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

**Harry Stebbings** (0:00)
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 satiate my own loves and passions, and I love On Running. And so I jumped at the chance to have Gérald Marolf, CPO at On Running on the show. Gérald oversees the full range of On's shoes, apparel and accessories to make sure they deliver performance, comfort and style, so incredible athletes like me can play at our top, top level. Before On, Gérald spent over a decade building consumer brands with collaborators like Microsoft and Ferrari. This was a phenomenal off the cuff discussion. I always want it to be the best show for you. So let me know what I can do to make it better. harry at 20vc.com But before we dive into the show today, Secure Frame empowers businesses to build trust with customers by simplifying information security and compliance through AI and automation. Thousands of fast growing businesses including Nasdaq, AngelList, Doodle and Coda trust Secure Frame to expedite their compliance journey for global security and privacy standards such as SOC2 and ISO 27001, CMMC, MIS standards and more. Backed by top tier investors and corporations like Google and Kleiner Perkins, the company is among Forbes' list of the top 100 startup employers for 2024 G2's Best Software Awards for Higher Satisfaction Products and a recipient of the 2024 Cyber Security Excellence Awards, something I definitely never got in school myself. Learn more today at secureframe.com. Once Secure Frame locked it all down, HMC, they hand you the keys to scale it up. Harvard Management Company is constantly seeking out the next generation of great investors and entrepreneurs. HMC has managed Harvard University's endowment for nearly 50 years and was one of the first institutional investors in Venture Capital. Their experience and long-term investment horizon makes them ideal partners to get world-changing ideas on a path to viability and success. They work as a true partner, providing insightful perspectives to help managers succeed. I personally have had the pleasure of working with the HMC team and can say that they are truly exceptional partners and savvy investors. So whether you're launching your first fund or your fifth, HMC welcomes the opportunity to partner with both developing and established managers. Have an idea you want to share with the team? Just send it over to ventureathmc.harvard.edu.
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**Gérald Marolf** (3:15)
You have now arrived at your destination.

**Harry Stebbings** (3:19)
Gérald, I am such a fan of On. I think the product suite that you have today is one of my favorites. I was so keen to make this happen. So thank you so much for joining me today.

**Gérald Marolf** (3:29)
Thank you for having me, Harry. It's a pleasure to be here.

**Harry Stebbings** (3:32)
It's a bit of a weird start, but when did you realize you first loved the craft of product? And what does product and good product mean to you?

**Gérald Marolf** (3:42)
I think the idea of good product, at least for me, started with something slightly weird, which is perfume. Perfume, for me, was the unlock in terms of that. Why do you sell something that is just a smell and create a bottle and something around it that people actually crave for it?

**Harry Stebbings** (4:00)
What was it about that that you found captivating specifically?

**Gérald Marolf** (4:04)
Well, why do you buy a smell, right? It activates a lot in the human brain and it becomes part of you. But you leave a lot to the consumer when you do fragrances. And you probably leave too much to the consumer because how much they use it, how often, and then you lose the smell of it. But first things first, I think you mostly fall in love with the product, packaging, the bottle, whatever it is. And that was already there, 80s, 90s, before everyone started to create all the beauty and everything behind that. I think the fragrance industry was pioneering basically that.