Lessons from Ronnie Fieg: Understanding Resonance, Creation, and Scale
Good morning founder,
Ronnie Fieg built Kith from a single NYC sneaker store into a global cultural powerhouse. His journey offers profound insights on product, creativity, and scale that every founder should study.
Listening to this recent conversation with Ronnie and Patrick O'Shaughnessy on a walk out in the cold Norwegian winter, I found these four insights starting a fire inside of me. I want to share with you these four nuggets you can use going forward in your creative, founding pursuits. Enjoy.
I. Striking the Chord: The Art of Cultural Resonance
"It's kind of like playing an instrument where you just get better at understanding what people want to hear from that instrument and how things sound... through my career, it's developed and become a life of its own in the sense of who we shoot, why we shoot them, and what the content ends up turning out to be."
The best creators develop an intuitive sense for what resonates. Ronnie started in the mid-90s at David Z, where he helped Jay-Z who’d come in every weekend for construction Timberlands. This was Ronnie’s masterclass in understanding cultural connection.
"I got to meet with a lot of people who viewed the process the same way I did... And everything is so purposeful. There's nothing that happens without a great reason for it to happen."
His understanding crossed all cultural lines. He noticed taste patterns in tourists, Village locals, and helped Lauryn Hill understand GORE-TEX. Each human he served shaped a deeper ability to pattern recognize.
"I got to get into people's heads to understand why they like certain products and why they were buying certain products. And when you help thousands of people, imagine then learning the inner workings of people's brains, of why they like things."
The key is understanding deeper patterns in what makes people love products. For Fieg, this meant seeing what people saw as familiar, and how to deliver it in new ways. Strike this perfect balance. Take something culturally familiar and present it through fresh glasses.
II. The DNA of Great Creators
"I think for every incredible creator in this world, and we're talking about creators in any category, whether it's architecture or art or music or product—anything—any great creator is basically sharing his or her DNA with the world of their experience that is then translated through product."
Products people love come from founders who translate their unique life experiences and taste into products others can connect with and love. The intriguing thing is that there are only a few people who have enough of the burning desire to send something out into the hands of others. This is the defining trait of creators. Ronnie's journey to creator from collector:
"I think it's familiarity but without knowing that they were looking for that specific feeling. When you're able to give them that feeling, but it feels familiar, I think that that's what we've been able to do so well—is understand what people would want before they know they want it."
The depth of this understanding went beyond just sneakers. While everyone focused on athletic footwear, Ronnie immersed himself in Italian boot craftsmanship. His AIM screen name was even "DoloCollector" - a nod to his obsession with Dolomite boots that others overlooked.
Great creation comes from authentically sharing your unique experiences and perspective. Fieg's success stems from his deep product knowledge gained from years on retail floors, understanding how people interact with and value different items. Your unique journey and insights are your greatest asset.
III. Decision Making as Sport
"Through time, making decisions becomes a sport. That's the way I look at it. And my life revolves around that sport... Some people may consider that a really boring life. But if I need to be a great decision-maker and make decisions that I won't regret, I need to be on my A-game."
Building anything meaningful requires thousands of decisions. What's fascinating is how Ronnie views the relationship between personal and brand decision-making:
"The decisions that I make are on behalf of the brand, not on behalf of myself. But I've been spending so much time on the brand that now comes second nature. I'm able to make those decisions easily because now what's right for the brand is right for myself."
This alignment only comes through dedication:
"Through time, making decisions becomes a sport... if I need to be a great decision-maker and make decisions that I won't regret, I need to be on my A-game."
Athletes practice free throws until it's instinct; founders practice decision-making until it's instinct. Sacrifice other things to stay in peak performance.
IV. The Art of True Collaboration
"My love for the product that I work on, they can't doubt the passion that I have for it. Once we sit down and we figure out what the storytelling will be, it always comes from wanting to celebrate the brand I work with, not from wanting to put my version of it above their history and heritage."
Ronnie is a master collaborator.
"You have the greatest suit makers in the world all in one city... That's the greatest suit maker in the history of mankind. I'm working with the greatest suit maker of all time. That's like, you put on a Giorgio suit, and there's nowhere to go from there."
This reverence for craft is tightly connected with innovation. His products are an expression of the former.
Great collaborations come from deep mutual respect. Whether working, Ronnie approaches each relationship by first honoring their heritage while finding first principle ways of new value.
V. The Deeper Philosophy: Building Something That Matters
Beyond stories, Ronnie's approach includes deeper insights about building enduring brands. His core philosophical principles connect into a framework for any founder looking to create value. When reading the following, think “How does this apply to me?”:
On Pure Creation:
"Nothing is done for business purposes in the sense of what we create. We don't create for the sake of business; we create for the sake of what people will love."
By focusing singularly on creation in product phase rather than business, you increase the chance of people genuinely connect with the product. When you’re close to culture like Ronnie, what’s authentic to you will connect with others.
On Maintaining Standards:
"It's people that need to check their ego at the door and understand that if the work is not up to par, they need to go back to the drawing board until it is."
High standards build a culture where excellence is the only acceptable outcome.
On Consistent Vision:
"The consistency, I think, is what makes the biggest difference... the evolution has been easy to see and easy for the consumer to transition when they see that the vision has been consistent."
Evolution without confusion. The directions become iterations when guided by clear vision.
Clear vision turns directions into iterations. Ultimately this becomes a timeless evolution.
Ronnie creates products from a place of love, and uncompromising standards. From his unique experiences he’s built: intentionality, understanding of an audience, expression of unique vision, decision making, and mastery of collaboration.
That's how you build something that matters.
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Hi Alf thanks for condensing and breaking down the valuable learning points to be gleanned from Ronnie Fieg's experience.