There's something unearthly magical about owning a pair of limited-edition, rare or highly sought-after sneakers.
It comes down the moment you crack open the lid around the quality-crafted shoebox, peel back the uncrinkled tissue paper and lay your vision on your brand new kicks (don't even get me started on the wonderful smell of new leather, mixed with rubber and Velcro!). Pretty near to heaven, right?

One individual who knows this exact feeling is Noah Vitale, a sophomore at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. The 16-year old has found a way to capture that bit of sneaker-heaven and produce it to sneakerheads around the world through his upstart company, Vitale Kicks.
Not just is Noah an honors student, maintaining a 4.5 GPA and member of the Grizzlies' team, he's additionally a consummate professional who can be located hours before school starts at his desk completing orders, answering customer emails and looking out for exclusive sneaks for any fanatical subculture of sneaker aficionados.
In just six months time, Vitale Kicks has earned over $250,000 dollars in product sales, thanks to a low-supply-high-demand market and lots of effort and commitment from Noah.
Recently I sat down with the young entrepreneur to talk about how he turned his own sneaker obsession into a thriving business.

Quesiton: I really like your organization logo. Who designed it?
Noah Vitale: My brother Nick designed it. He's 18 along with a senior at Los Osos. We sat down together one day and just put it together. People appear to like it therefore it exercised really well.
Q: So what exactly is Vitale Kicks?
Noah: Basically it's this - Nike and Jordan brands will to produce series of limited shoes be it shoes from Jordans or Nike Running or anything like this. And because they're limited, there will be an enormous interest in them.
So we try to purchase them from stores after which mark them up once we ask them to within our hands. So, say we have a shoe that retails for $160 dollars, and it is sold out in shops all across the United States. We'll take that shoe and sell it for maybe $230 dollars on our website.
We are able to do this because there's this type of huge demand and you can't go into a store and purchase them. So, the only real choice is to purchase it from a so-called reseller, that is somebody like us.
Q: So, if Nike drops a restricted edition Air Force 1, and I don't wish to sit in front of Undefeated for two days, I'm able to call you up?
Noah: Yeah, exactly. We actually have people who do sit beyond stores on release day and then after they get the shoes we'll sell them a little bit over retail. So yeah, definitely any kind of shoe like an Air Force 1 we are able to perform the exact same thing.

Q: Like a consumer, I believe that's well worth the mark-up right there because that has time to sit before a store for days?
Noah: Yeah, definitely.
Q: You do too employ people to sit out in front of stores?
Noah: Yeah occasionally we do. I'll pay friends say $20 bucks for just one night to camp by helping cover their us. That's one of the numerous ways we will obtain the shoes.
Q: What exactly are some other ways?
Noah: We purchase them on the internet and direct from retailers like Footlocker or NikeTown. We'll enter raffles. They're not the easiest to get. It's a complicated process. Over time we've built up friends and a network of people like store managers and the like.
Q: It actually sounds fun.
Noah: It's fun because you're meeting new people and it is thrilling every weekend to try to get as many shoes as possible and at the same time frame I'm with all my friends. It's a good experience, together with making a good profit every weekend.
Q: So basically, you've created a business out of your hobby.
Noah: Definitely, because it all began with a desire for these kind of limited-edition shoes. After which understanding that there was a large potential opportunity to produce a business making a little money.
However it all originated as a hobby of collecting and wearing these shoes. So, it is a company along with a hobby simultaneously.

Q: When have you start it and how old had you been?
Noah: Well I had been Fifteen years old and that i started the business in April of 2013.
Q: Do you remember the exact moment the concept sparked?
Noah: It started when my dad and I were beyond a stop Line one night, where they were doing a raffle and that we were able to get two pairs of Air Jordans.
As soon as we walked out from the store some people stopped us and offered us an enormous $150 dollars over-retail on their behalf. I was like, 'Wow did that actually just happen'?
It motivated my father too because usually when you tell a parent about doing something like this they would say, 'Nah, there is no way! You cannot go buy a shoe that's in a store and resell it for more.'
But as soon as somebody around the sidewalk stopped my father and said, "Hey, I'll take those for $280 dollars right now," I believe that really type of lit the spark for everything.
Q: It truly helps you to have your dad on your side right?
Noah: Yeah it definitely did help to have my father on my side. When someone my age is starting off they'll not possess the revenue to be able to buy 100 pairs of trainers. So having my dad to help me out (and his credit card) was definitely a big help.
But, my parents will always be supportive of whatever I do. After i told my father I needed to get this done, he was all for this because after i was a younger kid I'd another business and that he saw how good I did with that.
Q: What is the most expensive shoe you've sold?
Noah: Nike includes a foundation with Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon. In the first of the year they released footwear called the Nike Air Doernbecher that retailed for $250 dollars and we sold it for $1300 dollars.
So that would be a large profit. It was type of difficult to look for a buyer so when we found one for that price it had been satisfying. And we were able to get a couple pairs of these. Which was definitely our biggest sale.
Q: What's been the most interesting shoe you've sold?
Noah: We're focusing on that at this time. We possess a shoe called the Nike Air Yeezy which is a collaboration between your hip-hop artist Kanye West and Nike. The shoe retails at $250 dollars and it is currently reselling with an average of about $4,000 to $5,000 dollars.
We've one pair within our hands right now and we're just waiting to find the right buyer who will pull the trigger. But that is definitely our best shoe that we've ever had.
Q: How can you go about selling a shoe that's worth a lot? It may sound almost dangerous.
Noah: Right! We've been with them within our possession just a little over a month and the challenge with a shoe such as this is you need to be careful about how exactly you sell it because with such a huge demand, it's dangerous to satisfy up for any shoe that's worth $4,000 dollars.
So you've to be careful. But we're definitely keeping it safe until we discover the best buyer. That'll be nice once we allow that to go.
Q: Nice payday! Exactly what do you generally do with the earnings you get?
Noah: I'll occasionally buy myself clothes but most of the money is set aside in my banking account and in the bank for school.
Also, I simply bought myself an Audi. So, that's one helluva first car for me. But apart from that, I just place it away for school.
Q: How amazed are you currently whenever you relax and find out the success you have been in a position to create from reselling sneakers?
Noah: It's amazing. After i was driving home from buying my Audi, I was just thinking, 'Wow! It that I'm doing has resulted in me having one of these car.'
It's just great to determine effort pay off.
Q: What do your pals think about Vitale Kicks?
Noah: You know my buddies are in fact those that I'll bring beside me to get shoes and I'll outlay cash for coming with me.
I'll text them some nights and say, 'Hey you guys down to go to La beside me this weekend to get some shoes? I'm paying everybody so-and-so amount of dollars.'
And sometimes, they don't even want to be paid since it is just a thrilling experience to go right down to these populated areas and to be around these folks who're crazy in love with sneakers. And it is fun to walk out of the stores with exclusive shoes and everybody's looking at us saying, "Oh look, look, look, they got a."
So my friends have definitely helped me be where I'm today and have been a resource of support and have helped me throughout it all.
And the good thing about it's, a number of my buddies have actually started their own sneaker reselling businesses on a smaller level. It's cool to see that influence spread all through all the number of my friends and to discover their whereabouts be successful too with what they do. Sometimes they'll ask me for help and I'm more than happy to assist them to.
Q: Are your customers surprised when they discover that you are a high school kid?
Noah: Well, I only tell people I'm near to however when I actually do let them know I'm 16, they're very surprised. Contrary they think it is cool that someone younger than them might be doing something similar to this.
Q: The testimonial page in your web site is just photo after photo of super-stoked people revealing these shoes they purchased from you. How satisfying is the fact that?
Noah: The customer appreciation is pretty cool. That's one of the best parts is to begin to see the customer testimonials. They're a real big assistance to our company and its rewarding whenever we get those back.
Sometimes we'll even hand out discounts if customers post a testimonial because that attracts lots of other people who haven't purchased from us. People will see that and say, 'Oh those guys are legit ' they know what they're doing.'
Q: What is the biggest challenge you've faced like a young entrepreneur?
Noah: My biggest challenge is maintaining school and also the business simultaneously. I'm taking all AP and Honors classes and hold a 4.5 GPA. After i go back home I usually have 3-hours of homework so when I'm playing soccer I will not get home until 5 p.m.
Then I'll have 40,000 people on social media which are emailing and contacting me about their order or concerning the shoes that are being released and asking if I'm getting certain shoes. So that's definitely hard attempting to balance all that.
However i think I've type of found that balance. I take time out at a certain hour to reply to emails, to get back to customers, and also to post on social networking. Then obviously, I remove other time for you to do school work along with other stuff that tend to be more important.
Q: Time management is surely a skill is it not?
Noah: Yeah, it's something I've learned to do.
Q: What exactly are your plans after senior high school?
Noah: I'm not sure what college I want to visit yet, however i plan to go in to a 4-year school. I also plan on hopefully running multiple businesses when I'm from senior high school.
But I definitely will go to college with either a Business or Computer Science Major and hopefully have other businesses on my hands at that time.
Q: Who are some of your influences or those who have inspirited you?
Noah: I would say an entrepreneur like Mark Cuban. Or if you watch the show Shark Tank, all those people on the website. It's inspiring to see how successful they are and how they can help people out with businesses and stuff.
Q. Ever think about taking Vitale Kicks on Shark Tank?
Noah: Not really. You know, there's over 10,000 individuals who perform the same exact thing as Vitale Kicks. It's not like we're some unique thing. We've just discovered a way to be successful.
Q: Whoever else learned is an essential aspect of developing a successful at-home business?
Noah: How big social networking is within relation to how it can help a business. I started a year ago with one follower on Instagram and now I've over 40,000 followers. Social networking has truly helped grow my company and it is definitely one of the most important factors for any business nowadays.
Also the importance of good customer service is big. Like I said earlier, since the shoes are so expensive, individuals are sometimes afraid to invest a lot money. I would be nervous too basically was spending $400 dollars or more. When you communicate with a customer, you are making them feel at ease about their purchase.
So, without a doubt social networking and good customer support would be the two most significant things of a business.
Q: Lots of young people consider starting their very own business or doing something entrepreneurial as if you. What sort of advice would you give a young person with a great idea and wants to go one stage further?
Noah: I'd tell others to look around and see what other people are doing. Because when I was starting the company, I looked up with other resellers and learned from them. So probably the most essential things would be to take advice and examine other coffee shops and make upon that.
And also, never be afraid of just getting started. Decide to have it going. Because you can have so many thoughts when creating a company and be thinking, 'I do and that i want to do that.'
But you have to go and get it done. Eventually everything calculates.
So my advice could be learn and take advice from others and believe in yourself and don't hesitate to simply start. Take a chance and just start.

Posted by: sandyyy0708 at 03:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 2469 words, total size 14 kb.