PaperKrane co-founder Zara Cooper: Fashion, passion and leaving a positive footprint on the world

Zara Cooper knows a brilliant idea when she sees one. She sits at the helm of one of Australia’s most beloved cult footwear brands, PaperKrane, a company she’s helped grow from a lounge room side hustle into an international success. She joined the First Act podcast to share how she went from devoted customer to co-founder of the much-loved ‘barefoot’ footwear label and how they’ve grown the business into a global brand.

An online hunt for a cute pair of shoes for her third baby first brought PaperKrane to corporate lawyer Zara Cooper’s attention. The brand’s founder, Kate Corleison, was creating handmade, barefoot style booties and shoes that proved highly sought-after by parents seeking fashionable footwear that’s healthy for growing babies’ and toddlers’ feet.

“I’m drawn to things that are different,” Zara confesses. “PaperKrane kept popping up as one of the brands all the mums wanted their kids to have.

“Kate is incredibly talented at creating eye-popping designs with the fabrics she uses and the personality she injects into the brand. It was love at first sight. The quality of the product matched the design’s amazingness. If everybody has something, I’m not interested in it, but these were very hard to come by as they would sell out in 15 seconds.”

As a happy customer and founder of her own successful law firm, Zara immediately saw the endless potential in this popular little brand. Zara contacted Kate to chat about her gorgeous designs and business plans. The two became fast friends, and Zara eventually broached the topic of expansion.

“Eventually, I said to Kate, ‘I’ve had this knot in my stomach ever since I came across your brand, and the idea won’t go away. I think I could help to turn this into a global footwear brand. If we team up, we can make this something big’. And she agreed.”

Taking on the world

Zara got to work researching ways to grow the business into a global operation and expand its inventory into adult sizes, reaching out to others in the industry for advice.

“We didn’t know anything about the industry or how to run a footwear business,” Zara admits. “So, it was all research. To find out how to set up an RRP, we got on Google, read articles about it, and spoke to people about the formulae we could use.

“I approached the head of footwear design at RMIT University – it’s the only course of its kind. I cold-called him, and he generously gave me his time and the business cards of a couple of old-school footwear industry guys who lived in Melbourne. They eventually led us to our manufacturers in Vietnam, whom we still use to this day.

“Many people in the business world have been so generous and helpful and willing to give us a leg up. That’s been incredible for us. I’ve had people give us sample contracts for distributors to help me when I draft our own or share a formula for RRP that has worked for them. It’s a lot of learning, researching, instinct, help, and luck.”

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Pandemic pivot

With a cult-like Aussie following already firmly established and new business operations in place, Zara and Kate were able to turn their successful boutique brand into a global player. When the pandemic hit, PaperKrane’s customer base ‘exploded’ during the global online shopping frenzy, forcing them to further pivot business operations to match rising demand.

“PaperKrane started as an eCommerce brand, marketed via social media and sold via the website,” Zara explains. “We thought we would continue to build brand awareness, increase our offering, and simply continue that focus. However, that exploded during COVID because online shopping all over the world just went gung-ho. Not only that, but we also had an enormous influx of stores overseas approaching us to stock our shoes. We had never turned our minds to incorporating a wholesale arm into the business or that kind of distribution, so that was another new learning experience. How do we now create global orders for different companies worldwide, not just for ourselves?

“We were once again flying by the seat of our pants. So, we’ve tried to develop a smoother and more efficient system, which makes us an even better company to work with for overseas stores.”

How PaperKrane is putting its best foot forward

Zara says one of PaperKrane’s main tenets is to make a positive difference in the world, not only with their products but with their focus on corporate responsibility and their support of charities such as Minus18 and the Olivia Newton John Foundation.

“This business has never been about making money as the primary focus,” Zara says. “It’s always about bringing something positive to the world. We’re a barefoot, minimal footwear brand, creating shoes optimal for feet.

“What Kate and I have tried to do is to bridge that gap between fashion and function. We’ve tried to become the first barefoot footwear brand that creates high fashion, fun, funky, quirky, unique shoes that you’ll love to wear but is also amazing for you. Our business is about creating a better alternative for people.

“We also want our company to make a positive difference in other ways. As we say, we want to make a positive footprint on the world. We’ve worked with charitable organisations and artists and done many collaborations where we donate proceeds to charities. It means the world to us.”

Trust your instincts in business

Zara has gained plenty of inside knowledge into building a brand from the ground up. Her most important advice for other business owners? Trust your instincts and embrace the inevitable failures as learning opportunities.

“Trust your instincts because you’re always going to hear ‘no’s; that’s how it is. You’ve got to build the muscle to know when to listen to people but also know when to ignore them. It’s a very important skill, so you must trust your instincts.

“There’ve been many times where we’ve had an idea, and we’ve heard ‘no’ and all our insides are saying ‘yes’. So, it’s learning to trust your instincts – listen to others but really trust yourself. And remember that none of us knows everything when it comes to running a business.

“Be prepared to learn as you go, make mistakes, and learn the hard way. There’s no such thing as failure because things that don’t work out the way you want often teach you the best lessons if you stand back and learn from them. Almost 100 per cent of the time, that leads to overall improvement, whether it be in efficiencies or sales. The lessons learned the hard way are often the most important ones.”

Zara shared plenty more insights into PaperKrane’s impressive rise to global success in this fascinating chat, including a love story! Listen to the entire First Act ep now.

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