Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
I think you also asked something along the lines of "who would pay for Facebook".. the funny thing is that maybe you're right and not enough people would. However, people pay a lot of money so their phone can access data apps like Facebook (or Strava or whatever). I think if most divide their monthly data/wifi costs by the number of apps they really use, it's a lot lot more than the apps themselves cost -- even if they're subscription based and not purchased outright..
This is literally the flawed argument you tried two posts ago, before the blatant points-scoring attempt.
The cell phone is a basic utility that is fundamental to how we work, communicate with loved ones, and function in society. Strava is an electronic whiteboard of lap times. Do you see the difference? Strava is not entitled to a chunk of my cell plan and internet costs because I use it, any more than any other random website is. Without the cell phone and internet, my life would crumble (go ahead and try to make points off of that). Without Strava… not much. Pointedly, I deleted my Strava account last night and will not be asking AT&T or Google for a discount on internet because it's a little less useful to me.
Do you want a more explicit example? If AT&T or Google Fiber goes down, I can let them know and they'll have a crew of people trying to restore access, as a basic utility I pay for. If Strava breaks something, they'll say "yeah we did that on purpose, because being reliable is hard and we don't like anyone else showing us up". If I pay for Strava because of wanting it to interact with Relive, or BTLE HR straps, or whatever, I literally can't expect them to continue that service. Their habit of changing things with zero notice, as yesterday, is exactly the problem. AT&T does not say "we stopped allowing you to call Webex bridgelines because it's hard, but you can pay extra for it". If they did, you'd have a semi-valid point, though they'd also have a lot fewer subscribers.
The fact that Strava has been unprofitable for their entire decade of existence and the VC is getting impatient means one of two things:
- they're terribly managed
- it's an unprofitable concept
My bet is on the former, based on all of their terrible decisions.
Strava is not a utility. It does not behave like a utility. It is capricious and unreliable and entitled.