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Strava was modeled on Patagonia and Virgin rather than tech peers

Mark Gainey · Strava: Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath · May 2, 2022 · at 42:23

Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath, co-founders of Strava and previously Kana Communications, describe conceiving Strava in 2005–2006 after stepping away from enterprise software.

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“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 was all these iconic consumer brands. It was the Patagonias. There was a Virgin from the UK. It was these brands that had withstood the test of time, had been around for decades, but they just had a unique relationship with their consumer.”

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