Counterintuitively, adding memory foam under a high heel's heel is ineffective for comfort. The founder of Scarlet Chase discovered the real solution is elevating the forefoot. This engineering changes the shoe's pitch, shifting the wearer's weight off the ball of the foot, which is the primary source of pain.
The founder reconciles the high price of her luxury shoes by positioning them as a solution that removes a major distraction for successful women. By eliminating foot pain, the shoes allow these high-impact individuals to focus their energy on more important work, making the product an investment in their overall effectiveness.
A unique downside of a genuinely great product is that glowing testimonials can set impossibly high expectations. The founder worries that new customers, hearing the shoes are 'amazing,' might feel let down if their experience is merely 'great' but not life-changing, a phenomenon she likens to seeing an overhyped movie.
The company initially focused on heels but discovered that women who switched to flats to avoid pain were experiencing other issues, like backaches. This led to the realization that proper orthopedic support is just as crucial in flat shoes, a market often overlooked for performance features, creating a new product line opportunity.
Innovating in a traditional sector requires a two-front battle. While educating consumers is an expected challenge, the founder of Scarlet Chase found an equal, if not greater, hurdle in convincing her high-end Italian manufacturing partners to integrate 'bulky' orthotics and rubber soles into their traditional luxury shoemaking process.
Instead of lowering prices to capture a wider audience, Scarlet Chase embraces a high-end niche. The founder's philosophy is that diluting the product's quality for broader appeal is a mistake. The strategy is to deliver exceptional value to a focused group of customers who can afford and appreciate the investment.
The founder was propelled from idea to action not by her own pain point alone, but by her assistant’s simple, proactive question and subsequent logo mockup. This external validation and unsolicited creative support provided the final push needed to start the business, demonstrating the power of small acts of empowerment.