Entrepreneurship in the Shoe Industry with Chad and Adena from Another Lane
Entrepreneurship in the Shoe Industry with Chad and Adena from Another Lane
Today’s host is Victoria Sechrist, Certified Financial Trainer, who is joined by her clients, Chad and Adena Jones. The Jones’ are the owners of Another Lane, a digital marketplace for high net worth sneaker resellers.
Podcast Notes
Chad and Adena live in Fort Lee, New Jersey, but they are originally from Brooklyn. They have been married for three years.
They run a company called Another Lane, which is a digital marketplace for high net worth sneaker resellers. Their goal is to help these resellers get control of their collection and to help them buy and sell sneakers.
For about 30 years, Chad has been into sneakers. Projections for 2025 put the sneaker industry at $6 billion. Chad feels there are a lot of places where he could make money in this industry. Other resale platforms charge a high resale fee.
Chad has approximately 400 sneakers currently and stores them all in their second bedroom. Previously, they had a storage unit for them about 60 minutes away.
In October 2019, Adena told Victoria that she wanted to quit her job in January to work on this website.
They saved money, cut expenses, and created a plan to prepare for the transition. It has been a tough journey. When you go into a business and you are married, boundaries are crossed, and Victoria helped them focus.
The first thing they did was increase capital, so they could make waves with speed. They raised a lot of money fast, which gave them more confidence to move forward. Chad quit his job in 2018, and it gave him time to learn more about the market.
They opened a business bank account for tax reasons and so it would be separate from their household money.
The first month of opening their Shopify store, April 2020, they made $30,000. The platform allows you to reach many households and a broad audience.
They hired a developer because they wanted to build a certain type of platform. The Financial Gym helped them with what questions they should ask and helped them choose a developer. The website is open, and the app is scheduled to launch at the end of August.
Adena came up with the name, Another Lane, because Chad and his sneakers are in another lane. The logo is designed to look like a street sign because they want to bring the community back to sneakers. Lanes and streets deal with community and bringing people together.
Their platform will be membership-based, not resale-based.
Chad was very introverted as a kid and he struggled to make connections with others. His parents were artists and they encouraged him to work out his frustrations through creativity.
Industrial design with sneakers was a happy medium for him. He was able to establish a value point of every sneaker, based on aesthetics and performance. It helps that Chad is an extraordinary basketball player.
The sneaker resale market is great for frugal people if you take care of your shoes.
Some people wear them, some display them, some customize them, and some just take a picture of them to say they had them and then resell them.
Some shoe companies are starting to use more sustainable products, like corn and recyclable material, to build their shoes, but the thing that will push the industry is design and performance-based. The resale market is a version of sustainability.
Chad and Adena are increasing their collection every day and when they open the platform, they expect to have other members selling their collections too. They should have a variety of shoes and sizes available.
It was important to Adena to not separate men’s shoes from women’s. Their site has shoes sized for men and women. A size 8 in men’s would be a 9.5 in women’s and their site lists it as 8/9.5, so the translation is easier.
The most difficult part of starting this business for Adena was work/life balance and raising capital.
Not only are they a Black-owned business, but they are also a 51% woman-owned business.
For Chad, it has been a very emotional journey and his faith and instincts have been tested.
Random Three Questions
What is your favorite sneaker?
When the quarantine is over if you had an unlimited travel budget, where would you go?
If it is your last night on earth, what meal would you eat?
Connect with Chad and Adena
Website: Another-Lane.com
Instagram: Anotherlane_
Chad on Instagram: @Sneaker_Galactus
Adena on Instagram: @adena_jones