Overnight Success

Most businesses we've spoken to so far have had relatively straightforward journey, but Wahoo Fitness is not one of those who fit that mould. Chip Hawkins is the company’s founder and believe it or not, the Wahoo business started off in, well you’ll probably never guess it….boat docks. That’s right, floating boat docks. But it was a good business with interesting problems that Chip loved to solve.    Chip is an engineer, and entrepreneur, a tinkerer, and most importantly someone who loves to throw himself neck deep in fixing problems to make something better - and and it usually starts, only himself and his own needs.   Chip’s story is one that proves that if you see a problem and you care enough to solve it for yourself and maybe a few friends, there’s likely a market out there for a business to take shape. And as Chip points out and believes, the most important thing is that you have to try.

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Strava has become ubiquitous in over 50 million athlete’s lives and is arguably the most relevant social network to anyone who loves to sweat.

Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey are the co-founders of Strava who have been lifelong friends who quite literally changed how we interact with our cycling in both real life and with each other online.

The reason I was so interested in hearing Michael and Mark’s story was not only because they’ve created an amazing brand and product that most of us use, but the went about it in a very different way than most of the companies you’ll near in this podcast. Creating Strava wasn’t their first trip to the rodeo. Were experienced successful knowledgable entrepenuaers, they made some very deliberate decisions early on about the foundations of the company that have taken Strava to where it is today, and into the next 20 years.

But there are many similarities too. It started from nothing but a single idea and only passion fuelling the fire, and as you’ll discover, creating Strava hasn’t been the straightforward journey that you might think about when you log on every day.

A full transcript of this interview can be found at:  https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/from-the-top-building-strava/

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Strava has become ubiquitous in over 50 million athlete’s lives and is arguably the most relevant social network to anyone who loves to sweat.

Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey are the co-founders of Strava who have been lifelong friends who quite literally changed how we interact with our cycling in both real life and with each other online.

This is the story of how they created a positive and enduring social media platform for every athlete out there.

In this latest episode of From the Top, I'm thrilled to give you an exclusive first look at the remarkable story of how Roman Arnold founded and built Canyon Bikes to where it is today. Listen to the remarkable story of how Roman started cycling as a way of competing for recognition and approval from his father amongst his three brothers. He started from humble beginnings, got his hands dirty, educated himself, and grew Canyon to be one of the largest cycling brands in the world.

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In this episode I speak to The Sufferfest founder David McQuillen about how he went from working in the Swiss Banking industry, to creating one of the largest indoor training platforms in his spare time and later selling the business to Wahoo Fitness.

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Rapha has been one of the most innovative, aspirational and disruptive businesses in cycling, and Simon Mottram is the mastermind behind the brand. Rapha began from a single concept: Mottram's feeling for road cycling, and how he wanted it portrayed.

From a single jersey that wasn't even ready in time for the company launch, he built Rapha into the darling child of cycling brands. It inspired an entirely new market of 'micro apparel brands' and showed many others of the cycling industry the power of storytelling. Here's Mottram's story of how he started this remarkable business.

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Welcome to From the Top - a podcast about the founders, the innovators, and the remarkable people in the cycling industry and the stories about the icons they've created. Subscribe today and don't miss the first episode with Rapha founder Simon Mottram.