High Stakes Growth

Steven Sashen is the co-founder and CEO of Xero Shoes, a barefoot-inspired footwear brand doing about $70M in annual revenue.


Expect to hear about:

– From Stand-Up to Start-Up: What Steven learned as a professional stand-up comedian and how solving his own running injuries led to Xero Shoes.

– Shark Tank: Why he turned down Kevin O’Leary’s $400K offer for 50% of the company, and how this experience convinced him to go all in on Xero Shoes.

– Scaling: How Xero hit $70M in annual sales and maintains one of the highest repeat-purchase rates in footwear.

– PE & Agencies: Why Steven believes that working with PE and agencies can be tricky, and his rules for identifying worthwhile partnerships.

– Life Lessons: Steven thoughts on happiness, luck, how to spend wisely, and his top two book suggestions for anybody looking to live better.


Find Steven on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sashen/

What is High Stakes Growth?

High Stakes Growth™ takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.