Why This Third Generation Shoe Maker Started His Own Miami-Based Sneaker Brand

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It was only a matter of time before Jordan Barrocas started making his own shoes.

A third generation shoe maker — and first generation American — Barrocas spent his childhood and early adulthood in the industry. He always wanted to start his own shoe brand, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2022 when the stars aligned and the white space opportunity in the market became clear.

“I didn’t see anything in the market that filled that gap of versatile and comfortable at the right price,” Barrocas told FN in an interview. “So that’s what we wanted to achieve.”

Along with his two partners, Alex Stancioff and Eric Elliott, Barrocas spent the next 18 months creating what would eventually become If/Then , his new sneaker brand that soft launched in October of 2023 with one silhouette, the Callisto, in 10 colorways.

The slip-on sneaker, which sells for $99, is constructed with a knit upper, memory foam insole and flexible EVA outsole meant to maximize comfort. The brand gets it name from the well-known conditional statement structure used in deductive reasoning. According to Barrocas, the name speaks to the brand’s logical approach to shoemaking that blends comfort and versatility.

“I found partners that are amazing and helped make the whole thing work,” Barrocas said. “We started working on the idea of putting together a shoe that fit the needs of guys like me: a little bit more entrepreneurial and less corporate.”

Getting Started

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While If/Then is Barrocas’ first shoe brand, the Florida-based entrepreneur is no a stranger to shoemaking. As a kid, Barrocas spent a lot of time in his family’s shoe factory in Florida, which his grandfather opened after moving to Miami from Cuba in 1960.

“As a kid I was going into the factory with my dad on the weekends and hanging out in the sample room, walking the stitching lines,” Barrocas said. “My first job was loading trucks in the shoe factory. So I really grew up in a shoe family. I didn’t know it was going to pull me back in right after going to college.”

After graduating with his an MBA from the University of Miami in 2011, Barrocas worked at several shoe companies, including BBC International , and eventually started working with a factory in Asia managing private label shoe businesses for retailers in the U.S. Along the way, Barrocas cofounded a beef jerky business, Three Jerks Jerky, that was featured on Shark Tank in 2015, where he delved deeper into the creative side of building a brand. When he started working on If/Then, Barrocas utilized his background in the shoe industry as well as his existing factory connections to help with manufacturing.

While If/Then has only been live for a year, Barrocas said the brand is on pace to do between $2.5 and $3.5 million in annual sales by the end of next year. He also noted that 25 percent of sales currently come from existing customers, which he sees as a testament to the brand’s positive reception. If/Then is currently preparing for a seed stage funding round after previously closing a friends and family round in July 2024.

Looking ahead, If/Then is already working on a second sneaker style with a thicker sole that will launch on Kickstarter later this year. If/Then will also come out with variations of its original Callisto as well as with a sneaker for women and has plans to launch apparel and accessories in the future. In the next year, Barrocas will also consider potential wholesale partnerships and pop-up opportunities where additive.

“It’s just a really exciting time and super fulfilling to have created this from nothing and have it be working so well, so quickly,” Barrocas said.

In a way, the brand’s name is also a reflection of the very mindset that brought it to life in the first place.

“Outcomes are a reflection of action,” Barrocas said. “So if we want something to happen, then we need to do something about it.”

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