1-on-1 with Frederikke Antonie Schmidt from Roccamore: the High Heeled Rebel
We believe that innovative professionals are the pioneers of the changing world. That’s why every week we go in-depth with one of our favorites and pick up some lessons about what it takes to be a professional rebel. This week we spoke to Frederikke Antonie Schmidt, founder of Roccamore.
Frederikke Antonie Schmidt, 33, is a shoe designer and businesswoman who does things her way. That’s why she set up Roccamore — a company focusing on making feminine and comfortable high-heels for the everyday woman. She spoke to Roald Tjon about being a female entrepreneur, making mistakes and performing in the circus.
How did you start Roccamore?
Frederikke started working with an orthopedic shoe specialist in her spare time to make comfortable shoes for herself: “I was really tired of the fact that my feet always hurt. Being a shoe designer, going to fairs and being part of the fashion world means flat shoes don’t really happen, so I only ever had high heels.”
She successfully tested them with friends and launched a Kickstarter campaign in December 2014. This reached 220% of its goal and brought in over €40,000, launching her company with a name inspired by the place where she fell in love in with design.
“Roccamore means fortress of love in Italian and the old fortress of Florence is where I used to study, where I learned to love craftsmanship and shoes. We also like to think of our shoes as a fortress of love around your feet, the opposite of all those torture chambers that we have today.”
Did you always want to start your own business?
“I was never one of those ‘I have to be an entrepreneur’ people. But I was always that person that did whatever she wanted. I literally drove my old professors mad because I wouldn’t, I just couldn’t, do it their way.”
After moving to Denmark four years ago Frederikke couldn’t find a job with the freedom she craved: “That’s how this Roccamore project started. If you give me creative freedom I’ll work perfectly but if you give me a 9 to 5 job and tell me exactly what to do, it’s just not going to work out.”
Did you have any difficulties?
“In terms of production we had a lot of problems.”
Roccamore initially worked with a Spanish factory but due to quality issues had to move its production to Italy, setting it back an entire season: “Instead of designing and producing I’m moving around so that means that all my users have no shoes. Everybody thinks that we’re not doing anything, so it’s a challenge now. We have new shoes, I’m getting the final samples next week and then we’re going to produce.”
Is it difficult to be a female entrepreneur?
“If I have to generalize, I think women don’t always have the same confidence in themselves that men do. There are a lot of issues and taboos that are not talked about that men just take for granted.”
Frederikke runs the Copenhagen chapter of Ladies First, a networking organization for women with 5,000 members: “That’s one of my passions — getting women to feel more confident about themselves and to believe that they can do just as well, if not better than men. Women really need a free space where there’s room to feel insecure and to talk to other people about how they did it.
What’s the one thing you know now that you wish you knew six months ago?
“Failure or making mistakes isn’t going to kill you. Everybody always sets out thinking that they have to know everything in order to be successful. I wish somebody had told me that it’s natural not to know everything. Take it easy and try to learn.”
“With the factory I took it personal, ‘It’s my fault. I failed.’ I felt like I failed in choosing the factory, but I couldn’t have done it better at the time. You should always trust yourself and know that failure makes you stronger.”
The Lesson: Failure is not personal.
Would you consider yourself a professional rebel?
“I think so, because we do things our way at Roccamore. A lot of people spent a lot of time telling me what I can’t do. Everybody told us you can’t do a fashion brand with a crowdfunding campaign, ‘That’s madness’. Our users helped design the collection and our shoes are named after them, people also told us you can’t do that.”
What keeps you up at night?
“If we’re going to make it this time around with the new factory and getting everybody to do what we want. I feel like we’re doing Roccamore 2.0. It’s amazing to be able to work with your passion. It’s challenging, inspiring and stressful, all at the same time.”
Which people have influenced you most?
When it comes to her business Frederikke says she looks to her partners and Roccamore’s users: “I have really good people around me, that inspire and challenge me to grow Roccamore and do it better every day. I would never have gotten this far without them. The users also influence me quite a lot. I call them users because customer sounds so final and distant. With users it feels like they’re friends and are always going to be there.”
What’s the last thing you bought for over €100?
“A pair of Marc Jacobs shoes, because I wanted to see how they did the heel. When my boyfriend yelled at me for spending too much money on shoes, I was happy to tell him it was for research.”
Is there something people would be surprised to know about you?
“I was in a circus when I was little where I rode a unicycle and juggled with fire. I travelled all over Europe from when I was eight till 16 and discovered that boys were more fun. Then I didn’t want to be part of it anymore.”
Any tips to other rebels out there?
“Get involved with something like a network that inspires and motivates you on a daily basis. Today, I’m sick and feeling a little discouraged, so I started by looking at the Ladies First Facebook group. Two girls were having problems that I could help one of them with. She got so happy and I got so happy and then my entire day was saved.’
“Feeling part of something that isn’t your company is really valuable, because if everything is always about your company you can go mad.”
The Lesson: Seek inspiration and motivation outside your work.
Professional Rebel & Frederikke: Frederikke is our third Danish rebel, so it seems like there are some great things happening in the land of vikings and lego. With a world-wise outlook her story is a strong reminder that you got to keep on trucking, through good times and bad.
Get in touch with Frederikke: Website | Twitter| Instagram
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