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20Product: On Running's CPO on How to Create Emotion Through Product | Why 99% of Products Fail and How to Create Cults Around Products | The Biggest Product Mistakes On Have Made & Lessons Learned with Gérald Marolf

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Highlights

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20Product: On Running's CPO on How to Create Emotion Through Product | Why 99% of Products Fail and How to Create Cults Around Products | The Biggest Product Mistakes On Have Made & Lessons Learned with Gérald Marolf

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

2025/12/19
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

2025/12/19
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Gérald Marolf is the Chief Product Officer at On Running. Gérald oversees the full range of On's shoes, apparel and accessories to make sure each delivers performance, comfort and style. Before On, Gérald spent over a decade building consumer brands with c...

Highlights

In this episode, Gérald Marolf, Chief Product Officer at On Running, dives into the philosophy and challenges behind building emotionally resonant physical products in a fast-evolving consumer landscape.
03:06
Perfume triggers emotion and curiosity, a model for product design
12:16
The middle ground between performance and style may not be the best place to operate.
19:16
Roger Federer is part of the brand's DNA, enabling expansion into new product categories.
23:01
On Running was slow to enter the marathon market due to over-engineering and internal consensus delays
31:15
Asics has a great product but a somewhat confused brand.
32:12
The On Running x Loewe shoe failed because it didn't clearly prioritize performance or style.
41:28
Imitation can erode a brand's aspiration and gravitas by diluting its exclusivity.
46:38
Created socks from scratch as part of footwear brand innovation
49:04
The biggest product mistake was being too involved with experts.

Chapters

Why Most "Great Products" Fail to Create Emotion
00:00
How Perfume Taught Me Everything About Desire & Product
03:00
The Brutal Reality of Building Physical vs Digital Products
06:10
Why "Simple Design" Is Overrated and Dangerous
16:00
Why Vuori is the Brand to Short in Consumer
23:00
The Biggest Product Mistake: Listening to Customers Too Much
28:30
On Only Do Tennis Because of Roger Federer
32:10
Were We Too Late to Marathon Running? A Painful Admission
38:30
The Most Controversial Product On Has Ever Launched
43:40
Are Counterfeits Good or Bad in Fashion?
49:00

Transcript

Harry Stebbings: This is 20 Product with me, Harry Stebbings. Now, 20 Product is the monthly show where we sit down with the best CPOs in the world to uncover what it takes to build incredible products and product teams. Now, sometimes I use the show to sa...