of FUNK-tional Footwear?
We like to think it’s bright and plentiful with line extensions and new products. We plan to keep our brains active and creative, developing an ever-more-present place in the marketplace.

According to your sale projections, in what year will women be foot pain free?
2010! If they visit our websites, www.cityslips.com & www.aftersoles.com!!!

Special thanks to Katie Shea, Susie Leviit and their wonderful intern Julia Bassiri. If you would like more information about Funk-tional enterprises, please find them at www.cityslips.com, twitter, facebook , and youtube.

To get your own pair go to ShopNBC or if you’re in New York visit your local Ricky’s.

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starting story posted Friday, January 29th, 2010