CURRICULUM

Welcome to Footwear Founders' virtual curriculum, where you can learn everything about starting your own footwear brand.

Our courses are designed to provide you with comprehensive knowledge and skills needed to launch a successful footwear business. With expert-led workshops, interactive projects, and real-world case studies, our curriculum ensures that our members are well-prepared to take their brand forward.

16 Week Memberships receive all months at time of purchase.

4 Week Memberships purchase each month individually.

Month 1: Fundamentals of Footwear

SHOE PARTS: AN OVERVIEW

Detailed breakdown of Shoe Parts
Pros & Cons of Custom vs. On Market parts
A brief review of different Styles of Footwear

DESIGNING FUNDIMENTALS

10 Steps to Designing Footwear
Mood Boards & Finding Inspiration
How materials and parts influence design

MATERIALS USED IN FOOTWEAR

Different Leather Grades & Types OF LEATHER COMMON IN FOOTWEAR
Trending sustainable natural bio-based materials & STANDARD SYNTHETICS
Where to source your materials

Resources: Footwear Founders Tech Pack, Footwear Terms Glossary & Footwear Founders Systems Page

Month 2: Global Commerce

OVERSEAS MANUFACTURING

What countries manufacture footwear + PRICING AND MINIMUM EXPECTATIONS
Inventory planning and strategy
Packing suggestions, industry standards for boxes and digital coding

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

Documents requirements when shipping internationally, HTS Codes, Duty & tariffs
TARRIFS and how they influence shoe commerce
Setting up your shipping accounts, plus air vs ocean, what to expect.

Resources: International Shipping Checklist

Month 3: Brand Building & Trends

BRAND BUILDING

BRAND BUILDING

Establishing Brand Identity & Strategy
Incorporating Logos and Visuals to enhance branding
Value Proposition & what that means

MARKET TRENDS IN FOOTWEAR

Identifying Market Trends
Molded Footwear & Other Current Trending
Styles of Shoes in TODAY’s market

Resources: Footwear Founders Pitch Deck & Business Plan

Month 4: Sales and Social

LEADS, SALES, FUNNELS & MORE

ROI, Lead Generation, and Email Marketing
What is a sales funnel? Why are they important?
4 Steps of a Market funnel

INFLUENCERS, SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING

Influence of Social Media on Footwear
Roadmap of Sales Channels & Content Calendars
Affiliate Marketing and its benefits

Resources: Footwear Founders Influencer Outreach

PLUS

WEEKLY "OFFICE HOURS"

In addition to our courses, the Footwear Founders have weekly (optional) "office hours" for members to ask the Founders any and all questions they may have.

Questions on course material? Interested in a topic and would like to deep dive?

Just want to hear some fun footwear conversation?
Take full advantage of your membership and join us each week to learn things you never knew you never knew!