Two Atlanta moms fill a massive void in the fashion market!
It all started when Janet Ward’s 8-year-old daughter hit a growth spurt and needed a women’s size 7 shoe. Suddenly, the only styles that fit her and were age-appropriate were sneakers. “The frustration of trying to find shoes that she loved and weren’t different from what her friends were wearing was something we went through for years,” Ward says. “It was a problem that never went away.”
Though Ward thought about launching a shoe company and talked it over with her close friend Stephanie Guido, it took roughly two years before the two paired up and took the entrepreneurial leap together. In 2020, utilizing Ward’s business background in mergers and acquisitions and Guido’s eye for design as an interior designer (as well as her background in finance), the pair launched QUADSis, a line of girls’ shoes designed for tweens and young teens that come in women’s sizes.
The name QUADSis has a plethora of meanings and holds great significance for Ward and Guido. It can also be pronounced two ways: “Quads Is” or “Quad Sis.” “The number four represents strength and confidence: Your quads are some of the most powerful muscles in your body, and we have four daughters between us,” shares Guido. “From a marketing standpoint, we love ‘Quads is confidence’, ‘Quads is strength’, but there is also a running joke that we look like sisters. We wanted to trademark something of our own, so QUADSis was it.”
The brand has five styles of shoes including espadrilles, Mary Janes and booties, and more will launch later this year. “I always have different styles sketched on my mood board, and we show ideas to our girls to get their temperature on it,” Guido says. “Sometimes they think they don’t like a design, but once we get a sample of it, and they try it on, they change their minds!”
The shoes are primarily sold on the QUADSis website. The partners also plan to sell wholesale and are exploring retail partnerships, starting with Sprong Children’s Shoes in Buckhead. A brick-and-mortar location of their own is also a goal. “To have a flagship store with our name on it would be a dream,” Ward says.
However, their goals are about more than just growth. “We want our brand to be synonymous with giving girls confidence and making them feel pretty,” says Ward. As any mom of teens can attest, wardrobe truly can make or break that confidence.
As for becoming business partners after 20 years of friendship, it has been nothing but positive for the pair. “We are both good at different things, and we quickly landed into where we excel, plus we have always put our friendship first,” Ward says.
“Starting a business together has made our friendship stronger,” continues Guido. “We were close before, but the business forces us to have more candid, open conversations than a day-to-day friendship.”
QUADSIS
800.674.6604
shopquads.com
@shopquadsis
