Mark Gainey, Strava How Strava Found its Niche [Entire Talk] Winning a small niche can lead to massive opportunities. And yet, we always come back to a very simple answer, which is our best growth is word of mouth. But he was always my co-founder and engaged at Kana. You had to do it other than just to race, and really. She said, I talk to way too many entrepreneurs who, when I ask them about who their customer is, they say, Well, look, here. They had a very unique model in that they always found established, entrepreneur-owned, growing, profitable businessesthe exact opposite of what you actually find in Silicon Valley. This was 95. In a . San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley), This describes the type of investor the person is (e.g. The company soon enough expanded the focus of its GPS data tracking and social networking platform to also encompass running. Inch Wide, Mile Deep. Holding a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University and an A.B. I said, No way am I going to go, this kid from Reno, not even an interest. It was my father who was like, You do not have to go. And if we do those two things, things like liquidity and so forth are byproducts of doing those well. MG: Weve always had the freemium business model, where you could use some component of Strava for free, or you could upgrade. Anybody sitting in this Starbucks could be a potential customer. I mean, the beauty is anybody who would have a need. Personal Investments Number of Investments 1 Mark Gainey invested in Teamsportz on Aug 13, 2021. So I tend to focus on one thing, but I know I can only do it for x-period of time. Id love to introduce you to our program. There is an active lifestyle in a good way. Whether it was making sure we could join the local ski program early on, or supporting my love for soccer as a kid, and traveling all over the West Coast, they were always behind me. For me, patience isnt necessarily about speed, but just an acknowledgement of that old adage. MeetStrava the fitness social network designed by athletes for athletes. Were focused on developing a profitable growing business and getting people excited about it. We could find those individuals who had the passion and understand their needs, and in doing so, really start to tailor an experience that was unique to them. What do you do to stay grounded? That was what drove me, but I think it was also the great coaches, Ray Hays and Peter Duffy. Over the coming months, Strava was focused on increasing its reach vis--vis integrations with other devices such as Google's Fitbit. He was such a good partner because he was the yin to my yang. Even with IPOs. Mark Gainey Portola Valley, CA Follow on Strava Followers 2051 Following 323 Yesterday Hello 2023! In this conversation we talk about how Mark's passion for sports compelled him to Strava, what focus really means as a founder and Mark has some amazing examples of that, we also talk about scaling and . Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Every day I was losing another CR and I was thinking, Who is this guy? MG: We get really excited about the future there. Then we thought perhaps if another member rides that same climb, maybe we can show how they compare against each other. I had dreams of, Could I make one of those lightweight teams? For a limited time, my listeners can get 25% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/richroll. I was recruited to run cross country and showed up with a stress fracture, so I was unable to run my freshman year. ? It wasnt as though we had this masterplan about how this was going to cover the entire world. He started telling me his story, and to this dayhe doesnt even know thishe is one of my key mentors in life. The company raised $110 million . In order to verify the travellers identity online, they proposed a video identification system that automatically verifies electronic and physical security features of identity documents. If someone told me people would be making marriage proposals on Strava when we started Id have said, What are you smoking? And people are saying yes! To subscribe, or for other enquiries, please contact us. We did. Your patience and deliberateness while building the Strava brand and community are unique. . How can we develop Strava so members have more of a voice? It turned out that the idea was sound, but the technology wasnt there. Cyc: What has all the Strava data taught you about cyclists? That being said, starting Kana and Strava were two different experiences. There was this esprit de corps. 1w. The thing I refer to nowthe boys will even joke with me, I call it SOB disease. Dont ask me to identify an artist. The social aspects of Strava . What got you into competitive sports in high school? Hopefully some of that stuffs rubbing off. You get injured. The arrival of phones with GPS and activity tracking technology such as Garmin put. Watch on Mark Gainey is the Co-Founder of Strava, the #1 app for runners and cyclists. What distinguishes Strava from other fitness trackers and social media platforms is the positive emotional connection it engenders. Born in Denver, Colorado, but raised in Reno, Nevada. Strava did that. I am not being compensated in any way for hosting Mark and Michael on the show. At that point, it was a pretty easy choice, just the opportunity to be in that boathouse with a national-caliber team, and to learn a new sport. Then he had a really interesting career where he left his private practice, but went to work at the Veterans Administration, where he became much more of a mentor instructor. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify. Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath were two friends from college with a good idea and bad timing: in 1995, they set out to create a digital community where athletes could chart their progress and actively compete with one another. MG: If you go back to our roots, Michael and I were really interested in creating a trusted consumer brand. Its early days but we are working with dozens of cities around the world looking at how we can improve bike-ped infrastructure with bicycle pathways and pedestrian causeways. They werent necessarily athletes, but they allowed me to pursue that passion. Strava attempts to end the loneliness of the long-distance runner (and cyclist) Chief executive Mark Gainey tells Ben Wright how the app is building a sporting network just like Facebook built a . I think my balance has come in huge chunks. Pretty quickly, it was clear I wasnt going to be rowing again, and I needed to move on to a new chapter. They inspired us and were good runners in their own right. My dads a San Francisco native, born and raised in the city, and my mom was on the Peninsula. Insights Like many of the things born in Silicon Valley, you might say Strava, the favorite app of millions of athletes, is a happy accident. MG: my business partner and co-founder, Michael Horvath met when we were on the crew team in college and the experience we had on the team was critical to everything going forward. He wrote this note saying, Hey, we saw your results. Breaking down the business of fitness and wellness. Hannah Ferrier also comes out on top . Dad did his residency in Denver, and I think they fell in love with the Rockies, and so the opportunity to be in the mountains, but closer to family, was compelling. He was busy raising a family. Cyclist: You first had the idea for Strava in the 1990s but only launched it in 2009. Youre just getting started. They had been competitive rowers at Harvard, and both missed rowing life: its competition. In fact, a key takeaway from the dot-com era, internet 1.0, is from this funny phrase: Oh, yeah, what a rocket ship. I used to remind everybody, Yeah, and what happens to rocket ships once they run out of fuel? Its as simple as that.. Cyc: What about helping people find new routes? Thats my customer. And her eyes lit up because she said that kind of focusnow I could go have a conversation with them. I think it was a great way for him to end his career. We both rowed crew at Harvard in the late '80s and thrived on the camaraderie and motivation of training with teammates. Net Worth: $2 Million Date of Birth: Jan 18, 1948 (75 years old) Place of Birth: Jackson Gender: Male Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) Profession: Actor, Comedian, Voice Actor, Stand-up comedian. Friendship ensued, but after graduation they pursued disparate paths. Did you have extended family in the area? She called this the Starbucks phenomenon. They were kind enough to let me figure that out. Do you keep in touch with any of your running teammates? Stava's History. Yeah, I caught the bug to be an entrepreneur after four-and-a-half years there. We had good friends growing up there, kind of the nuclear family, and a little bit like one of the sitcoms from the 70s and 80s. I live in Silicon Valley and continue to hear entrepreneurs talk about how their goal is an IPO, like somehow thats the end game. Apple Podcasts|YouTube|Spotify|Stitcher|Google Podcasts. I was there my sophomore year through senior year, and we won the state championship as a team all three years. I was a single parent with two boys who were seven or eight years old at the time we were starting. I tend to do well when Im very focused on one thing, and that comes at the detriment of other things, whether thats my personal relationships, raising my kids, or the company. Pioneering Running Coach Greg McMillan: Extraordinary is in All of Us. I began formal preparation two weeks ago and have been posting all my workouts on Strava, accompanied by regular Instagram Stories and the occasional vlog on YouTube. It was a beautiful machine. As I was graduating, I had not applied for any jobs. MG: I was surprised at how social cycling is as a sport. MG: Metro has been a great investment. I used to remind everybody, Yeah, and what happens to rocket ships once they run out of fuel? Guru Singh On Positivity -- Why Receptivity Is The Better Path, David Sinclair On Extending Human Lifespan & The Science Behind Aging, http://media.blubrry.com/rrp/p/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/604586484-richroll-rrp435.mp3. Mark Gainey, Strava. And when it launched, it was only a desktop app. Today, Strava is a popular social network that connects millions of runners, cyclists, and other athletes through a mobile app and website. Hint: The password should be at least twelve characters long. The company has raised about $70 million to date,. We try to get away from the college discussion and more around, Lets figure out what youre interested in, and thatll lead to whatever the next chapter is. I think I owe that, again, to my parents. We face a constant tension at Strava around this. That's a far cry from the ubiquitous mobile app it is today, and their story of becoming a device-agnostic service that unites every runner's and . Disclosure:In the interest of total transparency, I have run ad campaigns for Strava on this podcast in the past. It was Dads job. Log In. Nor am I paid to use Strava. What are the pros and cons? It was around that time you launched Kana. I was the oldest of three. And how do we live up to that? He wrote this note saying. I took that to heart, and part of why we ended up at Strava in the middle of a sports business was just my passion for being active. I was the oldest of three. Cyc: Do Strava users deliberately try to beat you? Strava's co-founder Mark Gainey, set to run cross-country as a freshman at Harvard in 1986, was sidelined by an injury. Download Our Free App! As I was graduating, I had not applied for any jobs. Cyclists know every hill and every grade theyre on. Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey originally founded Strava in 2009, and it has since grown to over 100 million users, a portion of which are also paid subscribers. Over the last 10 years, weve experimented with a handful of different business models, everything from e-commerce to even some forms of advertisement within the feed. I had a great coach, a guy named Charlie Butt at Harvard, who now has the whole program. We take a lot of time to bring people on board, but I think it pays dividends. Evolving beyond its cycling roots as a platform for all who sweat, today Strava is widely embraced as the premierworkout sharing fitness network a rapidly expanding ecosystem of Olympic, professional, elite, amateur and beginner athletes that boasts over 1 millionnew registered new users every month and growing. Mark Gainey is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Strava. We had a go-to-market strategy that said we were going to focus somewhat maniacally on the cycling community, but dont confuse go-to-market with vision. Strava Finds its Niche. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. You get injured. 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