Strava · Strategy · Mid · 60 to 90 minutes

Strava subscription strategy reset

Strava is a fitness app and social network where people track activities like running and cycling and share them with others. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

User segmentation
Subscription strategy
Prioritisation
Metric design
Trade off thinking

The situation

Your VP of Product for Growth has asked you to recommend the future of Strava's subscription as part of annual planning. Strava already sells a paid membership with advanced training, route planning, map, and competition tools, but subscription growth has slowed while free usage stays strong. Assume the following numbers are illustrative: monthly active athletes are up 14 percent year over year, subscriber growth fell from 22 percent to 6 percent, free to paid conversion is flat at 2.8 percent, and 12 month paid retention is 71 percent. Recent research suggests many free athletes feel Strava is already good enough for recording activities, following friends, joining clubs, and checking basic stats. Leadership does not want a blunt paywall move that hurts the social network, weakens acquisition, or makes newer athletes feel unwelcome. Finance still wants a credible path to faster subscription growth in the next 12 months. Recommend what the subscription should be, who it should serve best, what must stay free, and what changes should happen first.

What to produce

A 1 to 2 page product strategy memo.

Your answer must

State your diagnosis of why subscription growth has stalled, tied to the current free versus paid value balance.
Define the main user segments and choose one primary target segment for the next 12 months, with rationale.
Recommend the subscription design, including what should stay free, what paid value should be strengthened or added, and whether Strava should keep one plan or introduce tiers.
Prioritise up to 3 initiatives for the next 12 months, with sequencing, expected impact, and explicit trade offs.
Define success metrics and guardrails, and outline a rollout or experiment plan that could validate the strategy.

Constraints

Plan for one product squad for two quarters, with part time support from design, data science, and brand.
Do not materially worsen core activity recording, device uploads, friend feed, clubs, or privacy controls for free athletes.
Assume no increase in paid marketing budget and no exclusive hardware, media, or event deals.
Any packaging or pricing change must work across iOS, Android, and web, with app store billing rules in mind.

Format

Start with the diagnosis, then cover target segment, subscription design, roadmap, metrics, and risks. Use bullets or a simple table if that makes prioritisation and trade offs clearer.