Insight
Users join Strava for single-player tracking before engaging with the community
“As people have joined Strava historically, they often don't join because they're trying to join the community. They join because they're looking for a way to track their own personal activities. And I often refer to it as single player mode versus multiplayer …”
Insight
Successful businesses share identical principles while failing businesses fail uniquely
“The good businesses were Had a set of principles that were almost identical. It was really fascinating, but the bad businesses, there were a million reasons why they were in trouble.”
Insight
Gainey: Board service is like junk food because advisors cannot execute
“I love to equate being on boards to eating junk food and I'll be the first to attest. I like junk food. Like I will occasionally have it. And so in the moment being at a board, Can feel really good. You're contributing, you're having interesting intellectual c…”
Insight
Founders should not confuse company vision with go-to-market strategy
“I always remind people, don't get confused between vision and go to market.”
Insight
Building for the best athletes in the world inspires broader adoption
“And we used to have a phrase, you know, let's make sure we build it for the best in the world and meet their needs. Because if we do, they're the ones who inspire so many others to then join the platform.”
Assertion Supported
Strava experimented with in-feed ads and data insights between 2017 and 2019
“However, during that period from 17 to 19, we were experimenting across a lot of monetization models. We were looking at, frankly, we were looking at ads in the feed for the first time in Strava's history. We were looking at data insights.”
Insight
Free users provide core product value by sharing their daily activities
“Our free members are not just a marketing channel. Our free members are contributing their activities to Strava every day, which enhances the experience. For everybody else.”
Opinion
Gainey: Strava rejects ad models where users become the product
“We watched Social Dilemma recently, Guy, and, you know, this notion of if you're not buying the product, you are the product. And I really, we believe deeply in that thesis at Strava. We're convinced that there is a capacity within this FIT community to contin…”
Insight
Individual overexertion disrupts collective team rhythm and speed
“But just the fact that he was actually working harder than everybody else completely threw off our entire system and the sort of the rhythm that we had. And as soon as we got him to just actually relax and calm down, that boat took off like a rocket. And to me…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Major 1990s tech companies had no solution for incoming customer emails
“When we made those calls out to these other companies, nobody had a solution. Nobody was, they all had a huge problem.”
Assertion Contradicted
Kana Communications signed million-dollar contracts within a year of launch
“And within a year, we were doing million dollar contracts.”
Assertion Supported
Kana Communications peaked at an $11 billion market cap
“I believe it was just under eleven billion was the market confidence peak.”
Insight
Financial independence does not mean one should stop working entirely
“I also learned that just because you're set financially doesn't mean you shouldn't keep working. When I don't work, I tend to have problems arise in my life. So I like to stay busy professionally as well as personally.”
Disclosure
Strava founders negotiated with Costco to source Garmins for early users
“There was a whole period of time where Michael and I were negotiating with the likes of Costco and others, just literally trying to buy Garmins so that we could Either sell them or give them away to friends so that we could get people onto the platform.”
Assertion Supported
Strava adds two million new members to its platform every month
“Now we add two million every month”
Assertion Supported
Strava shipped 70 new features to its platform throughout 2020
“We added 70 new features throughout 2020”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gainey funded Harvard living expenses by selling nine-cent hot dogs for $2
“And we figured out that, you know, for nine cents, which was the cost of a bun and a hot dog, we could turn around and sell that for two dollars at these local sporting events. And that was great. I mean, that's how I paid for all my meals and spending while I…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Strava's first business plan was written in 1995 as Kana Sports
“The honest answer is the first business plan was written in late 1995. It just wasn't called Strava. It was called Kana Sports.”
Assertion Contradicted
Kana Communications grew to over 1,200 employees by summer 2000
“I mean, it went from two guys and a dog hanging out in an office to, I know when I left in the summer of 2000, we had just over 1200 employees, so.”
Disclosure
Strava was modeled on Patagonia and Virgin rather than tech peers
“We made a list of if we had been founders of XYZ company, what would it have been? And it was telling because It wasn't a bunch of Silicon Valley companies. I don't think there was, I mean, maybe, maybe we put Apple on there. I can't remember, but otherwise it…”
Disclosure
Strava abandoned its purely distributed model to open a Palo Alto office
“Well, we were committed to the distributed model but as soon as we began the process of hiring folks, we also believed in the power of face-to-face and, you know, being in person. So, so we opened a small office in Palo Alto.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Strava's 2008 prototype was beta-tested by roughly twelve cyclists
“Summer of 2008. We had a group of individuals. I think maybe no more than a half a dozen cyclists on the east coast out in Hanover and another half dozen cyclists that we recruited on the west coast. And Davey had built a very basic website and we used to call…”
Assertion Supported
Strava launched its paid subscription option within its first year
“We launched the subscription within that first year. So it was always there.”
Assertion Supported
Gainey handed the Strava CEO role to Horvath in 2010
“And so by early 2010, it was, hey, Michael, I really need you to run this.”
