Display shelves at the Livernois Avenue sneaker exchgange and resale shop opening this week. (Photos: Facebook)
Hometown entrepreneur Frederick Paul II, a son of Detroit's east side, this week takes his online sneaker business to the next level.
On Friday he opens Fahrenheit 313 at 20114 Livernois Ave., two blocks south of 8 Mile Road.
"He wants to make sneakers more accessible while giving back," says a short profile at Model D by managing editor Dorothy Hernandez.
Frederick Paul II: "I want to reinvest back into the neighborhood."
Paul, a graduate of Renaissance High School and Western Michigan University ('15), plans to donate $1 of each sneaker-trading membership fee to the city school system. Memberships start at $15 a month. Customers also can buy used sneakers.
Three years ago, the news-feature site says, Paul organized a City Champ Series of three athletic contests. "Money raised from the events provided college book scholarships and more than 100 fully stocked backpacks for Detroit Public Schools Community District students," Hernandez posts.
His new venture benefts from a $25,000 Motor City Match grant and a TechTown award at its Retail Bootcamp Pitch Showcase. It's a professionalized outgrowth of an e-commerce business he started in 2016, called The Heat Factory.
This week's debut from noon to 8 p.m. is strategically timed for March 13, known locally as 313 Day (3/13) -- a ready-made launch date for a business called Fahrenheit 313. Its website has just a landing page for now.
