In this episode of GrowthFit, we sat down with Steven Sashen, co-founder of Xero Shoes, to trace the brand's evolution from a garage-born DIY sandal kit to a performance-footwear company selling across 97 countries.
Steven didn't set out to build a shoe company. He was a sprinter recovering from injuries, experimenting with barefoot running. That awareness led to a pair of sandals based on a 10,000-year-old design — then a few more. Word spread, requests came in, and a brand began to form.
When a friend offered to mention him in a book if he had a website, he built one that night.
She told me not to waste time. She went to bed, and I built the site anyway.
Xero Shoes appeared on Shark Tank in early 2013 and turned down a $400,000 offer — one of their best decisions. Beyond the sales spike, the episode forced them to take the business seriously.
We made three months of revenue in the week after the episode aired.
In 2009 there was little social media to lean on, so Steven focused on search visibility and video. He syndicated how-to sandal videos across 25+ platforms and wrote content targeting keywords like "barefoot running" and even contrarian phrases like "Are barefoot shoes bad for you?" At one point, Xero held over 30 of the top 50 Google results for relevant terms.
You have to imagine yourself as someone sceptical. What are they typing in?
Early on, the audience was early adopters who all thought alike, so personalization wasn't needed. Today the catalog and customer base are broader, but Steven stays conservative — wary of personalization that feels forced or creepy.
If it feels like you're tracking them, you've already lost.
Steven's take on trust is refreshingly simple: be real. For Xero, trust came from his own face-on-camera videos, honest copy that broke "best practices," and transparency. The store showcases 81,000+ 5-star reviews — but he warns against over-indexing on positive signals alone.
If you don't have any bad reviews, people will assume you're lying.
Unlike brands that lean on price A/B tests, Steven is cautious — customers talk, and discovering different prices erodes trust. Xero relies on category benchmarks, profitability constraints, and occasional small-scale tests, optimizing for long-term trust and sustainable margins.
You can't split test pricing anymore. People talk.
His most direct piece of advice: find the fastest, cheapest way to learn if your idea is bad. Most founders are too in love with their vision — run a paid test, even with no real product, and see if strangers act.
We all love our babies. But most of our babies are ugly and stupid. The market will tell you.
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