Retail for Good Q&A: Greg Taylor, founder and CEO of Step One
Greg Taylor founded Step One in 2017 as he looked to create a premium, sustainable underwear brand that puts comfort and the environment first. A former elite rower, he broke the 1999 Adelaide Head of the River record, which still stands today, and represented Australia three times.
Starting with just 5,000 pairs that sold out in days, Taylor has grown Step One into an ASX-listed brand built on ethical manufacturing and bamboo-based fabrics. The company has expanded into the UK with a launch in John Lewis and also has some new partnerships ahead.
Step One supports communities through product donations and partnerships. During the 2019 bushfires, the brand donated over 20,000 pairs of underwear to NSW firefighters. More recently, partnerships with organisations like Surf Life Saving Australia have delivered over $250,000 in support, with a new initiative launching soon with Police Legacy to help families of fallen officers.
Can you start by telling us a bit about your background?
I grew up in Adelaide on what people would probably call the “wrong side of the tracks.” At first, I wanted to be an airline pilot, but my life changed when I was chosen for rowing at school. That led to a scholarship at the Institute of Sport at 16. Rowing taught me discipline, resilience and structure – it was a real turning point.
Eventually, I made the Australian rowing team and competed at three World Championships. At the same time, I was studying accounting and finance, commuting four hours a day, training twice daily, and working part-time. Brutal, but life-shaping. I haven’t been in a boat since I retired in 2003. And I avoid rowing machines like the plague!
And what came after rowing?
I was studying accounting and finance, but I knew I didn’t want to be an accountant. I chose it because it gave me options. At university, I had this moment when I was helping a mate buy a car. We had to go to multiple dealerships, each with the same cars but separate negotiations. It was maddening. Around 2004, I thought, why isn’t this done online?
I created a reverse auction site where buyers would request a car, and dealers would bid the price down. We launched in 2005, and it went viral – front-page news, TV crews, everything. The site crashed from traffic.
So you had the entrepreneurial instinct early on?
Yes. When I was young, I used to collect cans at football games and then paid other kids to collect for me. That was my first lesson in delegation. I didn’t come from a business family. Dad was an accountant, and Mum was a bookkeeper, but I always had that drive.
Over the next 20 years, I started seven businesses – advertising on coffee cups, expo websites, and a bar tab app. Some worked, most didn’t. By my late 30s, I was broke and sleeping on a mate’s couch, with about £400 in the bank.
And that’s when the idea for manufacturing men’s underwear came?
Exactly. I was hiking in New Zealand, wearing bike shorts under my regular shorts, sweating like crazy. I thought: Why is there no decent men’s underwear that’s breathable, anti-chafe, and functional? I became obsessed.
I flew to China with no brand name and no money and started talking to factories. Most laughed at me when I asked for small quantities. I was staying in hostels, living on noodles. But eventually, one factory agreed to help me develop a prototype.
I cut up my bike shorts and stitched in panels, and when I tried them, I thought: this works. Then I designed a hammock-style pouch for support. That was the game changer.
How did you launch?
I maxed out a $10k credit card and ordered 5,000 pairs. Half in my own size -XL because I figured if it failed, I’d have underwear for life! With $1,500 left, I filmed a scrappy launch video in a panda suit, uploaded it to Facebook… and woke up to a million views. Sold out overnight.
But investors weren’t interested at first?
Not at all. Everyone told me it would fail – friends, family, and even a billionaire I knew gave it “less than half a percent” chance of success. That rejection fuelled me. I went all in.
And when did it really take off?
After the first sell-out, I ordered 20,000 pairs. They sold out in 17 minutes. In 2020, we hit $1.5 million in revenue. Then $10 million. Then $20 million. By 2021, $60 million.
But people don’t see the grind of the factory battles, the shipping chaos. At 39, I was still sleeping on sofas, wondering if I’d ever own a house. Success didn’t erase the struggle; it just changed the pressure.
And then came the IPO?
My best mate Mike, who’d helped me with every business since 2005, suggested it. We raised 100 million AUD (£50 million) with no outside investors and no debt. First Australian company to IPO completely bootstrapped.
On listing day, I was the only one on stage ringing the bell. Reporters thought it was odd, but there were literally no other shareholders. That was surreal.
What did that moment mean personally?
Relief. I remember settlement day… I was at lunch with mates, waiting for the notification from my bank. When it came through, I cried. It felt like 20 years of struggle lifted in one moment. I could finally buy a house, support my wife, and start a family.
What retail lessons came out of those early years?
Three big ones:
1. Factories: visit them in person, again and again. Trust but verify. I made 20 trips to China, and every visit uncovered issues I wouldn’t have spotted by email.
2. Logistics: never underestimate shipping. We went from posting out of a spare bedroom to running warehouses across continents. Retail collapses without reliable delivery.
3. Cashflow discipline: no venture capital meant every dollar mattered. Retailers should think the same way – growth means nothing if margins are eroded.
How did John Lewis come into the picture?
In 2020, we started getting orders from the UK. Then later on I got a LinkedIn message – John Lewis wanted to stock our products. I asked a colleague if it was a big deal, and she laughed. That was huge. Going from initially shipping out of a bedroom to being on the shelves at John Lewis was surreal.
Getting on those shelves forced us to professionalise. Retailers expect consistency in merchandising, packaging and supply. You can’t wing it. We had to grow up fast, and in hindsight, those standards helped us scale globally.
Did you hire new staff to manage that?
Yes, we brought in experienced retail operations people. I learnt that to scale properly, you can’t do it all yourself. You have to trust experts and build a strong team.
What’s your approach to retail now?
Retail is about trust, not just transactions. We’re growing in the UK and US, both online and in stores. But authenticity is key; keeping the brand’s story and sustainability values intact.
What advice would you give someone starting a sustainable brand today?
Don’t cut corners. Know your supply chain. Be patient. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword – it’s a commitment. And most importantly, make products you genuinely believe in. If you do that, and you serve customers well, success will follow.
