A group of us were reminiscing about the glory days. We found ourselves missing the excitement and camaraderie of past athletic teams and competitions. Times had changed: we lived all over the country and free time was a scarce commodity.
We were avid cyclists so we decided to build a cycling "club" on the web. With an early version of Strava we began comparing rides and creating small competitions amongst ourselves. It was working - we were bringing the fun back into riding and creating a sense of team despite the distance.
Last summer we invited a few others to join us. They too enjoyed the experience of Strava and became addicted to uploading their rides. We began adding more and more features to the site. Soon it was obvious we should be sharing this club with as many cyclists as possible.
Strava was born - the web's premier cycling club.
Prior to co-founding Strava, Mark established Kana Communications with Michael Horvath. Mark is a graduate of Harvard and currently serves on a number of boards including OCSC Sailing and Team Up For Youth. Mark's passion for cycling has landed him in the emergency room a total of four times (it seems passion does not necessarily lead to expertise).
Michael co-founded both Strava and Kana with Mark Gainey. In between he was CFO of GlycoFi and taught at Stanford and Dartmouth. He has a Ph.D. from Northwestern and an AB from Harvard. Michael lives and rides in hilly Hanover, NH and also enjoys sculling, skiing, running, yoga and keeping up with his four energetic children.
Mark has spent his career building software from the ground up. He co-founded Guidewire Software, where he led development of a platform that serves many of the world's largest insurance companies. Before Guidewire Mark was an early engineer at Kana. Mark has a BS and MS from Stanford. Mark lives in San Francisco, and is addicted to cyclocross racing, skiing, and bridge.
Chris has over a decade of experience at successful startups. He was one of the first engineers at Guidewire Software where he led one their core product teams. Prior to Guidewire he was an early engineer at Kana. Chris has a BS from Stanford. He lives in San Francisco, where he races cyclocross, skis, and plays in 3 different NFL fantasy leagues.
Davy earned a BS from Dartmouth College and has been involved in startups since hanging up his oar as a member of the U.S. Lightweight crew team. He's been smitten by cycling ever since being pummeled on his first Wednesday "smack down" ride a decade ago.
Pelle grew up in Sweden and holds a MS from Lund University. Two years of research at Harvard convinced him a career in science was not for him. He is on the member services team at Strava and is a developing cycling addict. He currently lives in Manhattan.
Pan grew up in Greece running cross country, playing soccer and riding BMX. He graduated with a BS from University of Pennsylvania and then became a professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He lives in Berkeley and spends his free time outdoors rock climbing, hiking and skiing.
