Give each runner AI coaching feedback on every run, built by an ex-coach

Jacob EitingThe first person to step on the Serengeti and see a lion and they're thinking, "We're going."

Eric CrowleyYeah, definitely running. Definitely running. And now the guy has a coach, which is beautiful. Runna really caught a couple things and did it really well. I mean, Ben was a former coach for triathletes and runners, so he really knew what the consumer wanted and was willing to pay for to get value-add advice, to get faster, to get better. And then Dom and the team built just a phenomenal product, kind of one of those AI-native businesses that really made running personalized.

Eric CrowleyYou have to use the app to truly experience it, but it will tell you, "Hey, you ran a little slower on this block," or, "Hey, there's an opportunity for you to speed up by doing a few different things," or, "Today, you ran a little slower. Let's think about that." It turned into a magical moment for consumers, and then they also nailed the run club, health fitness trend among the next generation, where they'd rather get up at 7:00 AM and go to a run club in San Francisco versus go out to the bars.

Eric CrowleyOne, the bars in San Francisco are terrible, so running is actually a really good choice. But anyway, I mean, that materialized across the world. I was lucky enough to meet those two very early on in their journey, and so I was just a huge fan of the product. When they gave us a call and said, "Hey, we're thinking about doing a deal," we jumped right in. When you think about why Strava bought Runna, Strava has a bunch of features on there. …

Eric CrowleySo if you try to smash them together and it's wrong, you just wasted a whole acquisition. I think both businesses can learn from each other. Runna's amazing at using AI inside the app. Strava's a system of record. They don't have to do that yet. Now, Mike and his team are doing some great stuff, so keep your eyes peeled. I think Strava's been learning a lot from Runna on that front.

Eric CrowleyTwo, I mean, Runna does some really good performance marketing. Jacob's right, it's a little more episodic, "Hey, I'm training for a marathon. Hey, I'm training for a big race," versus Strava is more, "Hey, this is what I post. My ride's on every Tuesday." Those are two very different use cases for the consumers, and so I think that's right to keep them separate for now, and then I think they'll make a decision down the road of when you integrate, if you integrate.

David BarnardAny advice for folks playing in these spaces, where they could potentially be that Runna to a Strava, where they could be that TAM expansion, the soft intro? I feel like we're probably going to see more and more of these kind of things happen over time, where these giant apps that aren't necessarily great at aspects of the broader business that they're running. It could just be an opportunity for folks to build these adjunct apps and get bought, …