HOKA: Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud. The “Clown Shoe” That Became a $2B Bonanza
How I Built This with Guy Raz
- Published
- February 2, 2026
- Duration
- 55:41
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Apr 17, 2026
Discusses business.
Summary
In the late 2000s, two French mountain athletes set out to build a running shoe that captured the feeling of flying. Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas “Nico” Mermoud had spent decades inside the innovation engine at Salomon—where product was obsession. In 2007, as Nico recovered from a brutal ultramarathon around Mont Blanc, the founders fixed on a problem that …
Show notes
In the late 2000s, two French mountain athletes set out to build a running shoe that captured the feeling of flying. Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas “Nico” Mermoud had spent decades inside the innovation engine at Salomon—where product was obsession. In 2007, as Nico recovered from a brutal ultramarathon around Mont Blanc, the founders fixed on a problem that Big Footwear didn’t care about: downhill running was destroying bodies. Their solution: make the shoe bigger, softer, and shaped like a rocker.
Themes
- business