It's always so inspiring to meet women in business who are roaring! What does it mean for you to roar? Can you share a time that taught you to step into your voice and power?

I am amazed by women who roar, who have conviction, and advocate loudly for what they believe in. For me roaring is all about being true to who I am, working hard to be at your best, and using my power to advance my aspirations and the dreams of others. You don’t want to be held back by anything or have regrets so it’s key to live boldly and go after what you want.

Reflecting on a specific time when I owned my power, I think about working in male-dominated environments earlier in my career. I often felt the pressure to ‘act like a man’ or ‘be one of the guys’ to build camaraderie. One day, my close friend in college visited me and told me “you don’t seem yourself anymore”. That comment really hit me. I decided I would no longer crave to unspoken pressure and I strived to be at work every day being my true self, from the way I dress to how I communicate. Trying to be like someone else is exhausting and you have your actual job to do.

You have launched an amazing company, Ally Shoes! Every business has a back story. What inspired you to create Ally Shoes?

As a former management consultant, I always wore heels to work. Then I hurt my feet hiking and couldn’t wear heels without pain. That’s when it clicked - heels shouldn’t have to hurt. I made it my mission to find the best in the business to create pain-free heels for women. ALLY Shoes founding leadership team includes Podiatric Surgeon, Dr. Roxann Clarke, and acclaimed shoe designer, Sarah Jaramillo. Our diverse backgrounds and varying professional experiences inspired the overall concept of our unique pain-free design. We each bring our expertise to the table and together we created a heel that can be a woman’s ally.

What does empowerment mean to you and how does Ally empower the women wearing your shoes?

I have been so fortunate to pursue what I’m passionate about throughout my career–from going to business school to pivoting into entrepreneurship. I am empowered by choice and supported by the family and community around me. In my opinion, empowerment is all about having choice and giving people the resources and access to make the decisions they want for their lives.

Ally Shoes started to ensure that fashion continues to be a source of confidence and inspiration for women. We wanted to remove the pain points and make the experience of wearing heels fun and comfortable. We are so much more than just a fashion brand because we are giving women options and making it easier for them to focus on conquering the world. They don’t have to choose between comfort and style - they can have it all.

Our next issue is on Body–if you could give women a message today about their bodies. What would you want them to know?

I’m a huge advocate for self-care and taking care of yourself. You have to make sure to take care of your body and mind. I also believe that beauty doesn’t have to equal pain or require change - being you is beautiful. Embrace being authentically you and you can be powerful and feminine at the same time. Every woman is different - our bodies, our shapes and sizes–so I push for the fashion industry to be inclusive to give us style options to be ourselves.

What are the biggest lessons you've learned so far in being a Founder and CEO? Any words of wisdom to women that want to start their own business, but are afraid to?

Biggest lessons:

It takes a village to build a successful brand and business. When I launched Ally Shoes, I honestly thought that I could do everything on my own. With the right mixture of coffee and pure willpower, I always thought that starting a business would be about balancing the pressure of doing it all on your own. Now, I know better and appreciate the reality that I need a team. Everyone has their special brand of expertise and together we are stronger, our company is stronger.

Advice:

I would advise you to take calculated risks. You should always take on roles that give you the capacity to learn and the opportunity to learn from the best people. It’s vital to surround yourself with a strong and supportive team.

If you could go back and coach young Samantha, what would you want her to know?

I would coach my younger self to embrace change. I’m a planner but sometimes you make incredible and well thought out plans and they don’t work out. Life happens but everything happens for a reason.

The other thing I would emphasize is the importance of building your network at every age. Every interaction and relationship matters–your network will be essential to your founder journey.

Samantha Dong is the Founder and CEO of Ally Shoes, an innovative, fashion brand designed for women by women. Ally is renowned for designing pain-free heels for power women. Samantha is passionate about empowering women through fashion and making luxury footwear more accessible for women on the move. After a foot injury, Samantha couldn’t find shoes that fit. She teamed up with the best creative minds including designer Sara Jaramillo and podiatric expert, Dr. Roxann Clarke, to design stylish heels for all women. Ally Shoes continues to disrupt the footwear industry with intentional craftmanship. Our team makes heels that are scientifically engineered to alleviate pain.

More Than a Fashion Brand, We Are an Ally for Women with Founder Samantha Dong