How do you put into words the feeling of building a multi-million pound company in just three years?
For university friends Ben Parker, 29, and Dom Maskell, 30, they say creating Runna and transforming it into one of the most lucrative running apps in the world has been a 'bloody emotional rollercoaster'.
Launched in 2021, the London-based coaching app now employs nearly 150 people and has previously raised £8million from investors - including their first, former Made in Chelsea star and 'ultra-athlete' Joshua 'JP' Patterson.
In a testament to its rapid success, Runna has now been bought by US exercise tracking app Strava in a deal which is set to earn Parker, the face of the app, and Maskell, the CEO, a multi-million pound payday.
While the terms of the deal are undisclosed, it is believed early backers will make a 30-fold return on their investment. It marks the first UK acquisition for Strava, which raced onto the scene in 2009 and now has 150 million users in 185 countries.
Runna co-founders Parker and Maskell, who met at Southampton University, have revealed how their first idea to start a company came about on a Facebook message.
'We definitely did not think when we started it that this would be the big company that it is today. We had no idea it was going to be this,' they said on a podcast with their angel investor Patterson.
Parker and Maskell quit their jobs in June 2021 and raised £100,000 from Patterson before clubbing together another £500,000 from 303 crowdfunders.
Runna co-founders Ben Parker (left), 29, and Dom Maskell (right), 30, are set for a huge payout after being bought by Strava
Ben Parker (pictured) is a running coach who used his expertise to create one of the biggest fitness apps in the world
He started coaching his university friend Dom Maskell (pictured) and the pair went onto to launch Runna
It previously raised £8million in venture capital from investors including JamJar Investments, the fund launched by the Innocent Drinks founders.
Runna launched in March 2022 and has enjoyed 'steady and consistent' growth for three years, allowing them to even set up a base in America.
Although Runna does not disclose its numbers, Maskell said it had more than 3,000 subscribers in 2023, whom would be paying £15.999 a month or £99.99 a year. Runners are sent personalised training plans.
Companies House documents from January 2024 showed Runna was sitting on a cash pile of close to £8.2million.
So how did two university friends create such a lucrative app in such a short space of time?
Maskell and Parker had gone their separate ways after becoming friends at Southampton University.
Having run the Southampton half marathon together, Parker nurtured his passion by becoming a coach and running the fitness department in Greece for two years.
Maskell, meanwhile, went into management consultancy atMcKinzie but became obsessed with running during the pandemic.
It was that obsession that drove him to take his running to the next level by scouting out a coach.
The two friends had help from Made in Chelsea star Joshua Patterson who was the first investor
Josh Patterson, also known as JP, was an a relationship with Binky Felstead and they had a child together
Ben Parker is the face of the app, having started out as a running coach
Dom Maskell is Runna's CEO. The pair are set for a huge payout after Strava swooped in to buy them
Maskell said it was 'a dream come true for me and the Runna team'
In stepped Parker, who had returned from Greece just a week prior. He started writing tailored training plans for Maskell for £80 a month.
He was also coaching Patterson, 'someone who couldn't run more than a 10k to do some pretty epic things'.
Speaking about how they set up Runna, Parker, the face of the app, told Patterson's I Did A Runner Podcast: 'Dom, you saw me in a place that i couldn't take any on any more clients and basically suggested to me one Monday evening on Facebook chat that we could essentially automate that process.'
Patterson, who was the first investor into Runna, described the launch of the app as a 'moment that changed our lives forever'.
Maskell, who was loving Parker's personalised training plans, could see how his friend was 'limited' to only being able to help around 40 people and knew there were 'millions that couldn't get the amazing service Ben provides'.
He explained: 'That's when I dropped him a message on Facebook and was like 'Hey I know you are normally sending my running plan every week, but I've had this idea for a running coach, how about we jump on a call?''
Maskell has said Runna will continue to be based in London. It also has its office in Boston and was planning to open another on the West Coast before the Strava deal.
Strava's HQ is in San Francisco and reported revenues of $275million in 2023.
Michael Martin, who became Strava's CEO after taking over from founder Michael Horvath in January 2024, believes Runna will strengthen Strava's capability for its users.
'For those runners, it's their goals they want help with, and guidance. Strava wasn't really positioned well to do that but Runna is an amazing training and coaching platform with some of the best features that I've seen.
'It's an amazing business, it's an amazing team and they've done an incredible job in a short period [of time] of helping runners achieve their goals,' Martin told The Times.
In a LinkedIn post announcing the deal, Maskell said: 'I can’t believe I’m writing this less than 4 years after starting the company, but today I can share that Runna is being acquired by Strava!!
'This is honestly a dream come true for me and the Runna team - Strava has always been the natural home for Runna from the first day we started working on it; we just didn’t think that in less than 4 years we’d be able to launch the app, raise investment, grow the team to >120 people across London and Boston, get rated a top rated running coaching app in the world and reach millions of Runnas!'
