Kudos, leaderboards, QOMs: how fitness app Strava became a religion

there’s one social network that is deceptively reliant on Pride: Strava. Strava lets athletes show off how far they biked or how far they ran. (Or, in certain cases, the cool shapes they drew with their biking or running route.)

Community is also a large part of keeping connected fitness machines engaging; all five companies offer Facebook groups for users to discuss their workouts and find people with similar goals or stats to digitally work out with. Live leaderboards, a feature that shows where the user ranks against other people who’ve taken the same class, can also he... See more

Sport connects us all, we know that. But what strikes me about this innovation wave in fitness is the emotional access. It’s the antidote to social media, and the mindless scrolling and fear of missing out. These platforms convene us, activate us and give us judgement-free common goals from the comfort of home. As wellness increasingly becomes a wa... See more

Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath, cofounder of Strava practically wrote the playbook for going after a small niche first with their pre-2000 bubble startup Kana Communications and later with Strava.

Picking the right niche: they had to start with an underserved niche with a high propensity to pay and work their way downwards.

Grass roots recruiting:

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This level of interpersonal connection is why Hydrow CEO Bruce Smith doesn’t think connected fitness machines will have a negative social impact, and that the sense of community that typically form at brick and mortar gyms will be more distributed. “Connected fitness is about bringing your body and your screen life together,” he says. “The more we ... See more

In business, community can be a cheat code. And in fitness circles, it’s the holy grail.