Ever have a friend claim, “I was really good at high school track” without a shred of evidence? Enter Strava.
Founded in 2009, the app allows users to share fitness activities with friends, track running and cycling routes, and participate in virtual competitions.
And it just raised a $110m round to keep the party going.
2020 has been good to Strava
Strava counts a long list of pro athletes among its users, but its recent growth goes far beyond ultra-marathoners and triathletes.
In 2020, Strava has notched 70m users at a pace of 2M new users per month — most of whom use the platform’s free tools.
A paid tier (currently $5 per month) offers route planning, segment competitions, and goal setting. It’s been estimated that ~2.2% of users pay for the upgrade, which equates to an annual run rate of $90m+ based on the present pricing.
Strava for X
While Strava supports a wide range of activities, the majority of their features are limited to biking, running, and swimming. This means there’s an opportunity to serve niche interests that Strava isn’t covering.
As recently reported in Trends, horseback riding, fishing, and bird-watching are all activities with devoted hobbyists that would be a great fit for Strava’s social-network component.
The opportunity could be lucrative. If you thought marathoners were hardcore, you should meet some “twitchers.”
