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Runna · B2C · running training app

Aim the app at first-time runners doing couch to 5K, not all sports

Earned a strong valuation; Strava bought it to reach beginner runners

Workedpositioning-niche

What they did

Did not try to be the #1 sports app; positioned as the #1 running training / couch-to-5K app and built its brand around helping people run their first 5K.

What happened

Guest says the narrow positioning got it a great valuation and an acquisition by Strava, which wanted beginners it couldn't attract.

In their words

Josh Peleg - $172M of App Building Advice in 50 Minutes

Play from 10:13

Josh Peleg… really boost the valuation. So if we take an example, if we take let's say Flo, for example. Right now, we all know Flo to be one of the top health apps. But a few years ago, it wouldn't be able to define itself as one of the top health apps. So what did it do? It narrowed down the category of health into women's health, or or menstrual cycle tracking, and it put itself in a position where it could comfortably define itself as the number one app

10:13

Josh Pelegin the women's health niche. So they were taking a larger niche of health, and they were narrowing it down to women's health. At that point, with their, you know, 70 million-plus monthly active users, they could become the first women's health unicorn and raise their 200 million-plus from from General Atlantic at the 1 billion-plus valuation, because not only were their metrics amazing, and and their funnels were amazing, and their testing was amazing, but they could define their category narrowly enough to very confidently, without a doubt, define themselves as number one in that category. And, you know, we could take another example here. Runna. Runna didn't try to be the number one sports app in the world.

10:50

Josh PelegIt tried to be the number one running tracking app, right? The number one couch to 5K app in the world. And that's what it did successfully, and that's what got it a great valuation in order to be acquired by by Strava.

11:04

Joseph ChoiIt's not just health tracking. It's specifically women's health. And I think in the very beginning, they didn't even call it women's health. They probably just called it like period tracker. And then for Runna, it's like not just fitness. It's like specifically running, and then I think they even it's like 5K to marathon training. It's even narrower. But my I guess my question here is how narrow do you actually have to be? Can you be like would …

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Tags: category-definition, beginners