Steve Madden, Founder of Steve Madden, starting from $1100 making shoes to building a global brand!

The Steve Madden brand today is as iconic and incredible as it gets, yet Steve had the idea and began the business with very limited resources out of the need to simply take care of himself. Steve's approach of adapting styles from various other categories into new ones was innovative and lead to a major breakout hit with the Mary Lou shoe. Steve Madden as a brand represents the best styles you can get for everyone to enjoy and Steve himself simply has a major motivation to continue on in the company out of pure love. He is a person that embodies to many the American Dream and has had the courage to keep going no matter what. The brand and the Founder each are driven by the same principals, they care about the world around them, want to see people happy, and strive for the best! He explains what the footwear space looked like when he began, how he focused on the boutique shoe stores around to sell his initial pairs, and the previous experiences as well as books that helped him be an entrepreneur! Steve also discusses how his outlook on the business has evolved and the formation to be a great leader!