Posted on The Story Exchange on April 26, 2012
Tara Haughton, Founder and CEO of Rosso Solini
Tara Haughton dreamt of becoming a nurse, but a couple of years ago, she discovered a new passion and everything changed.
The Birth of an Idea
At a family wedding in Spain, Haughton had just taken off the price tags from the bottom of her high-heeled shoes when red and white confetti started flying in the air. Some of it stuck to the adhesive left from the tags. Haughton didn’t notice until a wedding guest asked if she was wearing designer shoes – the red on the heel gave the impression that they were Christian Louboutin shoes.
That got Haughton thinking: What if she created stickers to adhere to high-heeled 
shoes to create a unique designer knock-off look? “I love fashion, however we all know that designer shoes come with a designer price,” Haughton tells The Story Exchange.
After the wedding, Haughton returned to Ireland and began her gap year at school where students are encouraged to start their own “mini-companies” and learn business skills.
It was the perfect opportunity to test her idea. “I had an image in my head of what I wanted the product to look like,” says Haughton. She started experimenting with materials that would stick to shoe soles but without any success.
Rosso Solini
Her father, Chris Haughton, helped find a solution. With some experience in the motor industry, he took his daughter to a friend who makes advertising decals for cars and vans. Haughton found the perfect material for her product and her dad soon became her first employee.
Team Rosso Solini wins an Ulster Bank Award
Haughton googled ‘red soles’ in a few languages and thought Italian sounded best. She named her company Rosso Solini, her friend helped out with the packaging design, and her company was born.
“It was so simple; it didn’t cost money or anything like that. I was simply doing it for a school project. And it kind of just turned into something bigger,” Haughton says.
Read more on The Story Exchange and find out how many countries Rosso Solini reaches now.