Shoes can say a lot about a person. At the University of Iowa, some students are involved in a shoe brand called Bangs which means “help” in Mandarin.

Founder of the shoe brand, Hannah Davis, said the shoes are modeled after Chinese workers and farmers she met while teaching English in China.

According to Bangs’ website, their slogan is “Your adventure helps others find theirs.” The company’s website explains how they sell the shoes, and then use 20 percent of the net profits to invest in an entrepreneur anywhere in the world to help them start their own business.

Once the business is built, the entrepreneur repays the loan back to Bangs and then another entrepreneur is found and invested in.

“We used this other company called Kiva, which pairs us with people around the world that have dreams but no startup funds. 20 percent of our net profits get invested in entrepreneurs. We give them that money and however long it takes them to pay we back we plug it in to another entrepreneur which is really cool,” Madison Glanz-Guessford, a senior at UI who is involved with Bangs said.

Davis said Bangs has started many programs that have been beneficial for the brand.

“Our brand Ambassador program is one of the best thing we’ve ever done for BANGS Shoes,” said Davis. “We have 2600 passionate adventures [Ambassadors] spread across the globe who believe in and work towards furthering our mission. It’s humbling,” Davis said.

Aside from the economic benefits that come from the ambassador program, Glanz-Guessford said the personal touch that comes from mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs is much more important.

“I’m a mentor, so I oversee a squad of 18 ambassadors. Which means I facilitate community relay information from our founder, Hannah Davis, and do tedious things like following up with people [Ambassadors] and making sure they are involved,” she said.

Glanz-Guessford said she owns ten pairs of the company’s shoes, and has been involved with Bangs since the fall of 2015.

Lily Barnes, UI junior and ambassador since 2016 said “Bangs is a shoe company for good, it’s a community. I’m part of the community. Once a month I post to Instagram talking about the shoes. I also am in extra activities like pen pal and flag-tag.”

According to the company’s website, they have invested in 1147 entrepreneurs from 68 different countries.

“It’s a community. I love the organization. You meet new people and get to go adventuring,” Barnes said.

Glanz-Guessford said the impact of Bangs has been amplified due to the popularity of social media networks such as Instagram.

“Through bangs I’ve met some of the most amazing people and formed some of the more deeper relationships I’ve ever had. It’s interesting because I haven’t even met all of them in person. We use social media for goods things,” said Glanz-Guessford.

Glanz-Guessford said she has been shocked at the outpour of support for Bangs over the years.

“Everybody that I’ve ever met through bangs are very passionate about the things they believe,” Glanz-Guessford said. “Everybody likes different things and are very passionate about adventure and are all beautiful humans. I personally love the style of the shoes.”