Nobody Wanted This Shoe. Now It's Worth $15 Billion.

In 2009, a retired triathlete with a damaged Achilles glued pieces of garden hose to the bottom of a running shoe. By 2010, that prototype had become On Running, a $15 billion brand worn by Roger Federer and featured at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After two decades competing at the elite level, Olivier Bernhard retired from professional sport with one obsession: finding a shoe that could deliver a softer landing and a more explosive takeoff. No shoe on the market could do both. So he started experimenting with a Swiss engineer, building radical prototypes from scratch. Nike rejected the idea. So Bernhard went back to Zurich, brought in two friends, and built it himself. Welcome to our business and marketing breakdown series. If you enjoy deep dives into retail strategy, brand growth, consumer psychology, and entrepreneurial case studies like How Money Works, Atrioc, or Johnny Harris, make sure to subscribe for more insights into how modern iconic brands are built.