2005 Small Business Contest, 3rd place: INCHWorm Shoes
 Owner: Hank Miller
Company Founded: March 2002
Location: Boston
Web Site: www.inchwormshoe.com
Number of Employees: 80-plus shared with sister company, Harry Miller Co.,
Inc.
Customer Base: International
Inspiration for Business: Hank Miller, father of three, was tired of the expense
and effort it took to keep his three growing children in properly fitting shoes.
So he developed a patented expandable kid shoe that would "grow" with
a child's foot. For instance, an INCHworm shoe starts as a size 1 and
can expand to a 1˝ and then a size 2. Thus was born INCHworm Shoes.
Challenges: Breaking into the shoe industry and finding retail locations was
an obstacle. Many companies viewed this product as changing the face of children's
shoes and making their lines obsolete. But Miller learned a lesson early on,
and that's to make sure your product is different from all of the others,
and that the difference clearly shows that your product is superior. And he
also sells the majority of the shoes online.
Company Now: Approximately 80 percent of the shoes are sold via the Web, with
the remainder sold in stores. Meanwhile, INCHworm Shoes has entered into an
alliance with an Italian shoe company that is assisting with designing the
2006 line. A national advertising campaign is also in the works.
 Read the press release
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