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Eliza (left) and Doren (right) in their own footwear samples shop (Tencent Science and technology with map)

Tencent Science and Technology (Beckham) Beijing time January 20 news, according to foreign media reports, the "New York Times" website recently published articles, introduced a pair of entrepreneurial sisters. The younger sister, who was a vice president of Paramount Studios, gave up the aura of Hollywood and co-founded an E-commerce company dedicated to women's shoes. It turns out that without the technology and fashion experience, it has not been a successful experience for a sister partner to start a business.

Four years ago, Doren Howard (Howard Dorian) had one of the most aura of entertainment. At the time, Ms. Howard served as Vice president of Paramount (Paramount), responsible for the production of a plethora of Hollywood blockbusters, including M. Shyamalan's "Final Gas" (the Last Airbender), and "Special Forces: The Rise of Cobra" (G.I. Joe:the Rise of Cobra). She smiled and said, "I have a shiny title and a parking space." ”

But after more than 10 years in the film industry, Howard, 36, decided to give up everything, at least by giving up glamorous titles and parking spaces, as a brave heroine who often appeared in his head. Howard means, with his sister, 39-Year-old Elizabeth Shah Howard (Ilissa Howard) co-founder of a company, involved in a sister both have no experience in the field: fashion.

This is actually two areas. Their footwear company Milk & Honey allows women to design their heels and uppers by clicking their mouse, which is also an E-commerce company, but none of the sisters had technical expertise at the start of the venture. Eliza was a product developer for Toys "R" Us, a toy company, before she started her business with her sister. "We are not trained technology entrepreneurs," she said. ”

Maybe they're not. But Doren says sales have risen by one-fold since they started the company in January 2011, and the company has made a profit. She declined to disclose the specific figures. Last summer, Milk & Honey was selected by Launchpad LA, a corporate incubation company, to join its training program, which aims to provide expertise and workplaces for promising technology start-ups.

The experience of the Howard sisters proves that no background can be an advantage when starting a business. Although Doren joked that the entire studio's management had no practical skills, only "business card clips and ideas", her own business card holders made the word Milk & honey widely disseminated among high-end customers. Doren, who met Kinnifer Gudwin (Ginnifer Goodwin) while working in the entertainment world, noticed the details when the actress wore a pair of milk & honey heels to attend the Prada book release. and Eliza's business contacts with Asian producers helped her find a Chinese factory to produce custom shoes.

Doren said: "She knows how to produce, I know how to sell." The idea is that this is all we have to learn. ”

The sisters also like shoes very much. During her college years, Eliza returned from Florence, Italy, bringing back 17 pairs of shoes. It is this love, and the frustration of often not finding the shoes that they want, that has contributed to their willingness to start a company.

Eliza, who is slim and 5.9 feet (about 1.8 meters) tall, said she always struggled to find the right heels to look less like a giraffe. Doren said she had "been in the Saks Mall in New York and didn't know what she wanted to buy."

So why not set up a company that "allows you to not be limited to the choices offered to you by the women's shoes sellers in the mall"? "Do you want a 3-inch, patterned sheepskin shoe?" said Doren. We'll do it for you. ”

The rapid development of E-commerce, as well as the success of footwear sales website Zappos, prompted them to decide to create more than just a company selling shoes, but also an internet-based company. Then there is the production business. Doren said the first was Eliza's contact with Hong Kong's footwear manufacturers, who helped her build a custom shoe model, in other words, that the design could not be too complicated and that the difference between a pair of shoes and another pair of shoes could not be too great, otherwise the orders would be difficult to meet.

The sisters then collaborated with the technical team to create a Web site that allows consumers to assemble their shoes on the screen. After choosing the basic style (including flat heel shoes, short shoes, heel shoes, etc.), consumers can also choose materials and colors (such as red pressure snake skin), add some features such as back buckle, finally can choose heel height. The company's sales representatives will answer questions from consumers via the Internet or telephone.

Customers can also try their shoes at the Milk & Honey in Los Angeles. Yes, the company also accepts returns. However, none of these services is cheap, so the price of milk & honey shoes and boots ranges from 190 to 310 dollars.

Shoe Are, author of the Women's Shoe Guide, Meghan Clery (Meghan Cleary), says custom footwear is a growing niche market. "Customers do want something special for themselves or for themselves," she said. So Milk & Honey, as well as several other companies such as shoes of prey, began to explore. ”

Even large footwear companies such as Converse and Nike allow customers to come up with new revisions, such as Converse all Star. The Howard sisters are certainly looking forward to the future of bespoke fashion products. To support the venture, the sisters have already spent their savings on their previous jobs and are now seeking investors.

How do you feel about this? "I love it," Doren said, "My entire career is selling my passion." For me, it used to be a screen and a movie, and now it's a shoe. ”