Instead of iterating on existing shoe technology, the founders aimed to replicate the natural cushioning and feel of running on soft surfaces like lava ash or a bed of dead leaves. The goal was to build the ideal surface directly into the shoe itself.

A coach's criticism about athletes training barefoot—a threat to a shoe company—sparked an "aha moment." Instead of dismissing it, Nike innovated by creating a shoe that replicated the benefits of barefoot running, thereby capturing the user's intent and creating a new product category.

Product inspiration can come from unexpected places. On Running's CPO points to the perfume industry's ability to sell an intangible feeling through packaging and branding as a key lesson in creating an emotional connection with consumers, even for highly functional products like running shoes.

The core innovation wasn't about general comfort. It stemmed from co-founder Nico Mermoud's body "falling apart" specifically during the downhill portions of a 101-mile race, identifying a precise, high-pain problem to solve with technology.

The founders deliberately crafted a customer journey with four sequential "wow" moments: seeing the unique design, feeling its unexpected lightness, experiencing the immediate comfort upon wearing, and finally, feeling the effortless performance while running.

To counteract the potential instability of a thick, soft sole, HOKA designed the midsole to wrap up and around the foot, much like a bucket seat holds a driver. This created a stable "cockpit" for the foot, a key innovation over traditional designs where the foot sits on top.

Instead of trying to invent everything in-house, HOKA's founders understood that in the footwear industry, the true innovators are often the materials suppliers. They leveraged deep relationships to convince foam manufacturers to create a new, softer material that hadn't been done before.

HOKA's shoes looked so strange that they risked being dismissed as a gimmick. They overcame this by getting elite ultra-runners to adopt them almost immediately. High-performance validation from respected figures gave the weird-looking product instant credibility.

After developing a biomechanically superior shoe, a Nike researcher observed a female athlete viewing it from the top down, not the side. This revealed a crucial, unarticulated consumer behavior—mimicking how they see shoes in a store—which prompted a change in the product's exterior design.