The Xero Shoes 10x Growth Story with Steven Sashen

Steven Sashen is the co-founder and Chief Barefoot Officer of Xero Shoes. Selling via their international Shopify stores, Amazon, and wholesale. They launched in November 2009 and in 2024 did just under $68 million. 

 

Steven returns to the show to reveal how Xero Shoes jumped to nearly $68M — and the real decisions behind that growth. 

 

Hit PLAY to hear: 

• How Xero Shoes leapt from $6M to $68M — and why it still feels like a startup 🔥 
• The real reason they moved from WooCommerce to Shopify (and what went wrong 👀) 
• Why “best practices” are often bad practices — and what Steven tests instead 📊 
• The surprising truth about wholesale vs. DTC and where real scale actually comes from 🚀 
• How Xero Shoes got NBA + WNBA players training in their footwear 🏀 
• The product philosophy that fuels their growth: make shoes that truly change lives 👣 

 

Key timestamps to dive straight in: 

[05:00] "Data-Driven, Opinion-Free Marketing" 

[09:07] Platform Choice Doesn't Drive Conversion 

[11:42] "Website Launch: A Workable Rush" 

[14:56] "Scaling Footwear Through Retail Doors" 

[16:39] Global Privacy Challenges Expand 

[21:34] "Life-Changing Shoes Inspire Basketball Innovation" 

[23:39] "Impact of Barefoot-Inspired Footwear" 

[25:40] Listen to Steven’s Top Tips! 

 

Full episode notes here: https://ecmp.info/577

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