Intro

Good morning and welcome to the future 👋

The parents amongst you will know the misery of shoe shopping with children. Two US moms have come up with a solution that eliminates the pain and offers some impressive extra benefits.

Today’s update is 354 words, 1.8 minutes

Snippets

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Startup of the day

Ten Little, New York (USA)

Source: Ten Little

What’s the deal: Did you know that two out of three kids are wearing the wrong shoe size? Founded in 2019, Ten Little is a children’s shoe company launched by two frustrated moms trying to find the right fit for their toddlers.

Their solution: PETA and physician-approved vegan shoes that fit perfectly and support natural movement and development. Ten Little has recently received $7.6M in seed funding.

Underlying trends: Direct-to-consumer (DTC); Fashion-subscriptions; E-commerce sizing technologies

Why it matters: Ten Little personalizes the buying process. Its Fit Finders feature accurately calculates kids’ shoe and booties size through a quiz or insole prints.

With a long-term mindset, its predictive data platform tracks children’s growth, sends reminders regarding size up based on age-specific development patterns, and enables shoe reordering via text.

Parents can also put their children’s outgrown shoes to good use by donating them to Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization with whom Ten Little has a partnership.

The enterprise has already expanded its product range to include accessories and socks, and has brought third-party brands with similar missions onto its platforms.

Our take: Ten Little has made buying the right shoes for your kids pretty simple. Its upcycling and environmental-friendly business model has secured a unique position in the $34B kid’s footwear market.