Simpatico

VC thesis · HOKA → target #2 of 8

Brooks Running

Premium performance-focused running brand providing biomechanically engineered footwear for committed runners.

Founded 1914 · Parent: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · Competes with Asics, Saucony, Hoka, New Balance · Partnerships: Staple Design

Corporate details are Qloo entity data.

Advance
69.2F / 100
70% of the weighted evidence measured

Why this verdict

F 69.2 >= 67 and no red flags.

Scores, flags and verdicts are computed in code. The agents can only argue with the ledger; they never set the score.

Six audience metrics

Bar = this target; tick = shortlist average.

m1 Two-way audience affinity
0.91
Harmonic mean of the buyer audience’s affinity for the target and the target audience’s affinity for the buyer’s brands.
m2 Taste-profile overlap
0.28
Rank-weighted overlap of the two audiences’ top-50 cultural taste tags.
m3 Cross-domain agreement
0.89
How strongly the target’s audience embraces the buyer audience’s favourite artists, shows, films and podcasts.
m4 Demographic alignment
0.84
Similarity of the two audiences’ age and gender over-index profiles.
m5 Geographic footprint
0.43
Correlation of metro-level audience affinity, relative to the screened cohort.
m6 Momentum not measured
n/a
Trending rank change over the last 4 weeks vs the 8 before, relative to the cohort.
Qloo's trending series did not move for this brand or the cohort in the 12 weeks to 2026-10-23, so momentum is not measurable for this window.

How F is built

Points each metric adds (weights for VC thesis, renormalised over what Qloo could measure).

MetricWeightPoints
Two-way audience affinity0.2532.4
Taste-profile overlap0.156.0
Cross-domain agreement0.1012.8
Demographic alignment0.1011.9
Geographic footprint0.106.2
Momentumnot measured–
F69.2

Qloo explainability: the buyer-side signals driving the forward affinity are HOKA (0.27), On (0.25), Tracksmith (0.25), Athletic Brewing Co (0.23).

Shared catalogue categories (Qloo compare): Fashion, Footwear, Athletic, Accessories, Innovative, Active.

Where the audiences meet, across culture

The buyer audience’s top titles in each domain, ranked by how strongly Brooks Running’s audience embraces them.

Music0.84
Embraced: Tom Petty, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jason Isbell · Least shared: Shakey Graves, Greyhounds, Alabama Shakes
TV0.95
Embraced: The Amazing Race, Survivor, American Ninja Warrior · Least shared: Old Enough!, Alone Australia, Claim to Fame
Film0.89
Embraced: The Dawn Wall, Free Solo, The Peanut Butter Falcon · Least shared: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, The Wall: Climb for Gold, The Alpinist
Podcasts0.90
Embraced: Ali on the Run Show, I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast, C Tolle Run · Least shared: FoundMyFitness, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Model Health Show

Taste profile overlap

25 of 75 top taste tags shared.

Both over-index on
folkfriendshipTourist attractionrockindiefriendcountryPark
Buyer only

Shrimp Tacos, anime animation, british, Bar, Steak Tartare

Brooks Running only

new york city, Christian Music, competition, small town, Seafood

Audience shape

HOKA (buyer) Brooks Running
-0.78-0.390.00+0.39+0.78≤2425–2930–3435–4445–5455+MenWomen

Relative over-index (+) or under-index (−) of each aggregate audience, from Qloo. Not individual data.

Momentum

Qloo's trending series did not move for this brand or the cohort in the 12 weeks to 2026-10-23, so momentum is not measurable for this window.

Footprint overlap for distribution

White space: Brooks Running strong, buyer weak Shared stronghold Other metros
White space

Birmingham, Oklahoma City, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Columbus, San Antonio, Atlanta

Shared strongholds

Pittsburgh

Bull vs bear

No debate on this run.

IC memo

Number check passed: 10 number(s), all in the evidence ledger.Written from the ledger template

Brooks Running: ADVANCE

VC thesis screen for HOKA. Ranked #2 of 8 on composite audience fit. Composite fit F 69.2. Rule: F 69.2 >= 67 and no red flags.

MetricValueCoverage
Two-way audience affinity0.91full
Taste-profile overlap0.28full
Cross-domain agreement0.89full
Demographic alignment0.84full
Geographic footprint0.43full
Momentumn/anot measured

Shared taste. Both audiences over-index on: folk, friendship, Tourist attraction, rock, indie. Across culture. The buyer audience's favourites this audience embraces most. Music: Tom Petty, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; TV: The Amazing Race, Survivor; Film: The Dawn Wall, Free Solo; Podcasts: Ali on the Run Show, I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast. Footprint white space. Metros where the target's audience over-indexes and the buyer's doesn't: Birmingham, Oklahoma City, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis.

Red flags. None raised by the code rules.

Aggregate audience affinities from Qloo, not predictions about individuals. Not investment advice.

Provenance: 29 Qloo calls behind this target

Requests as sent (the API key travels in a header and is never logged). Responses are cached privately on the server.

PurposeEndpointStatusResultSource
/v2/insightsok23 of 23 candidates scoredcache
/v2/insightsok23 profile(s)cache
/v2/insightsok50 taste tag(s)cache
/v2/insightsok25 recommended podcast(s)cache
/v2/insightsok25 recommended tv_show(s)cache
/v2/insightsokdemographics for 12 of 12 entitiescache
/v2/insightsok8330 heatmap cell(s) in United Statescache
/v2/insightsok25 recommended artist(s)cache
/v2/insightsok25 recommended movie(s)cache
/v2/trendingempty0 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok26 trend point(s)cache
/v2/insightsok4 of 4 candidates scoredcache
/v2/insightsok50 taste tag(s)cache
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredcache
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredcache
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredcache
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredcache
/v2/analysis/compareok35 shared catalogue tag(s)cache
/v2/insightsok8257 heatmap cell(s) in United Statescache
Evidence rows (what bull, bear and the judge see)
[
 {
  "id": "t6-flags",
  "label": "Red flags (code rules)",
  "data": {
   "flags": []
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {}
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m1",
  "label": "m1 Two-way audience affinity",
  "data": {
   "a": 0.9250882967431556,
   "b": 0.8877526156191715,
   "ratio": 0.9596409539981997,
   "value": 0.9060359897132331,
   "reverse": [
    {
     "id": "B7F13D5E-36A8-4AC4-A5A6-E949DED54050",
     "name": "HOKA",
     "affinity": 0.9412446515163498
    },
    {
     "id": "CCE5E494-2690-42BA-9A52-3110AE273676",
     "name": "On",
     "affinity": 0.894925275105862
    },
    {
     "id": "F1545668-5556-4111-8A2E-AC787DD7503A",
     "name": "Tracksmith",
     "affinity": 0.8890511785554032
    },
    {
     "id": "D962C4A9-93FB-433E-B11C-E9BF7029BFE5",
     "name": "Athletic Brewing Co",
     "affinity": 0.8257893572990712
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "a": 0.9318242178599573,
   "b": 0.8942579218903515,
   "ratio": 0.9596907599606054,
   "value": 0.9126545976467968
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m2",
  "label": "m2 Taste-profile overlap",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.28012048192771083,
   "shared": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:folk",
     "name": "folk",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:friendship",
     "name": "friendship",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:place:tourist_attraction",
     "name": "Tourist attraction",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:rock",
     "name": "rock",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:indie",
     "name": "indie",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:friend",
     "name": "friend",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:country",
     "name": "country",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:place:park",
     "name": "Park",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:place"
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1,
   "buyerOnly": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place:shrimp_tacos",
     "name": "Shrimp Tacos",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:anime_animation",
     "name": "anime animation",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:british",
     "name": "british",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:place:restaurant:bar",
     "name": "Bar",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place:steak_tartare",
     "name": "Steak Tartare",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place"
    }
   ],
   "targetOnly": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:new_york_city",
     "name": "new york city",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:christian_music",
     "name": "Christian Music",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:competition",
     "name": "competition",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:small_town",
     "name": "small town",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place:seafood",
     "name": "Seafood",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place"
    }
   ],
   "unionCount": 75,
   "sharedCount": 25,
   "buyerTop20MissingShare": 0.4
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.2923883996049556,
   "sharedCount": 25.125,
   "buyerTop20MissingShare": 0.41250000000000003
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m3",
  "label": "m3 Cross-domain agreement",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.8940819951685067,
   "domains": [
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:artist",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "Shakey Graves",
       "affinity": 0.8117854156243671
      },
      {
       "name": "Greyhounds",
       "affinity": 0.8157818979207434
      },
      {
       "name": "Alabama Shakes",
       "affinity": 0.8170280267957333
      }
     ],
     "label": "Music",
     "score": 0.8437771543737475,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Tom Petty",
       "affinity": 0.9008131422726126
      },
      {
       "name": "Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit",
       "affinity": 0.8683282153706254
      },
      {
       "name": "Jason Isbell",
       "affinity": 0.8678405197133015
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:tv_show",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "Old Enough!",
       "affinity": 0.9273599383962413
      },
      {
       "name": "Alone Australia",
       "affinity": 0.9359276708111073
      },
      {
       "name": "Claim to Fame",
       "affinity": 0.937544659262504
      }
     ],
     "label": "TV",
     "score": 0.9480451847048381,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "The Amazing Race",
       "affinity": 0.9820840013610668
      },
      {
       "name": "Survivor",
       "affinity": 0.9723248410955394
      },
      {
       "name": "American Ninja Warrior",
       "affinity": 0.9626008004763674
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:movie",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley",
       "affinity": 0.8623389551482001
      },
      {
       "name": "The Wall: Climb for Gold",
       "affinity": 0.8639880166494242
      },
      {
       "name": "The Alpinist",
       "affinity": 0.8649303482550018
      }
     ],
     "label": "Film",
     "score": 0.8862696404310665,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "The Dawn Wall",
       "affinity": 0.9252311731172264
      },
      {
       "name": "Free Solo",
       "affinity": 0.9189075175364174
      },
      {
       "name": "The Peanut Butter Falcon",
       "affinity": 0.9093960616694242
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:podcast",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "FoundMyFitness",
       "affinity": 0.8185756554634044
      },
      {
       "name": "The Tim Ferriss Show",
       "affinity": 0.8202057107927995
      },
      {
       "name": "The Model Health Show",
       "affinity": 0.8553926123988844
      }
     ],
     "label": "Podcasts",
     "score": 0.8982360011643752,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Ali on the Run Show",
       "affinity": 0.9780693026704661
      },
      {
       "name": "I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast",
       "affinity": 0.9630094492044116
      },
      {
       "name": "C Tolle Run",
       "affinity": 0.944149119249285
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
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   "domains[0].score": 0.8671579273614827,
   "domains[1].score": 0.9184741196444983,
   "domains[2].score": 0.8852859286874863,
   "domains[3].score": 0.8872262523719755
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m4",
  "label": "m4 Demographic alignment",
  "data": {
   "buyer": {
    "male": 0.33,
    "female": -0.33,
    "25_to_29": -0.34,
    "30_to_34": -0.3025,
    "35_to_44": 0.15500000000000003,
    "45_to_54": 0.455,
    "55_and_older": -0.78,
    "24_and_younger": 0.05499999999999999
   },
   "value": 0.8353336263505284,
   "cosine": 0.670667252701057,
   "target": {
    "male": -0.02,
    "female": 0.02,
    "25_to_29": -0.14,
    "30_to_34": 0.23,
    "35_to_44": 0.16,
    "45_to_54": 0.19,
    "55_and_older": -0.7000000000000001,
    "24_and_younger": -0.18
   },
   "coverage": 1,
   "biggestGap": {
    "buyer": -0.3025,
    "bucket": "30_to_34",
    "target": 0.23
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  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
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   "cosine": 0.34860352001735756
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 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m5",
  "label": "m5 Geographic footprint",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.43085078841766167,
   "coverage": 1,
   "metroCount": 55,
   "whiteSpace": [
    {
     "lat": 33.5186,
     "lon": -86.8104,
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     "metro": "Birmingham",
     "target": 0.9339795230759044,
     "buyerRel": -0.03920707746193042,
     "targetRel": 0.1474330495366647
    },
    {
     "lat": 35.4676,
     "lon": -97.5164,
     "buyer": 0.7735162122542768,
     "metro": "Oklahoma City",
     "target": 0.9504078056574179,
     "buyerRel": -0.043529799042807404,
     "targetRel": 0.13336179436033369
    },
    {
     "lat": 38.2527,
     "lon": -85.7585,
     "buyer": 0.8157297774752361,
     "metro": "Louisville",
     "target": 0.9477902740818406,
     "buyerRel": -0.003321613807734547,
     "targetRel": 0.1287388827988699
    },
    {
     "lat": 36.1627,
     "lon": -86.7816,
     "buyer": 0.8297116121273177,
     "metro": "Nashville",
     "target": 0.9530930648243915,
     "buyerRel": 0.00036454154250431525,
     "targetRel": 0.1237459942395781
    },
    {
     "lat": 35.1495,
     "lon": -90.049,
     "buyer": 0.7524965372047269,
     "metro": "Memphis",
     "target": 0.9103999021882233,
     "buyerRel": -0.036056674130995,
     "targetRel": 0.12184669085250144
    },
    {
     "lat": 39.9612,
     "lon": -82.9988,
     "buyer": 0.8547156102257165,
     "metro": "Columbus",
     "target": 0.9669494714305576,
     "buyerRel": 0.002110285898252573,
     "targetRel": 0.11434414710309371
    },
    {
     "lat": 29.4241,
     "lon": -98.4936,
     "buyer": 0.8118544272353817,
     "metro": "San Antonio",
     "target": 0.9600433463298629,
     "buyerRel": -0.0346051804586317,
     "targetRel": 0.11358373863584947
    },
    {
     "lat": 33.749,
     "lon": -84.388,
     "buyer": 0.846706920331274,
     "metro": "Atlanta",
     "target": 0.9596643435726769,
     "buyerRel": -0.00019490616335715583,
     "targetRel": 0.11276251707804574
    }
   ],
   "correlation": -0.13829842316467664,
   "strongholds": [
    {
     "lat": 40.4406,
     "lon": -79.9959,
     "buyer": 0.8767029097139056,
     "metro": "Pittsburgh",
     "target": 0.9719463805815544,
     "buyerRel": 0.026808800073103045,
     "targetRel": 0.12205227094075177
    }
   ],
   "whiteSpaceCount": 10,
   "relativeToCohort": true
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.4686152548508794,
   "correlation": -0.06276949029824112
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m6",
  "label": "m6 Momentum",
  "data": {
   "z": null,
   "note": "Qloo's trending series did not move for this brand or the cohort in the 12 weeks to 2026-10-23, so momentum is not measurable for this window.",
   "value": null,
   "priorSd": null,
   "coverage": 0,
   "priorMean": null,
   "normalised": true,
   "recentMean": null
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {}
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-profile",
  "label": "Qloo entity profile: Brooks Running",
  "data": {
   "name": "Brooks Running",
   "drivers": [
    {
     "name": "HOKA",
     "score": 0.265063891380334
    },
    {
     "name": "On",
     "score": 0.25201989252425006
    },
    {
     "name": "Tracksmith",
     "score": 0.25036568828787004
    },
    {
     "name": "Athletic Brewing Co",
     "score": 0.23255052780754595
    }
   ],
   "ownership": "part_of_other",
   "keyMarkets": [
    "United States",
    "Europe",
    "Japan"
   ],
   "popularity": 0.9722839077147362,
   "screenRank": 6,
   "foundedYear": 1914,
   "priceRangeUsd": [
    90,
    200
   ],
   "ultimateParent": "Berkshire Hathaway Inc.",
   "forwardAffinity": 0.9250882967431556,
   "competitorBrands": [
    "Asics",
    "Saucony",
    "Hoka",
    "New Balance",
    "Mizuno"
   ],
   "sharedCategories": [
    {
     "name": "Fashion",
     "score": 0.7307481702311143
    },
    {
     "name": "Footwear",
     "score": 0.7301438218533568
    },
    {
     "name": "Athletic",
     "score": 0.7289855573312215
    },
    {
     "name": "Accessories",
     "score": 0.728376010988578
    },
    {
     "name": "Innovative",
     "score": 0.7274399203995217
    },
    {
     "name": "Active",
     "score": 0.7273849283473037
    }
   ],
   "knownPartnerships": [
    "Staple Design"
   ],
   "marketPositioning": "Premium performance-focused running brand providing biomechanically engineered footwear for committed runners."
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {}
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-score",
  "label": "Composite score",
  "data": {
   "F": 69.22195867301923,
   "points": {
    "m1": 32.35842820404404,
    "m2": 6.002581755593804,
    "m3": 12.77259993097867,
    "m4": 11.933337519293264,
    "m5": 6.155011263109453,
    "m6": 0
   },
   "coverage": 0.7
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "F": 67.89531664857634,
   "coverage": 0.7000000000000001
  }
 }
]