Cole Leroux
Cole Leroux is the founder and CEO of Slipps, a kid-forward ballet brand reimagining dancewear for the next generation.
Founder · Los Angeles, CA, USA
About Cole
Cole Leroux is the founder and CEO of Slipps, a kid-forward ballet brand disrupting the industry with premium ballet shoes for kids.
The idea for Slipps began while Cole was teaching ballet in Santa Monica, where she saw the same frustrations play out in class again and again: drawstrings coming undone, uncomfortable elastic straps, limited color options, and shoes that simply weren’t designed with young dancers in mind. She saw an opportunity to rethink one of ballet’s most traditional products through the eyes of the child actually wearing it.
That insight became Slipps.
Cole developed a patented ballet shoe designed specifically for young dancers, replacing traditional drawstrings with an adjustable closure, incorporating supportive comfort features, and introducing a playful, design-forward approach to color and style. What began as a solution to a better ballet shoe has grown into a much larger vision: building the defining dance brand for the next generation.
As founder and CEO, Cole leads Slipps across product development, brand strategy, manufacturing, marketing, partnerships, wholesale, and growth. Her approach combines thoughtful product innovation with premium branding and a deep understanding of the emotional connection children and parents have with those first experiences in dance.
Cole is now focused on scaling Slipps beyond its flagship ballet shoe into a broader dancewear and lifestyle platform spanning footwear, apparel, and new product categories. Her long-term vision is to build a globally recognized brand that challenges the conventions of the traditional dance industry while keeping one idea at its center: ballet should feel just as magical, expressive, and fun to a child as it looks from the outside.
Company
Slipps
www.slipps.com
Slipps is reimagining ballet for the next generation. We started with the ballet shoe—a product that has remained largely unchanged for decades—and redesigned it specifically for kids, eliminating drawstrings, improving comfort and fit, and bringing color and personality to a traditionally uniform category. Our vision goes far beyond footwear: we’re building the defining dance brand for the next generation of dancers, combining thoughtful product innovation, premium design, and a kid-first point of view in an industry ready for something new.
Funding Stage
Seed
Funding Raised
None/Bootstrapped
Team Size
1-5 employees
Annual Revenue
$0 to $100k
Location
Manhattan Beach, CA, USA
Founded
2022
Industry
Consumer Products
Skills
Entrepreneurship
Demonstrates strong entrepreneurial drive by founding and scaling Slipps to disrupt the traditional dance industry.
Founder
Founded and leads Slipps, a kid-forward ballet brand disrupting the industry.
Dancewear Industry
Deep expertise in the dancewear industry, identifying market gaps and developing innovative solutions for the next generation.
Product Development
Developed and patented a ballet shoe designed specifically for young dancers, replacing traditional drawstrings with an adjustable closure.
Product Innovation
Drives product innovation by redesigning traditional ballet shoes with unique features and a playful design-forward approach.
Product Management
Manages product roadmap and expansion into new dancewear and lifestyle categories, including footwear and apparel.
Management
Manages all aspects of Slipps operations, including product development, marketing, partnerships, and growth.
Brand Strategy
Develops and executes premium branding strategies for Slipps, focusing on emotional connections with children and parents.
Leadership
Leads a growing startup, managing multiple facets of the business as Founder and CEO.
Marketing
Leads marketing efforts to build and grow the Slipps brand, combining product innovation with premium branding.
Growth Strategy
Drives growth initiatives for Slipps, expanding product lines and market share.
Strategy
Develops and executes the strategic vision for Slipps, scaling beyond its flagship product into a broader lifestyle platform.
Consumer Products Industry
Experienced in the consumer products industry, specifically in children's dancewear and lifestyle brands.
Wholesale
Manages wholesale channels to distribute Slipps products and scale the brand.
Patent Development
Successfully developed a patented product, demonstrating expertise in intellectual property and innovation.
Design
Incorporates playful, design-forward approaches to product aesthetics and functionality for children's dancewear.
Footwear Design
Specializes in designing and developing innovative footwear products for the ballet industry.
Partnerships
Forges partnerships to expand Slipps' reach and market presence.
Market Research
Leverages a deep understanding of target customer needs and emotional connections in the dance industry.
Manufacturing
Manages manufacturing processes for Slipps ballet shoes and future product categories.
Ballet
Possesses a deep understanding and personal experience in the ballet domain, informing product development and brand vision.
User-Centered Design
Focuses on user experience for young dancers, addressing comfort, fit, and functionality in product design.
Apparel Design
Plans to expand into apparel design for the dancewear market as part of Slipps' broader vision.
Teaching
Gained critical insights into ballet industry frustrations by teaching ballet to children in Santa Monica.
Experience
job
Founder and CEO
Slipps
Leads all aspects of Slipps' operations, including product development, brand strategy, manufacturing, marketing, partnerships, wholesale, and growth. Oversees the vision to build the defining dance brand for the next generation, focusing on thoughtful product innovation and premium branding.
Founded Slipps to disrupt the ballet industry with kid-forward premium ballet shoes. Developed and patented a unique ballet shoe design. Successfully launched and is currently scaling the brand beyond footwear into broader dancewear and lifestyle categories.
job
Ballet Teacher
Ballet Studio in Santa Monica
Taught ballet to children in Santa Monica, observing firsthand the frustrations with traditional ballet shoes.
Gained critical market insights and identified unmet needs in the children's ballet shoe market, which directly inspired the founding of Slipps.