The Day a Bespoke Shoe Brand Reminded Me Why I Became a Marketer

So I was watching Nikhil Kamath's podcast the other day, and I couldn't help but notice the shoes he was wearing. You know that feeling when you see something and can just tell it's quality? Even through a screen.

I searched it up—Cuero. And honestly, my marketer brain went straight into analysis mode.

My immediate thought? If they've reached someone like Nikhil Kamath, they're probably crushing it with performance marketing. Lakhs on ad spend. Scaling hard. Content machine on full blast. All the things you'd expect from a luxury brand that's "made it."

So naturally, I started digging into their digital presence

What I Found (Or Didn't Find)

No active ads. Barely any content. Zero signs of the aggressive performance marketing I was expecting.

I was confused. Maybe they paused everything? Agency switch? Strategy pivot?

I needed answers. So I did what seemed natural—I called the founder.

The Call That Hit Different

I got her on the phone and straight up asked: "Why aren't you scaling? Why aren't you pushing harder on marketing?"

What she said next completely caught me off guard.

"I'm doing this out of passion. My focus is on product quality, the user experience, and after-sales service. I actually want customers to use the shoes, not just buy them to collect."

She explained that every pair is bespoke—customized to the customer, taking 25 days to make. And get this—they're fully booked. All slots taken.

Then she told me this story. They'd shipped a pair to Canada, and there was some mistake. Without thinking twice, she covered the entire freight cost and sent a replacement. Not because of some customer retention strategy or lifetime value calculation—just because it was the right thing to do.

And here's the thing—while most brands in this space are white-labeling and chasing margins, she's out here obsessing over craft and quality. It was refreshing, honestly.

The Nikhil Kamath Story

And here's the best part about how Nikhil discovered them.

No brand partnership. No influencer outreach. No strategic collaboration.

He was literally doom-scrolling on Instagram about a year ago, stumbled across

Cuero, ordered a pair, and loved them so much he became a regular customer. The podcast feature? That wasn't marketing. That was just him genuinely wanting

to talk about something he liked.

That's it. That's the whole story.

Why This Hit Me

After that call, I just sat there for a bit.

I got into marketing because I wanted to help quality products reach people who'd actually appreciate them. But somewhere between optimizing ROAS, building funnels, and scaling campaigns—it's easy to lose sight of that.

Marketing should be like a bridge, you know? Not a megaphone. Not a trap. Just a bridge connecting good stuff with people who'll value it.

Cuero didn't need aggressive marketing because they built something so genuine that it naturally attracts the right people. They created real scarcity through their craft—not fake urgency through countdown timers and "only 3 left" pop-ups.

Here's What I'm Realizing

Not every brand should play the same game.

Some brands genuinely need performance marketing. They've got great products that deserve visibility, and smart campaigns can build those pathways to customers who'll love them. That's real, valuable work.

But then there are brands like Cuero—the rare ones that are so authentic they create their own gravity. They don't need to be pushed. They need to be nurtured.

The real question isn't "Should we scale?" It's "What does this brand actually need right now?"

What Changes Now

This whole thing hasn't made me drop performance marketing. If anything, I'm more committed—but to doing it right.

I'm asking myself different questions now:

• Are we amplifying something actually special, or just making noise?

• Does this brand need aggressive scale, or do they need better positioning?

• Are we chasing numbers, or building something that'll last?

• Will this campaign help the right people find something they'll genuinely love?

Because honestly, the best marketing doesn't even feel like marketing. It feels like discovering something you didn't know you needed. Like finding the exact right thing at the exact right time.

That's the kind of work I want to do.