Lisa Kay had quit her City accountancy job to start an accessories business which was stocked in Selfridges when she developed a bunion on her left foot.

 Suddenly her shoe wardrobe was unwearable – and the biggest loss was her heels. 

That’s when Kay began researching the shoe market and found that although 10 million women had bunions in the UK, “the only shoes on the market tailored to foot issues like mine were these hideous things made of Velcro that would do nothing for a woman’s confidence.”

She devoted five years and £100,000 of her savings to develop a specialist shoe style, with three layers of anatomically contoured cushioning, wide-fit shoe lasts and a stretch panel for bunions, launching Sole Bliss in 2017, with four styles of heels. 

Today, her range spans 300 shoes, and celebrity fans include Julia Roberts, Helen Mirren, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. Queen Camilla owns 13 pairs of Sole Bliss heels. Turnover has grown from £1.5 million in 2020 to over £12 million today. 

That’s partly thanks to Kay bringing US celebrity ambassadors on board. One is Oprah Winfrey, who recently told her 20 million followers: “I love Sole Bliss shoes. They’re cute and sooo comfortable.”

But the speedy scaling-up is also due to Kay’s decision to pivot. “During the pandemic, I noticed a growing desire for loungewear and trainers for those precious daily walks that kept everyone sane in lockdown,” she explains. Heels, though, were not in demand. “I realised I had to transform my entire business and product offering, so I worked tirelessly with my factory in Italy to create something my customers would love. We zoomed every day and sent countless samples back and forth.

“Finally in August 2020, we launched the ‘Miracle Trainer’: the first fashion trainer for women who suffer with their feet. This marked a turning point.” Trainer sales now represent more than 50% of turnover, over £6 million a year. 

What, I wonder, was harder: the start-up phase or accelerating growth as a scale-up at Sole Bliss, which remains entirely self-funded? “They both have their challenges, but I would probably say the start-up phase. I spent five years working with podiatrists in the UK and artisans in Italy and Spain, we had to fit-test over 100 women before launching our first collection of shoes.”

Are larger rivals snooping around Sole Bliss’s niche? “We’re very fortunate to not have any rivals copying our products,” Kay responds. “The shoe business is incredibly technical – managing to combine red carpet glamour with podiatrist-approved comfort is a very unique blend.”

Kay, who is 60 and runs a staff of 16, has no exit plan: “we’re focused on expanding in America and the Middle East at the moment. That’s where we see the future growth of Sole Bliss.”

Albeit, one recent opportunity sounded appealing. “Dragons Den reached out recently and asked if I wanted to be on the show. I was incredibly flattered and really couldn’t believe that they wanted me to be a Dragon! Then my partner quickly corrected me… “No, Lisa, they’re asking if you would like to be a contestant!” We laughed for a long time after that.”

At the current rate of scaling-up success, it could only be a matter of time before Kay is on the other side of the Den.

Founders of Sole Bliss Lisa Kay