Hardware Podcasts

HOKA: Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud. The “Clown Shoe” That Became a $2B Bonanza

How I Built This · 2 Feb 2026 · 55m

What this episode covers

Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud, former executives at Salomon, founded HOKA to solve the physical toll of downhill running by creating a shoe with an oversized, soft midsole and a rocker shape. Facing skepticism from retailers and early cash flow bottlenecks that prevented them from scaling production or marketing effectively, they relied on elite runner validation to build credibility. Their breakthrough came through a strategic minority investment from Deckers, which provided the capital and U.S. distribution network needed to grow from under $3 million to over $2 billion in annual sales.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Salomon, Deckers, REI
Products
Teva, UGG, MBT
Also
George Salomon, Ludovic Pomay, Diane Finkel, Anil Martinez

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