Runtastic

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Runtastic GmbH
legal form GmbH
founding October 2009
Seat Pasching , Austria
management Scott Dunlap (successor to co-founder Florian Gschwandner, who was CEO until the end of 2018) , René Giretzlehner, Alfred Luger, Christian Kaar
Number of employees ~ 250
Website www.runtastic.com
As of June 9, 2019

The Runtastic GmbH is an Austrian company specializing in the development of software and hardware products in the field of fitness specializes. Based on the quantified self movement, it combines mobile applications , social networking and gamification . The fitness application for smartphones and the hardware developed and sold by the company enable the recording of sporting activities. Statistics are created from this data, which the user can use for analysis. The company has been a subsidiary of Adidas AG since August 2015 .

history

In the course of a project carried out at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences for the World Sailing Games 2006, one of the later founders, René Giretzlehner, came up with the idea of ​​“developing mobile software-supported sports applications in a company until they are ready for the market.” Together with Christian Kaar, another later Runtastic -Co-founder and their joint professor at the FH Upper Austria, Stephan Selinger, the tech2b startup "mSports" was founded, which offered live tracking for motor and sailing events. In February 2009, the startup and its technology were transferred to Runtastic, which shifted the focus to the larger target group of runners, cyclists and hikers. The project was initially funded by income from the development of other products.

The four founders of the company founded in Pasching in 2009 are Florian Gschwandtner , Christian Kaar, René Giretzlehner and Alfred Luger. In 2011 the company had around 25 employees, in 2013 there were already over 90 employees worldwide. In 2013, Axel Springer SE (then still Axel Springer AG) took over 50.1 percent of Runtastic GmbH with an enterprise value of 22 million euros. In February 2015, the company's marketing director Johannes Knoll announced that Runtastic plans to expand to the USA, Asia and Brazil in the future. At that time, the company already had 100 employees from 20 nations.

In 2015, Adidas took over the shares from Axel Springer, a private investor and the company's founders, for a total purchase price of EUR 220 million, and became the sole shareholder with effect from August 5, 2015. The company founders are to continue to lead the business activities of Runtastic within the Adidas Group.

At the end of 2018, the previous CEO Florian Gschwandtner left the company. Scott Dunlap is the new CEO.

Products

The Runtastic product range includes software and hardware:

Apps

The heart of Runtastic GmbH is the smartphone app of the same name for iOS and Android. The application is used to record various metrics, such as distance covered, consumed food energy , speed, etc. when doing sports, in order to be able to provide the user with comprehensive statistics afterwards. The Runtastic app is available in both a free Lite version and a paid Pro version with additional functionality. For the iPhone, the application is available in 18 languages. In July 2019, the app had over 300 million downloads. In addition to the Runtastic app, there is also another app specially designed for body-weight training. Runtastic Results.

Fitness portal and blog

The fitness portal Runtastic.com allows you to upload and analyze the recorded fitness data as well as to share and compare training successes as a social network with friends. In addition to the free membership, a fee-based premium membership is offered, which offers the user, for example, ready-made training plans tailored to his goal and more detailed statistics. Via the fitness portal, the user can cheer on friends or complete strangers during their training, or be cheered on by them (gamification). In 2015 the “Running Leaderboard” was introduced, a ranking list to compare activities with those of others.

In July 2019, web development was discontinued in favor of the further development of mobile apps.

Runtastic runs a blog with tips and news for sports enthusiasts in several languages.

In September 2019 the “Runtastic” app was renamed “adidas Running by Runtastic”. The “Results” app became “adidas Training by Runtastic”.

hardware

At the end of 2011, the company announced that they wanted to expand their product range to include hardware. They were able to implement this plan at the beginning of 2012. Chest strap, watch with GPS functionality or body fat scales can be purchased in the online shop. In July 2014, the company launched Runtastic Orbit . The device is worn on the body as a bracelet or via a clip and records all activities of the user. These range from steps taken to sleep. The hardware display itself is kept simple, but the gadget is complemented by the Runtastic Me app . This offers a graphically more appealing preparation of the recorded data.

criticism

Criticism is made that the energy expenditure ( performance expenditure ) and the calculation of the body mass index are based on a generalized basis. The Runtastic Orbit fitness bracelet also has to endure this point of criticism. Measurements are too imprecise and it does not have GPS , which is why you have to use other devices for sporting activities such as cycling or running. In an article in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit was u. a. the Runtastic Orbit, together with other fitness wristbands, was called "electronic waste" in a test. This indicates that “I am still alive. And the time". Everything else is just a rough estimate.

In 2013, testers from MediaTest Digital discovered a security gap in the software, as reported by Spiegel Online ; Runtastic immediately announced an update.

Publications

  • In cooperation with Sascha Wingenfeld: The Runtastic running book - Run yourself slim and fit in just 10 weeks . 1st edition Riva Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-86883-662-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Courtney Boyd Myers: The Future of Health and Fitness . In: The Next Web , September 17, 2011, accessed February 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b Runtastic business plan. (No longer available online.) 2009, archived from the original on January 19, 2017 ; Retrieved January 19, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Msports - press releases. 2008, accessed January 19, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Sophia Freyschlag: During step towards overseas. In: Wiener Zeitung . November 17, 2011, accessed June 17, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Springer takes over majority in domestic startup Runtastic. In: The Standard . Retrieved June 6, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Upper Austrian app Runtastic wants to make the brand known around the world. In: The Standard. Retrieved June 6, 2015 .
  7. ↑ adidas Group Annual Report 2015 . Adidas , March 3, 2016, accessed June 17, 2016 (PDF; 7.2 MB).
  8. ↑ Alex Hofmann: Adidas buys Runtastic for 220 million euros . In: Gründerszene , August 5, 2015, accessed June 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ Runtastic co-founder Gschwandtner stops . In: Der Standard , September 10, 2018, accessed on September 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ Scott Dunlap becomes the new General Manager of Runtastic. April 15, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Running Leaderboard on Runtastic.com. In: Runtastic blog. Retrieved June 6, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Web development discontinued. Retrieved August 21, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Runtastic becomes "adidas Running". September 25, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Runtastic Orbit The fitness bracelet one week in the test. In: The Standard. Retrieved June 6, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Patrick Beuth: My bullshit bracelet and me . In: Die Zeit , July 31, 2014, accessed June 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ Markus Böhm: Runtastic: Testers discover security holes in sports app . In: Spiegel Online , April 23, 2013, accessed on July 29, 2016.