SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Group members: Delwin, Edison, Jerrell, Gabriel

What is a social entrepreneur?A social entrepreneur

➔ Is a person who establishes an enterprise with the aim of solving social problems or effecting social change.

➢ Social entrepreneurship is the attempt to draw upon business techniques and private sector approaches to find solutions to social, cultural, or environmental problems.

Kyle ParsonsThe founder and president of Indosole

Who is Kyle Parsons?❏ Grew up in New Hampshire, attended Proctor Academy high school.

❏ Avid athlete in the soccer , ice hockey & baseball.

❏ Had an internship in 2001 at New Balance athletic shoe Co. in Boston, MA.

❏ Learnt about the footwear industry and corporate development.❏ Moved to California, spent 5 years in fashion, athletic, and apparel

sales. ❏ Took an influential trip to Bali, Indonesia during that and came up with

‘Indosole’. ❏ Quit his sales job to pursue making Indosole a reality.

His inspirationHe was looking around for an authentic & unique souvenir to bring home and wound up with an unusual pair of locally made sandals produced from discarded motorcycle tires.

Although the quality of the sandals left much to be desired, the concept of repurposing tires to make shoes stuck with Kyle – and he figured he could make them better. This compounded with the fact that there were motorcycles everywhere whose tires would be replaced and eventually end up in landfills, rivers and random illegal dumping sites. It was a chance to provide a solution to a problem.

Thus the birth of Indosole!

What is Indosole?Indosole is a company based out of California, USA with manufacturing and office in Bali, Indonesia, founded in May 2010. The business began as a hobby and the idea was created by Kyle Parsons and Faye Middleton upon a trip to Bali, Indonesia.

The Story of IndosoleIt all started when Kyle found a unique pair of sandals in a local shop. Then, Faye and Kyle began an adventure in search of a manufacture to replicate and refine sandals made of natural materials and motorbike tires as soles. After some searching, they sourced a suitable manufacturer and began development.CLIP: The production process of Indosole: https://vimeo.com/68843410

Indosole’s goalsSandals and shoes have been made from tires for a long time.

People love to talk about Mexican Huaraches, which are traditionally made with tires, but they were uncomfortable and took years to break-in.

Their mission is based around preventing more tires from ending up in Indonesian landfills, by producing a comfortable, fashionable, and functional pair of shoes that people genuinely want to wear, from day one.

Growth of the companyTheir business started with just 4 sandal models which were focused mostly on men.

Their motorbike tread sandals continue to be some of their leading sellers - they’ve been in their line since 2010 with repeat customers coming back for more.

Now, they are expanding into shoes, and starting out with low-volume production runs to test the market. The fit and quality of our shoes continues to improve, and they are focusing more on women’s models as well.

The 2014 line features new shoe models with colorful Indonesian batik and even some custom fitted organic cotton apparel. Their new designer, Kenya, went on a material sourcing adventure in Bali and pulled out some amazing batik options. She settled on four patterns that called to her and they are running them throughout our footwear and apparel line.

Thank you :)