Goshen College students spring into customized shoe and apparel business

GOSHEN, Ind. – A shift in trends led two Goshen College senior business majors toward custom shoe and apparel design business that culminated in the conception of Springer Design, Inc. Mark Springer and Tyler Springer were recently awarded an entrepreneurship grant of $5,000 to help get their customizing shoe business kicking as a result of their innovative idea.

Although unrelated, the two took their same last name as a sign to combine their talents and produce a screen-printing, embroidery and logo development company and begin specializing in custom, intricately designed shoes.

The Springers were aided by an entrepreneurship grant from the Goshen College Business Department’s Entrepreneurship Learning Center (ELC), which encourages students to start their own businesses and is intended to keep Indiana college graduates in the state.

Their plan was hatched after the two classmates had a lunchtime epiphany and discovered their similar aspirations and complementary interests. Mark, from Stanford, Ill., had hoped to start his own design business but wasn’t as comfortable with the management and sales responsibilities. Tyler, a native of Carlisle, Pa., on the other hand, had plans to start his own screen-printing and embroidery business, but the artwork associated with it was a deterrent. According to Tyler, by the end of their meal it was clear they ought to combine their talents and start company.

“We complement each other extremely well,” said Tyler. “Mark is incredibly gifted artistically and has a keen eye for design, while I am very managerial minded.”

After teaming up, the two began the long process of writing Springer Design’s business plan. This included going to national trade shows, working with distributors and talking with dozens of people in the industry.

“By putting together Springer Design’s business plan, it has allowed us to have a clear game plan on who we are, what we do and where we want to go,” said Tyler. “The core values of Springer Design are professionalism, innovation, growth and social responsibility. We hold tight to these values and want to emulate them through our company.”

While Mark and Tyler thought people might find the idea of individualized footwear strange at first, during their research they discovered a shifting shoe market heading in the direction of distinctiveness. According to the pair, they just happen to be at the front-end of that shift.

“Next time you walk into a shoe store, start looking around and you’ll see a few shoes with some intricate designs on them. While others have templates that you can put on your shoes, we allow our customers to come up with their own design or we can come up with one for them,” said Tyler. “Our customers are those who don’t want to be confined into a fashion template and want to set themselves apart with an individual look.”

There are only a few other businesses that sell customized shoes similar to the quality of Springer Design. “A major problem with them is that they sell their shoes for hundreds of dollars. That is why you will only see celebrities wearing them. We price our shoes much lower so that everyone is able to have shoes customized by Springer Design,” Tyler said. They are able to do this as a result of their innovative production system that allows for a quicker turn around time per pair of shoes.

Springer Design, Inc. has different target markets for each of its products. For screen-printing and embroidery, they market to corporations, schools/teams or anyone with decorated apparel needs. Their logo development department has been consulting with boards of corporations to come up with different concepts while also creating logos for side businesses and bands.

“As for our custom shoes,” said Tyler, “our primary market has been the 30 and under crowd. We typically work on everyday walking shoes and athletic shoes.”

So far the Springers have been growing their business by word of mouth and by being involved in the community. Tyler currently coaches fifth and sixth grade boy’s basketball at OxBow Elementary and Mark has volunteered his time on various occasions to help coach baseball camps. “Giving back to the community is something that we both are very adamant about doing even as our company grows,” said Tyler. “We at Springer Design want to play a proactive role in our community…. While it is our job to sell decorated apparel, we feel that it is our duty to make a positive impact in the communities we sell that apparel in.”

According to Phil Rush, interim director of the Entrepreneurship Learning Center and associate professor of business and information systems at Goshen College, “Mark and Tyler’s skills and personalities complement each other very well.… They have garnered significant interest in their products and services, even before officially launching their business.”

The committee responsible for giving the entrepreneurship grant to Springer Design, Inc included Goshen College faculty members Alan Weldy, Michelle Horning, Del Good, Gwen Penner, Ken Pletcher; students Ivannia Perez and Sheldon Good; and local business persons: Dave Birky, Farm Bureau Credit Union; David Daugherty, Goshen Chamber of Commerce; and Richard Litwiller, MMA.

“People on the committee seem to recognize their commitment to professionalism,” said Rush. “The Business Department and the ELC are pleased to assist Tyler and Mark in getting their business off the ground with this grant.”

The Entrepreneurship Learning Center, through the Lilly Endowment, Inc., provides services for student entrepreneurs and business owners, and offers grants up to $5,000 to start and run a business or nonprofit organization. So far, seven Goshen College students have received Entrepreneurship Grants.

– By Emily Dougherty

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.