Description
The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace, and Came Back Stronger Than Ever
Everyone knows Steve Madden’s name and his shoes, but few are familiar with his story. Over the past thirty years Steve Madden has taken his eponymous shoe company from the fledgling startup he founded with a mere $1,100 to a global, multi-billion-dollar brand. But Madden’s mistakes, from his battle with addiction to the financial shortcuts that landed him in prison, are as important to his story as his most iconic shoes. In this raw, intimate, and ultimately inspiring book, Madden holds nothing back as he shares what it took to get here and the lessons he’s learned along the way. From his unconventional hiring strategies to his slavish devotion to product, Madden offers a business perspective that is as unique as his styles. In The Cobbler, readers are treated to the wild ride though his rise, fall, and comeback. But they will also walk away uplifted by a man who has owned up to his mistakes and come back determined to give back and use his hard-won platform to create positive change.
About the Authors
Steve Madden is an entrepreneur, an award-winning designer, and a business titan whose eponymous company is currently worth over 3 billion dollars. He is also a recovering addict and a devoted family man. Over the past thirty years, the provocative shoe designer built a booming brand and nearly lost it all to “The Wolf of Wall Street,” only to rebound by giving back and creating a global empire.
In 1990, with a mere $1,100 in the bank, Madden followed his intuition and set out to create the next big thing: a company able to anticipate consumer needs and subsequently deliver collections that were both cutting edge and highly saleable. Channeling his creative energy to produce a variety of silhouettes and vibrant styles in his Queens-based factory, quickly his dream became reality and the Steve Madden brand was born.
30 years later, with over 200 stores across the globe, the acquisition of notable brands such as Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, and Blondo, to name a few, standout collaborations with stars including Sydney Sweeney, Nessa Barret, Cardi B, Winnie Harlow, Ja Rule, Keyshia Cole, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, the designer and entrepreneur continues the hustle.
While Madden can recognize success, he is mindful of his humble beginning and support he has received on his journey to achievement. As a recovering addict as well as someone who has learned to manage his ADD, Madden is an active philanthropist and mentor who supports several organizations that help those in need of a second chance.
A native New Yorker, Steve currently resides in Manhattan with his children, and is more present than ever at his company’s Long Island City headquarters, the various showrooms throughout Manhattan and his namesake stores worldwide.
Jodi Lipper is a New York Times bestselling ghost writer, book doctor, and editorial consultant who works with high profile experts and celebrities to garner major publishing deals and translate their experiences and expertise into highly effective and marketable books. Jodi has co-written several notable memoirs as well as prescriptive books about diet and fitness, business, relationships, and parenting.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Jodi edited fiction at Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, where she worked with numerous #1 New York Times best sellers such as Jodi Picoult, Brad Thor, Dan Brown, and the late Vince Flynn. This experience coupled with her work as an author on her own trio of best sellers has given Jodi unique insight into the entire publishing process. She knows how to write the type of proposals and manuscripts that editors respond to in a highly versatile style that captures each author’s unique voice. This is one reason the industry’s top publishers and agents repeatedly hire Jodi to collaborate on their books.
