David Allemann
Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman, On. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveoperatoron.com ↗
In 2010, David Allemann co-founded Swiss sportswear brand On alongside Olivier Bernhard and Caspar Coppetti, helping guide the business through early supply chain setup, brand marketing, and its 2021 public listing. He previously worked at McKinsey & Company, Young & Rubicam Switzerland, and served as Chief Marketing Officer at Vitra.
1shows
1appearances
17statements
3resolved
2supported
0contradicted
67%fully supported
2said about them ↓ Everything David Allemann said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Allemann: Roger Federer invested in On Running instead of taking cash endorsement
“But how about not us giving you money, but you giving us money and becoming a co-investor and a co-entrepreneur together with us and To our surprise, Roger said, yes, that's what I'm gonna do.”
Allemann: Perfection beats efficiency in product development over 80/20 optimization
“I feel doing something to perfection in many cases beats kind of optimizing for efficiency, especially when it comes to product. Not always true, but as somebody who's very much focused on product, I'm more 120%.”
Allemann: Living in safe, wealthy countries can inhibit entrepreneurial risk-taking
“If you're coming out of Switzerland, you're coming out of one of the richest, safest places on the planet. And that sometimes can be an inhibitor because then you're in such a safe place that you probably don't take risks anymore.”
Allemann: Hiring non-footwear designers enabled On to break shoe industry conventions
“We had asked Thilo because he's a product designer and Not a shoe designer. He had never designed a shoe. And so we felt that's a good fit with us because we also never were in the shoe business. So let's completely break conventions.”
Allemann: Minimalist Swiss design ultimately drove On's brand differentiation
“At the beginning people told us, don't do that, that you need the running shoe bling because that's gonna put you at a disadvantage and we did it anyhow. And so at first it probably was almost a little bit an inhibitor but it made it to a very distinctive desi…”
Allemann: Global sports brands must be firmly rooted in the US
“If you want to be a sports brand, you have to be in the U S and you have to be firmly rooted in the U S as you have to be in many other countries like Japan, UK.”
Allemann: Sportswear startups need retail partners because consumers distrust direct claims
“We feel it's much more effective if they talk about the shoe. If we talk about, there's been so much said about running shoes by so many different brands. If we go out there and say, hey, now we did the most amazing running shoe on the planet. Nobody will beli…”
Allemann: Frederik Van Lierde won 2013 Ironman World Championship in On prototype
“Fredrik von Lirde one of the top talents and contenders For the Ironman triathlon on Kona for the world championships he wore our shoe and it was a prototype. So Olivier was always cycling behind him on the running route because Olivier was afraid that the sho…”
David Allemann: Apparel will not sell if merely hung on hangers
“If you just hang apparel on a hanger, it's not gonna sell.”
Allemann: Successful retail maximizes customer interaction time over transaction time
“So people love it because it's maximizing the interaction time and not the transaction time.”
Allemann: On Running nearly died in 2013 following supplier bankruptcy
“In 2013 our production partners called me and said, Hey, David, we have a little problem. Just our factory went broke. So they're shut down and all the materials for Next season's production are already in there, but they haven't been assembled. And so that wa…”
Roger Federer spends 30 to 40 days a year at Onlabs
“It has turned into a fantastic partnership and friendship where he now probably spends 30 days, 30 to 40 days per year with us here in Onlabs, working on products and our we're completely aligned.”
Allemann: On Running waited too long to invest in broad brand awareness
“Probably back then it probably waited a little bit long until we started to invest into on being bigger out there and being also having this cultural relevance. And so the moment where we see you switch from building a grassroot level brand, To then also build…”
Allemann: On Running will expand into full-body apparel and tennis by 2028
“On in five years will be a global sports brand that still very much resonates with our core community, with runners, but also has built a second sport called tennis, and is happening for you on the full body. So not only shoes, but very much also apparel, beca…”
Allemann: On Running sold 50 pairs in its first D2C month in 2012
“In the first month, I think we sold 50 pairs of shoes back in 2000 and 12, I believe. And so we launched this D to C presence as well.”
Allemann: Half of On's leadership and all DTC regional leads are female
“If you look at our senior leadership team now today, these are roughly 10 people. Half of them are female. So actually all the regions D to C is all in female hands at On”
The other half of the tape: David Allemann's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 2 times in 2 episodes across the shows. every mention, with the transcript →
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2025 1 mention in 1 episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens David's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20VCLEDGER | Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman, On | 1 | 17 | 67% 2/3 | full record on 20VC → |