The Sea of the Unknown, COVID Pivots & Saving the Planet One Shoe at a Time (Season 1 Ep. 8)

On this episode we talk to Kara Mac, founder and CEO of Kara Mac Shoes. Kara studied fashion design at FIT in New York and spent years of her career as an Apparel Designer for brands like Ralph Lauren and Talbots. On the show, she talks about how as a train commuter, she will go through two to three pairs of shoes a day, depending on the day. As a result, she had an idea to find a way to modify her existing shoes as she moved around the city from day to night. She created and patented the world’s first shoe line with instant heel and toe customization. Kara also talks about her lessons learned in manufacturing and production, how a meeting with Daymond John from Shark Tank changed her career, and the heartbreak she is currently processing as she ends her relationship with her co-founder and longtime friend. Tune in to hear Kara get real and vulnerable about her beginnings as an entrepreneur.

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What can you expect from this episode:

Kara tells us how the concept of her business, Kara Mac Shoes, was created as a solution that originally was for her own problem with her shoes while working full time as an apparel director and designer. She talks about how a meeting Daymond John from Shark Tank was pivotal in launching her business. [4:03]
She shares the fear of failure she had when deciding to quit her full time job in an industry she was in for 25 years to pursue the vision she has for her business. [7:00]
Kara lets us know how she landed a one on one meeting with Daymond John and how it pushed herself to take the leap of unknown even with the feeling of “not being ready.” [13:04]
She walks us through her biggest failures in manufacturing and production and how she appreciates the learning experiences to move forward with her business. She also expresses the impact COVID had on Kara Mac Shoes. [16:10]
Kara shares her experience with bootstrapping since day one and parting ways with her long time co-founder. Jessica resonates and shares the thought process of when her and Mari became co-founders including what it took before making it official. [23:19]
Kara tells us what is next for Kara Mac Shoes and where she sees successes moving forward with her efforts to grow her business. [29:45]