Standing Tall: How Ahriana Edwards Walks Through Every Challenge

Thank you to Ahriana Edwards, founder of Vaila Shoes, a corporate-inspired footwear brand for women with extended shoe sizes (9-14), for sharing her perspective on being a Black woman business owner in 2026. The views expressed in this post are those of Ahriana and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Enthuse Foundation.  

Vaila is rooted in the lived experience of being a Black woman navigating spaces that were never built for us. As a Southern-raised, first-generation college graduate and entrepreneur, I’ve spent most of my life being the first in the room. That reality has shaped everything about the way I built this company.

My vision for Vaila Shoes began with a personal struggle that started in eighth grade and followed me into corporate America. Growing up in a size 10+, I was pushed into the men’s shoe section. I was forced to choose between fit and femininity and shut out of the fashion expression every person deserves.

Even when I entered the professional world with blazers and pants available, I couldn’t complete a single outfit the way I wanted. Stylish, workplace-appropriate shoes in my size didn’t exist. The fashion industry had evolved in so many other areas of inclusivity, but footwear for extended sizes remained forgotten.

I knew I wasn’t alone. According to a 2024 Clarks survey, roughly 1 in 2 women struggle to find shoes that meet both their comfort and style needs. 

After finishing my degree, I surveyed hundreds of women with extended shoe sizes and heard the same thing repeatedly: they needed professional dress shoes—not athletic shoes, not sandals, and not “close enough” alternatives. That insight became the foundation for creating a brand that finally made stylish shoes aVAILAble to women like us.

When I launched in 2022, the entrepreneurial landscape felt full of possibility. Organizations were actively investing in founders like me. Before we even sold one pair of shoes, I secured over $100K in combined capital.

That world feels very far away in 2026. Over the past year, everything shifted.

• We watched ecosystems shrink their support, often without explanation.

• We watched political decisions reshape or eliminate DEI programs that once opened doors.

• We watched banks tighten their requirements.

• We watched investors delay decisions or back away from companies that weren’t perfectly aligned with forecasts made before the economy changed.

  
  

For Vaila, 2025 became a cash-flow balancing act. We were finally in a stage where revenue was coming in from both e-commerce and wholesale partners, while also receiving small capital infusions from grants and investors. But the slowdown hit us from every angle: fewer customer purchases, smaller wholesale orders, fewer grant opportunities, and hesitant investors watching the economy more closely than they were watching our growth story.

What ultimately kept us afloat was community. Conversations with the Black Footwear Forum, the 15 Percent Pledge, and other CPG founders walking similar paths became lifelines.

Simply hearing phrases like ‘you’re not imagining this, it is happening to all of us’ lifted the weight I had been carrying alone. Community didn’t magically solve our challenges, but it reminded me that none of us are navigating this moment in isolation.

The truth is that entrepreneurship comes with seasons. Being a Black woman founder in 2026 means facing the added complexity of navigating shrinking resources, shifting priorities, and constant scrutiny while still showing up with excellence. But it also means belonging to a community that is resilient, creative, and deeply committed to pushing one another through.

If you’re reading this as a customer, an industry peer, or a fellow founder, know that your support and solidarity matter more than ever. Leaning on others and being someone others can lean on helps all of our businesses survive.

The challenges are real, but so is the community behind us. And that, more than anything, is what keeps me moving forward.

Ahriana Edwards is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Vaila Shoes, a corporate-inspired footwear brand for women with extended shoe sizes 9-14. Ahriana has scaled the company into major national retailers, including Macy's, DSW, Eloquii, and Dia & Co. She’s been named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Atlanta List, recognized as Footwear News' 2023 "Women Who Rock," and featured in Entrepreneur, BET, Essence, Black Enterprise, and Nasdaq. Ahriana is driven by a deep commitment to creating opportunities and breaking barriers in spaces where they're needed most. At her core, she's on a mission to step beyond limits and create impact for the undervalued, underestimated, and underrepresented.