MEET OUR MENTOR: AHRIANA EDWARDS @ VAILA SHOES
Ahriana Edwards is the proud Founder and CEO of Vaila Shoes (est 2021), where she provides women of forgotten shoe sizes (size 9-14) with access to modern dress shoe options that they desire and deserve. Ahriana noticed that the fashion industry has made strides in plus-size apparel, but there was still a gap within the plus-size footwear market (specifically dress shoes) that needed to be addressed. Vaila utilizes the trends of today to create a seasonal dress shoe brand that satisfies size variety, fashion flexibility, and event-specific shopping. She’s on a dual mission to redefine beauty and retailer representation in the footwear industry.
Ahriana has participated in business accelerators with notable organizations such as Black Ambition by Pharrell Williams, Future Founders, and Techstars to push the needle with the success of building Vaila. In addition, she used her background in sales and marketing to raise over $70K in non-dilutive funding from pitch competitions before Vaila launched. She also utilized her network to formulate an advisory board with over 35 years in the footwear, apparel and e-commerce industry. Her efforts and outreach has led her to be affiliated with organizations such as The Wall Street Journal, Essence, Forbes, Combs Enterprises and Ebony Media (to name a few).
Aside from her business, she has a background in Business Entrepreneurship at Fayetteville State University and a certificate at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Footwear. She professionally held several sales and marketing roles with industry leaders such as Toyota, Nestle, and Facebook while also serving on the board of the Women’s Business Center of Fayetteville and mentoring with the Future Founder Entrepreneurship Junior Program.
At her core, Ahriana is motivated by creating a generational legacy and aims to use her innovative mindset and creativity to create a social impact for the undervalued, underestimated, and underrepresented.Â
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