Many people this summer may have headed out on vacation with the dilemma of having limited space in their suitcase, but needing shoes for multiple things such as walking, hiking, running or even dress shoes for going out on the town.

 Thanks to three Hillcrest High school teenagers, soon there may be a solution.

 They have created the “All-in-One Shoe,” a footwear solution that combines innovation, convenience and affordability.

 The teenagers recently competed in the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, where more than 150 teams or individuals entered the competition. Each high school team faced the challenge of identifying a problem and proposing a creative solution. 

 The Hillcrest trio was named one of the top 20 teams. As finalists, they received $1,000 apiece for the University of Utah’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation, which is a division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. The contest was sponsored by Zions Bank.

 Their submission states: “Their product features interchangeable soles, allowing you to effortlessly switch between different styles and functions. With a simple removal and attachment mechanism, it offers convenience for the consumer. They provide a versatile, convenient and comfortable shoe with a breathable insole, interchangeable out-soles and a versatile outer layer.”

 When searching for an idea, sophomore Om Sanghvi said it didn’t take long.

 “We were brainstorming some innovative ideas,” said Sanghvi, who created the design along with freshmen Sashwath Narayanan and Harith Sathish. “We liked this idea because there’s a need and currently the footwear market is booming.”

 Sanghvi plays tennis and understands when he competes, he needs different support than when he walks down the street.

 “We essentially created a LEGO-base frame for the shoe that would be fit for all types of sports. It’s made of polyurethane; it’s a breathable material and it’s also rigid so it will work for any type of sport,” he said, adding the cylinder mechanism that attaches the sole makes a click, so customers know when it’s attached. “It’s also recyclable and decreases carbon emissions by 100 metric tons in the environment. A lot of issues result when shoes get worn out, they go to landfill and that increases emissions. By providing this type of shoe, we save that amount of emissions. Helping the environment is important us.”

 Their prototype is being printed on a 3D printer.

 “We’re working on it this summer and next year. We’re wanting to test our prototype, ensure our mechanism works for interchangeable soles,” Sanghvi said. 

 They also are continuing to work on their business plan.

 “We hope to mass market first. We haven’t determined the price yet. We’ll probably decide after compiling the materials and see how much it will cost to make them,” he said.

 After presenting to the judges, the teens got feedback.

 “They really liked it, but they thought we have too broad of a target market. We need to specialize in one specific area to be able to encompass a smaller market instead of a broad range.We decided to start our target specifically with sports like soccer, basketball and tennis, the most common sports,” he said. “We will first narrow it to children, who grow out of shoes about every year, so we’d make more revenue.”

 Sanghvi said it’s been a rewarding experience, starting with applying CAD he learned through his robotics class to design the sole to presenting their product to judges.

 “It was fun designing the different parts of the shoe and using the different colors,” he said. “I liked the final showcase; it was fun to see other people’s ideas and to talk to them and learn about what they did and get to talk to professionals about our idea and heed their advice for our business.”