Empreender Saúde prepared an interview with Florian Gschwandtner, CEO of Runtastic about the company, and its history, plans and curiosities. Read the interview below:

When was the company founded and why did you decide to create it?

Runtastic was founded in 2009 by myself, Florian Gschwandtner, and three additional co-founders, Alfred Luger, Christian Kaar and Rene Giretzlehner. The four of us had already started a cool project for tracking sailboats during our mobile computing studies and we took that idea, developed and modified it a bit and started Runtastic. I can honestly say starting Runtastic was one of the best decisions of my life.

Who was the founding team ?

Our international headquarters are located in Linz, Austria and that’s where you’ll find the bulk of our team, including the four founders of Runtastic.  I operate in the role of CEO and Co-Founder, also working very closely with idea development, product creation and strategic growth.  Alfred Luger is our COO and oversees the areas of finance, HR, marketing and organizational development.  Christian Kaar is our CTO Mobile and oversees all our mobile teams. He’s often in the decision-making seat when it comes to technical integration with strategic partners.  Last but not least, Rene Giretzlehner is our CTO Web.  He is responsible for all things web, is a master problem solver and has been instrumental in the scaling of the business.

How many people do you have now?

As previously mentioned, Runtastic was started by four founders and we had one additional employee, more or less, right from the beginning. This means that in a span of about 4.5 years, we went from a team of five to a team of 100+ motivated, dynamic individuals from 18+ nations! We’re incredibly proud of our smart, agile, international team. It’s the members of our team that allow us to do so much, so quickly, on a truly global level.

Are you self-financed or did you receive investments?

Our biggest challenge was definitely the start of Runtastic. You know, here in Austria, in 2009 there was nearly no startup scene – and also no investor scene. We searched for capital and it was almost impossible to get funded. Therefore, we started doing 3rd party development for other companies and all the money we earned, we immediately put into our baby, Runtastic. I also remember going to the university as a lecturer one Friday and Saturday, being younger than my students and teaching them about digital marketing and related topics. That was a real challenge and I truly got feedback like:

“Runtastic is not a company, it’s a gadget. Don’t do that.”

“Four founders? That will never work.”

It’s funny to look back at that time now… And, the only reply I would offer to those who choose to focus on the obstacles is: “Whatever the challenge, be part of the solution.”

How is the market in which the company is inserted ?

Runtastic has taken a different approach to our market space than many of our competitors.  Not only are we confident that our apps offer users the very best in terms of quality, we also try to ensure that we have an app that will serve users well no matter what their activity of choice.  We’ve already released more than 15 apps across various operating systems, introduced proprietary hardware (which is available online and in select retailers) and developed an incredible online platform and community on Runtastic.com, which boasts more than 35 million registered users.  No one else in our space is taking such a holistic approach to addressing users’ daily tracking wants and needs and we think that’s one reason that we’ve recently surpassed the 75 million download mark.  We plan to continue developing the Runtastic Ecosystem in the months and years to come.  We want to be the ultimate, comprehensive activity tracking solution for everyone – from couch potatoes looking to improve their daily habits ever so slightly to professional athletes attempting to achieve new personal bests – around the world.

Can you tell us about the current products you have ?

This is a big of a dangerous question for us, as we have a rather large, robust product line that grows by the week! Here’s an overview of some of our main product categories:

Apps: We have a wide variety of apps on various platforms to best serve our users’ diverse interests and needs. In greater detail, no matter what a user’s activity of choice, we have an app for that! Known for top-quality user experience, stylish designs and high app store ratings and user reviews, here at Runtastic, we’re confident our users will find their health & fitness and daily tracking “tools for success” within our suite of apps

Runtastic.com: Runtastic.com acts as our users’ health & fitness home within the Runtastic Ecosystem. No matter what their favorite activities might be or how often they complete activities, Runtastic.com is where users can find their activity data, training log, detailed analysis and a supportive community of 35+ million registered users. Here, extensive analysis and statistics are available for all activities and for users looking for even more, the GOLD Membership is a great option for premium features and service. The social component also plays an essential role of Runtastic.com. By comparing results with fellow sports enthusiasts and receiving online cheerleading, our users can achieve even greater motivation and results.

Proprietary Hardware: As mentioned previously, a huge differentiator for Runtastic is the fact that we offer users a comprehensive ecosystem of software, hardware and additional services to serve most all of their tracking needs. Our proprietary hardware has been designed to work with Runtastic apps to provide users with the most comprehensive set of tools for monitoring their fitness activities. Runtastic hardware adds additional layers of data such as heart rate, speed and cadence data and more to users’ activity stats. By controlling every aspect of the fitness ecosystem, from the apps to the hardware to the website, Runtastic offers a fully integrated, easy-to-use tracking experience.

Which differentials do your products have ?

When I’m on the road representing Runtastic, I’m asked time and time again what makes us different. Discussing the Runtastic Ecosystem is a great way to introduce people to the robust company that Runtastic has become and also highlights just how much we’re doing – which is in and of itself a differentiator. Our multi-app strategy, proprietary hardware, Runtastic.com online services, training plans, in-house health and nutrition team, as well as all the top-quality content we push out via mobile and web combine to allow us to serve our users in a unique and all-encompassing manner. If you haven’t tried our products just yet, do so – you’ll see and feel the difference! Or, if you’d like to become more familiar with our brand before making your first purchase, you don’t have to look far! We’re all over social media, have a great YouTube channel (Runtastic Fitness) and have an active blog where people can learn more about various health, fitness & technology topics, get inspired by “Success Stories” and more!

How is your business model?

As mentioned before, our goal is to continue developing the Runtastic Ecosystem to best serve our users and really push the industry as a whole. To be very clear: Runtastic intends to be the #1 brand mobile health & fitness worldwide. We also want to continue making users feel funtastic through their engagement with Runtastic. What does this mean for the future of Runtastic from a business perspective? It means the team will continue to work tirelessly to release top-quality, innovative products and services that serve the wants and needs of a diverse audience. It also means that we’ll continue to pour resources into maintaining and improving our current products and services, ensuring that users’ expectations are consistently met and exceeded.

In which countries does Runtastic have the most downloads?

Some of our most important markets in terms of downloads include: Germany, Spain, Italy, France, USA and the UK. Our presence is also incredibly strong in a variety of other nations, but of course the size of a country is sometimes important when it comes to sheer numbers!

What is the expected future for Runtastic? Could you share with us?

We have a lot of exciting projects planned for the remainder of 2014 and we’re already looking to 2015, as well. People should definitely be paying attention in late summer, when a large announcement or two might be rolled out… And additional launches and exciting updates will be announced throughout the fall and winter months, too. We know that users have a lot choices when it comes to choosing products for their daily tracking and health & fitness needs and we want to make sure that we continue to be their “go to” solution!

Is it possible to integrate the data that Runtastic generate  with traditional healthcare players, such as insurance, hospitals and others?

While we are often approached by various healthcare companies and agencies, Runtastic is not currently in the business of “big data.” We do not share our users’ data under any circumstances and are truly only tracking and storing user data in order to provide our end user with most valuable information and context possible. In a few special cases, we do work with partners, like MyFitnessPal, where users can share their own data with other companies or apps via opt in.