Written by The Strategy

It’s time for the world to realize that the future is female. There are so many female entrepreneurs who inspire us and we wanted to know more about how they got their companies off the ground. Welcome to our series: The Future Is Female, where we sit down with inspiring female entrepreneurs and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how their companies operate. 

What drew us first to The Office of Angela Scott brand, wasn’t the fact that Emily Blunt and many other celebs were fans of the shoes, but rather, the community outreach that The Office of Angela Scott does for women. The female founded, funded and operated business aims to use their platform to ‘amplify the voices of female-centric non-profit organizations.” As The Office of Angela Scott is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, the company has committed to donating $1 million over the next 10 years to promote equal access, pay and rights for all women and girls. Naturally, we wanted to know more about the brands female empowering founder, Angela Scott.

What made you start The Office of Angela Scott?

Ultimately, I really wanted to get into footwear and the fashion industry. I had a huge love for what footwear does for a woman; what it stand for, and what it represents. Men have their cars, but women have their shoes. I also wanted to start a footwear brand that would create a community for women.

How did you come up with the name?

It’s a mouthful! Many people think we’re a law office. Really, the name represents the community. My name is obviously Angela Scott, but ‘The Office’ represents all women. I want our shoes to represent all kinds of women, whether you’re a mother or a chef, or an executive, etc. 

What was the biggest struggle or hurdle?

The biggest struggle for me, because I didn’t start in the fashion industry, was getting my foot in the door. I didn’t have any resources, and I didn’t intern at many fashion brands, so the hardest part was finding a factory that would work with me, and understanding the business of footwear.

What was your background before you launched The Office of Angela Scott?

It’s a multitude of things. When I was in school, I interned at Ugg Australia in the marking department. I worked at Ugg when it was just becoming a ‘celebrity’ shoe. I was responsible for finding celebrities on set, and gifting them the Uggs for them to be photographed in. From there, I went to construction. I love the art of building something, so I worked for a general contractor, which in turn connected me to Ty Warner. I ended up working for his asset management company. From there I went to estate management, then to Neiman Marcus, and from Neiman Marcus, I started my brand. 

What inspires the Office of Angela Scott brand?

I think women inspire the brand. I’ve travelled all over the world and I’ve met all different types of women, and I think that the most inspiration thing is watching and seeing women accomplish incredible things. I’ve met everyone from women who work on the line in our warehouse, to doctors and lawyers and scientists, and I think it’s just incredible what we do as women. It’s so inspiring. We are so multi-faceted, from being able to have and raise children, to be able to run a company, pack a lunch – we can do everything. Everything is possible.

What was the moment you realized you were making it?

Success is such hard word for me. I feel like if I’ve reached success, it’s over. When I was able to offer a 401k program, and match back my employees and offer 100% health insurance for my employees, that was a big deal to me. 

Do you have any advice for young entrepreneurs?

Have the guts to reach out to people. Don’t be afraid of the word ‘no’, and don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid to make that phone call, because you never know if they’ll pick up on the other end. Don’t put boundaries up for yourself, because anything is possible.