Darin Donaldson and Billy Price, co-founders of BILLY Footwear.
We make shoes that fit for everyone.
Founded in 2015 by Seattle natives Darin Donaldson and Billy Price, BILLY Footwear is revolutionizing the shoe industry through universal design, delivering style and functionality, without compromise, for everyone.
BILLY was founded upon the principle of Universal Design, the concept of creating accessible, inclusive and user-friendly products and environments that serve and improve the experience for everyone, regardless of ability or other factors. Our innovative shoes feature zippers that wrap around the side and toe, allowing the upper to open completely. This makes putting on shoes effortless and independent for all, including those with mobility challenges.
Our mission is deeply personal. In 1996, Billy Price became paralyzed from the chest down after a three-story fall, making everyday tasks, like putting on shoes, very difficult.
After years of searching for a solution that was both functional and stylish, Billy and Darin created a prototype that met these needs and more.
What started as a solution for Billy grew into a mission to create fashionable, inclusive shoes for everyone. BILLY Footwear is proud to be at the forefront of this movement towards greater inclusion. Step in and join us on this journey!
An idea from Billy and a prototype from Darin became...
BILLY Footwear
Darin took Billy's zipper idea and made a prototype zipper-shoe. The shoe worked exactly as hoped and empowered Billy to put his shoes on independently for the first time in 18 years. Next up was sharing the concept with the world, smashing fashion with function, blurring any lines between adaptive and mainstream, and striving to add value every step of the way.
Billy puts his shoes on independently for the first time in 18 years after breaking his neck and back.
Quit Your Day Job comes to Seattle to record part of our episode.
A media producer heard our story and recruited us onto a...
Reality TV show
The Oxygen Channel hosted a show called Quit Your Day Job, an immersive docuseries exploring the exciting world of entrepreneurship. The experience became a catalyst encouraging us to go all in.
The first financial backing came from...
Kickstarter backers
Our campaign ran for forty-five days with the purpose of generating funds to build on what we currently had. This included developing shoes in larger men's and women's sizes, smaller in kid's sizes, and half sizes and width options all around.
Our Kickstarter campaign for shoes launched April 12, 2016 and ran for 45 days. The campaign was successful and became our initial funding to help move BILLY Footwear forward.
Billy's parent's basement in 2017.
Our humble beginning started in...
A basement
Our early days were in the unfinished basement of Billy's parent's house. We installed lights, brought in desks, and set up shop for our first 4,200 pairs of shoes.
Continuing to grow, we took the leap and moved into our...
First warehouse
In 2019, we moved into a 2,500 sqft warehouse. In 2020, we doubled our capacity by expanding into an adjacent unit, cutting a passageway through the wall to connect the two spaces. In 2021, we picked up a third unit to expand further. By 2022, we were again out of room.
Our first legit warehouse in 2019.
BILLY Footwear's current warehouse and headquarters.
Needing more space, we boldly stretched our capacity and moved to get...
Future ready
In 2022, we moved our operations into a 25,000 sqft warehouse and office space located in the Great Kent Valley south of Seattle. Here, we continue to grow and serve our incredible customers from around the globe.
"We make shoes that fit for everyone."
BILLY Footwear
Time to step in.