Timothy Fontaine, a resident of North Philadelphia who was born and raised on 20th and Diamond, has never been shy about his entrepreneurial mentality. He has shown a relentless drive and hustle every day since he started reselling sneakers from a single table on Diamond Street in 2003.
Today, thanks to Temple’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Fontaine has seen sales rise for his business, IGotFeet, a sneaker reselling company he runs out of his van near Main Campus at 21st and Diamond streets. His business model involves buying sneakers from brands like Nike, Asics and other trending sneakers in bulk at a lower cost per pair than retail price—then reselling them for a profit.
Despite finding success, Fontaine felt there was more he could learn to grow his business. That is when he turned for help at Temple’s Community Gateway, the university’s one-stop neighborhood resource center that connects North Philadelphia community members with services and opportunities that align with their interests.
“Tim is exactly why the Gateway is here. We are devoted to connecting people to programs and resources that support their goals,” said Antonio Romero, director of Temple’s Community Gateway
Since its launch in May 2024, the Gateway has had contact with more than 3,600 people, is working directly with more than 450 active clients and has received interest forms from nearly 600.
In January 2025, the Gateway quickly used its resources to enroll Fontaine in a six-week online business class BRIGHT: Business Resilience, Innovation, Growth, Hustle, Transform. The business class is offered through Temple’s SBDC, which offers educational training, business resources and no-cost consulting for small business owners and entrepreneurs. In the 2024 fiscal year, the SBDC supported 1,279 clients, helping them launch 58 new businesses and secure more than $54.9 million in capital.
“Timothy is such a great example of why we do what we do,” said Erika Tapp Duran, director of SBDC. “He’s a very talented entrepreneur that just needed a little help to get on a good path to grow his business.”
Because Fontaine lacked computer skills, he initially took all his classroom notes on his phone and struggled to access the required course materials. To help him, Duran reached out to Ramond Nelson, a navigator at the Gateway, who connected Fontaine with a free basic computer class offered through Temple’s Digital Access Center, a workforce development center for the North Philadelphia community. After Fontaine completed the program’s requirements, Temple’s center rewarded him with a free desktop computer to keep.
“Ramond helped me through everything, getting me connected with the computer class. His team was always open and very helpful with any questions I had, both online and offline. And Temple blessed me with a desktop to keep,” said Fontaine.
With Fontaine’s confidence growing, Duran encouraged him to increase the price of the sneakers he sold. Initially, he had his doubts, because he was already comfortable with selling the sneakers at a lower price to beat the competition, but when Duran explained that raising the sneaker price and increasing his inventory could boost his profits, Fontaine changed his 20+ year routine of buying only two cases (12–24 pairs) of sneakers at a time to increase his inventory to four cases (44–56 pairs).
“She told me, ‘Mr. Fontaine, step up the prices and get some more inventory,’” he laughed. Overall, I went from a 40% profit to 75%.”
He especially appreciated what he learned from John Ondik, SBDC senior business consultant and instructor, about balance sheets and cash flow management, which gave him a new understanding of business strategy and terminology.
“I was learning about all these business terms, I knew nothing,” said Fontaine. “Going to these classes opens your mind up to everything.
“Temple opened the door for me to learn about business development, so I promote it to everybody I know,” he added. “I try to inspire others that they can achieve something and motivate them to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Learn more information on how to get connected with resources and services through Temple’s Small Business Development Center and Community Gateway.