Interview with GreenSoul Shoes CoFounder Steve Chen

Steve Chen is the former Vice President of Business Strategy at Bear Stearns where he helped launch an international hedge fund software company.  After being laid off from work, he has thrown his expertise behind GreenSoul Shoes, which manufactures shoes from recycled materials and distributes them to underprivileged children in third-world countries.

Please describe to me the company you started, Green Soul Shoes.

GreenSoul Shoes (GSS) is unique positioned as a 100% recycled, waste reducing, shoe company. We are a company that reinvests in the environment by upcycling waste into something of greater use and value. We work with Third World artisans to hand-make shoes from truck tires and for every pair of shoes that we sell, we also give a pair away to a barefoot child in the same community. In doing so, we will provide opportunities for Third World economic development while empowering their communities to provide resources for themselves. GSS will provide shoes for 1 million unprivileged, shoeless children in 5 years with our “buy one, give one” policy.

How did you come up with the idea / what made you want to pursue it?

My partner Alastair Ong had been visiting Southeast Asia during a previous business venture when he came across a village living on a landfill. Given the destitute conditions, Alastair was heartbroken and wanted to help so he came back and worked with friends and family to come up with a holistic business model that would allow for multiple stakeholders. Today, Alastair, Iris (Alastair’s wife), and I, work to shoe underserved children around the world!

How / Why is this better than what you did for a living previously?

I worked at Bear Stearns for 2 years and had the incredible opportunity to work for an international investment bank. During that time I helped started a successful software company called BearXplorer that helped institutional investors better allocate their portfolio holdings.

The similarities are that in both cases, I have been afforded the opportunity to work with a team of dedicated professionals to build an innovative company that seeks to develop outsized value.

How do you see our market changing over the next few years?
Supporting additional companies who invest in the triple bottom line. Consumers and businesses will look for new ways to reduce the environmental impact of daily life—not just because it is the right thing to do—but rather because it will make the most amount of economic sense. Governments will create additional incentives to enter these markets are we continue our transition away from shrinking job markets.

Who are your favorite entrepreneurs?
Richard Branson, Dave Novak, and Tony Hsieh

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