How On turned garden hoses and Halloween videos into a $4 billion sports brand

The useful part

Over the course of 16 years, David Allemann, cofounder and co-CEO of On, helped build a $4 billion sports brand with a garden hose, a Roger Federer dinner, and a young designer who watched a Halloween YouTube video. He breaks down what the first-of-its-kind LightSpray robotic process says about On's innovation philosophy. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges.

How it works

• On has been an amazing growth story, the lead player in a new generation of athletic footwear and apparel companies.
• You started with a unique sole design, which is also the way Nike started with its waffle shoes.
• I think the plan is to be the most premium global sports brand, really based on innovation but also on design.
• In the end, it's about making sure that people are excited about sports, that they love to go out.

What to take from it

I was out running along the Hudson [River] this morning, and it was so inspiring because there's such a big group of runners out there. I think when you move, whether that's running or something else, something happens to your mind as well, and that's really important for us. The legacy players in this space didn't seem to see the competition risi...

Details worth keeping

He says the defining decade for On is still ahead. Our mantra is "dream on," and that encapsulates it.