Zipporah Allen has a big job. Overseeing business and new ventures at Strava, she loves the opportunity to stay curious and travel the world inspiring folks to live their best active lives. For episode 339, we talk abut the how: How she got here, how she finds the time to move despite her busy schedule, and how Strava's working to empower their consumer to live their best active lives. Plus: Best-practice business and leadership advice, how she feels about picking up running in her 40s, and the importance of owning your "no."
IN THIS EPISODE
(3:37) Zip shares what her most recent Strava activity was
(6:00) Zip talks about her work experience before becoming the Chief Business Officer at Strava, specifically time in restaurants at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s
(8:26) Emily and Zip swap their go-to Taco Bell orders
(9:47) Why learning is so important to Zip in business, and how she firmly believes you can learn from anyone regardless of title
(10:08) Zip talks about moving internationally for work
(12:32) What happens when you’re on a board of directors for a company, what that looks like for Zip, and what she hopes to get out of being an independent board member at a few different private companies
(14:30) Zip shares what it was like for her to start running when she joined the team at Strava in order to better understand the product — and she’s now a two-time marathon
(20:57) What Strava is doing specifically to cater to female-identifying customers, including safety features
(23:00) What self-care looks like for someone who is constantly traveling
(25:48) How to become a morning person
(30:22) Zip gets the invite to join Pastry Run Club in New York
(35:10) Why Zip thinks it’s important never to be the smartest person in the room, often telling her team: “I reserve the right to get smarter and take in new information and change my mind.”
(36:06) What Zip’s role as a mom has taught her about being a leader
(38:00) Why it’s important to respond instead of react
(42:05) Why it’s important to create the conditions as a leader to empower your employees to bring their full expertise to the table
(55:55) What Zip sees when she looks in the mirror.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You can't be it if you can't see it, And
I want to be the person that other people can
see and say, oh, if she.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Can do that, I can do that too.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Hey, Hey, Emily, a body here. You're listening to episode
three hundred and thirty nine of Hurdle, a wellness focused
podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from
their highest ties and toughest moments to essential tips on
how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We
all go through our fair share of hurdles. My goal
(00:41):
through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate
yours and move with intention so that you can stride
towards your own big potential and of course have some
fun along the way. Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness.
Three thirty nine. I could not be more elated to
bring my conversation with Zipporah Allen to the feed. Zip
(01:05):
as her friends call her, is the chief business officer
over at Strava. I am an active user of Strava
for many years now. I had the honor of hosting
their annual Camp Strava last year as their official head
camp counselor. And this is a conversation that has been
(01:28):
in the works since well before then. In today's episode,
Zip and I really get into it. We talk about
the journey that led her to Strava and what it
was like to work at brands like McDonald's and Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell believe it or not, before landing
in the health and wellness space. Naturally, when I have
(01:48):
the opportunity to talk to anyone with a title like ZIPS,
I love to get their best practice business advice. Zip
and I talk about what it's like for her to
be a leader, what her leadership style is. We also
talk about the importance she places on learning as she
progresses within her career, and what it's like to be
on the board of directors for a company. Naturally, we
(02:12):
also talked about running. Zip shares her relationship with the
Score and how she actually really got into lacing up
herself upon taking this role at Strava and now proudly
calls herself a two time marathoner. Plus she offers advice
that she'd give her younger self, and why she feels
that it is so so important to respond instead of react. Love, love,
(02:38):
Love this conversation, and again so thankful that we were
not only able to make it happen, but that I
can now bring it to the feed. Make sure if
you're not yet subscribed to the weekly Hurdle newsletter you
do that. The link is in the show notes. Follow
along with Hurdle over on Instagram. It's at Hurdle Podcast.
I am over at Emily a body and appropriate for
(02:59):
this episode, the Hurdler's Strava group is waiting for you.
I'll link that in the show notes as well. With that,
let's get to it. Let's get it's a hurdling today.
I am overjoyed to be sitting down with Zippora Allen.
(03:21):
She is the chief a business officer over at Strava.
How are we doing today's ZIP?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I'm fantastic. It's so nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
It's so good to see you. Zip and I are
old friends. Now, what's your most recent activity on Strava ZIP?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So, this week we actually had Strava's leadership off site
and it was up in San Francisco in Berkeley. Specifically,
we went on team activities that's always part of a
Strava offsite, and we did a trail run. So I
think my caption on that trail run was vibes and
vert are really high. We did two thousand feet of
(03:58):
climbing in like seven it's a lot.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Wow, that is an impressive amount of climbing and like
really fun. It seems when your personal interests align with
the interests of your company, you can't be a non
active person and work at Strava.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, And what's cool about it is you don't have
to be you don't have to be doing two thousand
feet avert in seven miles. We had a team that
went hiking, which was just a nice little two mile
loop with great views. We had a team that did
a bike ride, so it doesn't have to be this
like crazy, like really high performing team. And we did
a lot of power hiking.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
On the run, as all good trail runners know, you
do a.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Lot of power hiking and the run with air quotes. Yeah,
I see that. I see that. I only learned, like
within the last couple of years that trail running is
often simply power hiking, which is.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Okay, It's totally okay.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's totally okay. Well, I feel like someone he years
the title chief business Officer at Strava, and they think,
how does someone end up with a job like that
that sounds like something that would be really cool. So
I know that it's not a one sentence answer, but
talk to us a little bit about your career trajectory
before ending up at Strava.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, well, I do have to say I do think
I have the best job in the world, and that
is because I get to get up every day and
think about our mission, which is to motivate people to
live their best active lives. And I get to work
with a team that engages our community, our partners, gets
to bring Strava to the world and really recruit people
(05:41):
onto our platform and make them feel like they belong.
And so I get to do that every single day
and it's just a joy and a privilege, and I
feel like.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm so, so so lucky.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
How I got here is I grew up as a
marketer and a brand marketer specifically, And to say, I
made this pivot from fifteen years in a fast food
career to a fitness career, which might not seem that
intuitive to a lot of people, but when you look
at the similarities across fifteen years in restaurant brands. So
(06:15):
I worked for McDonald's for a long time. I was
the Chief Marketing officer of Pizza Hut. I was the
chief Digital officer of Taco Bell most recently. But the
common thread there is food is actually very emotional for people,
and so as a marketer, you want to tap into
the emotion. You want to tap into what it is
(06:36):
that the food enables. So for Pizza it was really
that connection and families were really important. For Taco Bell,
it's a really cool brand, and so when you go
to the Taco Bell brand, yes, it's about like emotionally
fulfilling that craving for that really specific taste, but it
also is about that cool factor of what being a
(06:57):
Taco Bell customer says about you. And so taking that
over to a brand like Strava has just been really
interesting to make a pivot in my career to be
more digitally focused. Strava physically doesn't exist in the world.
It exists in people's run clubs, It exists in their
hearts and their minds and in their own personal fitness journey.
(07:23):
But you can't like walk into Strava like you can
Taco Bell or Pizza Hut, and so that has been
like a really interesting flex for me as a marketer
to just learn that muscle of like, how do you
create a brand? How do you create momentum when you
don't have the like physical there's a McDonald's sign every
(07:44):
like two miles in America, so that's kind of.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
How I got here.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
And then at Strava, I made the pivot from just
marketing specifically to really broadening my experience. I have aspiration
to continue to grow in my career. I'm an ambitious
woman and I'm not shy about saying that. And expanding
beyond marketing to really be accountable for all of our
(08:11):
business growth, for our top line growth, for our community growth,
for our revenue growth has been just a really great
stretch for me.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
This is so admirable. First and foremost, I need to
know before we go any further. Go to Taco Bell,
order Oh, a black bean crunch rap. Do not sleep
on the black beans at Taco Bell. They are so, so,
so good. And then I'll usually pair that with a spicy,
potato soft taco. So I eat almost entirely vegetarian at
(08:45):
Taco Bell. My go to Taco Bell order is also
a bean and cheese burrito, So I'm with you on
the vegetarian avenue.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I love it. My kids love the bean and cheese
burrito too.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I can't say I eat it very often, but I
would be remiss if I didn't ask you that. And
what I really appreciate about the insights that you gave
me about how you ended up at Strava is the
clear indication that you want to continue learning. And I
believe that when you get to a place where you
have these really grand titles where you're leading business units
(09:21):
and change and entire companies right that sometimes that isn't
always an option for you. Now to be in this
position where you are the chief business officer, who are
you learning from? Who are you leaning into to garner
more education and continue to flex these muscles?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I love that question because I've always had it. You know,
if you look at my career, I will say the
through line is learning and development. And when I have
gotten myself into like situations where you're like, ooh, I'm
a little uncomfortable, I don't know if I can actually
do it, that's when the growth happens. And so earlier
(10:04):
in my career, I actually moved internationally for three years
with McDonald's, and that was like I knew nobody on
the continent. It was Australia. I did not have the
cultural context of like marketing a brand in that space,
and I look back on that as one of the
pivotal moments in both my life and my career on learning.
(10:27):
And so now you're right, it does get harder when
like you are looked to to be like, well, you're
the person that's supposed to like know what to do
in this scenario. One I find it just like really
empowering to myself and also creates an environment where other
people around me can say, I don't know. So there's
a lot of situations. You know, I never worked for
(10:50):
a subscription business before. This is the first time I've
done that in my career, So there's a lot of
situations where I tell my team, well, I don't know.
I'm really lucky that I have a lot of people
on my team cross functionally and that report to me
that have taught me a lot about subscription businesses that
I didn't know before. And so I think that, like,
(11:11):
when you're at the top, it's very easy to say, oh,
I should know all of the answers, but I look
to my team to teach me a lot. And I'm
humble about that. We have a new CEO, Mike Martin.
He's awesome at Strava. He just came in just over
a year ago and he has a completely different background.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Turns out he has a lot of experience and subscription businesses,
so he has taught me a lot. My peer set
teaches me a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
And then you know, I think I sit on a
couple of external boards and that experience has really helped
round out my perspective on just what's going on with
the consumer, what's going on in the environment, what is
cool right now? And where are the conversations going in
(11:57):
the business world.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, when I saw that you sit on the board
for Reformation, I was like, hmm, I wonder if there's
a discount that's involved with that. Now, this isn't a
business podcast, so I don't want to go too far
down this road, but I do need to ask because
this beckons the question how does someone sit on a board?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
How does that happen? Oh, that's a great question. So
I think there does need to be a fit with where.
So what do boards of directors do? They really help
the CEO be successful in achieving the mission and the
financial results of a company that is like my definition
(12:37):
of it. But really you're there to help the CEO
and the management team be successful. And usually boards are
made up of if it's a private board of investors,
and then also independent board members. And I'm an independent
board member on a couple of private companies, and what
my role is is really to bring my background and expertise.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And so I.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Think you need a certain level of background and expertise
to be valuable. And with the ref board, they were
looking for somebody that understood consumer and understood digital and
so you know, I in the conversations that I would
have with recruiters would I would just tell them, hey,
I'm open to board seats. I think I'm experienced enough
(13:23):
to be able to add value, and also I'm looking
to learn these specific things.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
For my board seats.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
So I think it's a give and take, but really
just like putting it out there to the network. I
really encourage, especially women, to just say what you want
in every conversation because you never know when that's going
to come back to you.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I love this and again that through line of learning here, right,
it's not only what can I bring to the table,
but also who else is sitting at the table and
what is it that we can exchange with one another.
That's right, absolutely, Now transitioning back to the work that
you do at Strava, not to are removed from when
you started working at Strava, you also started to invest
(14:03):
in your own journey of personal health and well being.
Can you talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, I've told this story on a couple of stages
that you've been on as well. Yeah, if you look
at my physical and I guess my wellness and fitness journey.
I grew up as a dancer, and so I was
a pretty serious ballet dancer. I danced in college on
the dance team, and so I was sort of like
(14:30):
a pilates yoga girly and I used to run very
short distances for like I would say, like vanity purposes.
And when I came to Strava, I said, look, there's
this product that really helps people live their best active lives.
But you know, at the time, and I think still
is the case, Strava is really best suited to runners
(14:52):
and cyclists. Bikes were a little bit intimidating to me.
There's a lot that goes into riding a bike. I
do have one now, but running was sort of the
first place that I started, and I said, Okay, well,
I have to learn the product. I have to really
understand our consumers, so I have to start running, and
boy is running hard. I ran my first two mile
(15:12):
loop with my cell phone and the mobile recording screen
on Strava around my house, and like five minutes in,
I was like, how much longer do I have to go?
And I was not even close to I mean, I
don't think it was even like a quarter of the
way through that run. So fast forward to I just
I stuck with it. I gave myself a goal. I'm
(15:35):
a goal oriented person, so I decided to run a
local half marathon and I got myself a little hell
Higden training plan and executed the plan and it was
just like so hard, like everyone run was the longest
I had ever run, and I was so proud of
(15:56):
myself and Strava really did it helped me learn the
product of Like wow, the kudos, the comments.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The community was so so so supportive.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And so now fast forward, I've run two marathons, the
first of which was in New York City. You saw
me probably at the lowest point of my running career ever,
at mile eighteen and a half, I saw Emily and
she was cheering me on, and I think I was
like sort of like blacked out in like a fog
of like, I still have like eight miles to go,
(16:25):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Know how I'm going to finish.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And then I ran a marathon in Paris this summer.
So it's been a really fun journey. It's really fulfilling.
I'm getting in a trail now, I'm loving it. Power
hiking is for me, and it's just been really rewarding
and fulfilling.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
You highlighted something that I believe is so essential, as
you know, to the DNA of Strava and also the
success of anyone that's going to begin a new activity,
and that is the kudos and the community for so
many when you get involved in a new something, whether
it be running or cycling or hiking or walking or dancing,
(17:05):
whatever it is, you there's this fear that you're not
good enough to do it with other people, right, and
so open yourself up to that community, to open yourself
up to those kudos. What you find then is that
there's a perk to that. There's a perk to being
surrounded by like minded people who want to see you win.
As you started your journey, you were immediately open to
(17:29):
that community because of your role within Strava. Were there
are emotions, feelings, thoughts associated with that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Absolutely, I think you're touching on something that I think
prevents people from getting started, where it's like I'm going
to be bad at it. I'm not going to be
like good enough to run with the group. I'm not
going to be like fit enough to actually like complete
the workout or whatever it is. And especially like we
have a lot of really fast people that work for Strava,
(18:00):
and so the first time we have a we have
a workout Wednesday Wednesday that we do with in our
global offices, and so it's really cool. You like go
for a walk or run or whatever together and everybody
does it together and it's really fun, and it's also
like pretty intimidating if you're a first time runner and
(18:23):
like I am, if you follow me on Strava, I
think I'm a fun follow.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But I'm not fast.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And it's just like you have that anxiety, you have
that worry, you almost have that like self doubt of
I'm not going to fit in and that's what you know,
I think a lot. A large part of my team's
job is at Strava is to create the conditions where
people can see themselves in the community. At a colleague
(18:54):
that was like, ooh, I don't want to like post
my pace on Strava, and I was like.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Why not.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's super inspiring to see somebody achieve something that is
hard for them, no matter what your pace is. And
everybody is trying to like do something in their active life,
whether it's that's be more consistent, or it's to go faster,
or to go further, or to do it more often.
(19:21):
Everybody has a goal and it's really inspiring to see
people reach those goals. And when you post something on Strava,
even if it is your slow thirteen minute mile run,
that's totally fine because guess what, it's going to inspire
one hundred more runs that look exactly like yours.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Yeah. And so for you as you started out, did
you feel anxious or nervous?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
One hundred percent? I felt. So it's like exposed almost
where you're like, it's a vulnerable place to be, like, man,
I'm like out there doing this thing and I don't
know what it's going to to look like, and I
don't know if I'm going to be good, and you just,
of course you feel anxious and nervous. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I think when I like, even when I said, oh, okay,
I'm going to like try and run the New York
City Marathon, people were like, how fast do you think
you were going to run it?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I was like, I'm just trying to finish.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
The thing that should be your only goal at your
first marathon is simply to finish. Yes, and I did that.
I'm proud of myself, but I and I'm proud of
you too. I what I appreciate, though, is that you
at Strava have, then, being that you're using the product,
taken what your learnings are and then implemented them into
(20:38):
said product. Right, So you knew that there were other
people that didn't want it all to be about the
pace that they were running and maybe didn't want to
share information like the roots that they were on, and
then integrated that into it so that those things no
longer have to be visible.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
One of the things that we have really started to
be intentional about is how do we build specifically for her.
So Strava has historically it started out for male cyclists really,
and as we've expanded into running, and as we've seen
new audiences come onto our platform, and as more of
(21:16):
us on the leadership team have started to be less
of that sort of like elite athlete, it has been
really cool to see one the product team's openness to
be building for expansion audiences and two being willing to
really take our input, and it's like amazing what can
come out of that. So things like we launched a
(21:39):
product feature called quick Edit this year where it just
brings up all of the things that you want to
edit about your run in like one sheet as soon
as you finish the activity. And it's so helpful because
like I have started hard hiding my heart rate on
specific workouts because one, I don't want people to know
that how out of shape I am sometimes and like
(22:02):
do that's really private information and so when it is
like a harder workout, I maybe don't want people to
know all of that. In addition to things like our
privacy settings around like maps and you know, I don't
want people to know where I live. I don't even
want people to know sometimes what city I'm in because
I travel so much. So it's great to see some
(22:25):
of the controls, especially as we start to build in
for women.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, and you mentioned traveling a lot. I know that
you are constantly on the go. With that said, how
do you find the time to take care of yourself
when you are going and coming and flying and training
and driving. Right, You're constantly on the move, and so
(22:50):
with that comes a little bit of fatigue, a lot
of I'm just trying to do the best I can
with everything that's happening around me. How does ZIP take
care of zip?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Wow, that's a big question. I don't think I do
it as well as I want to all the time.
And when I think about when I do it at
my best, I'm really intentional about how I'm spending my time.
I'm really planful about that. So right now I know
(23:23):
that I'm coming up into a pretty big travel block.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I was in San Francisco last week.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I'm going to be traveling in two weeks time, and
I have traveled back to back weeks. I actually try
not to travel back to back weeks. I'm a mom
of two amazing kids. I have an eight year old
and a six year old. I have an amazing partner
in my husband, who really supports our whole family, including me,
(23:49):
and I want to make sure that I have time
to give them what they need from me as well.
So like, and I don't know if you know anyagrams,
but I'm an aneagram too, which means I'm a considerate helper.
And I'm a social enneagram too, which means that we
have this I have this analogy that like, I want
to give all my pie away to people because I
(24:10):
want to help people.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
And I want to be there for them, and I
want to support.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
All the things that my team is doing and our
community is doing. But what that means is that I
have no pie left for myself. And so I really
I'm like calibrating all the time on like do I
have enough pie for myself? And so I take time
early morning workouts are really important for me. That is
my time to myself, and so I get up early
(24:37):
and I do the workout so that I can come
to any situation with like my best self and my
rested self and my like reset self. It starts the
day off well for me. I see that you do
that too. You're a source of inspiration for me. I
follow you on a lot of social networks, and I
think that that is like such an important practice of
(24:59):
like how in that time every day and then I
round the day out every night I journal, and.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
So I just like it's nothing like over the top.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
If like anybody read it, they'd be like, what are
these like random thoughts? But I just like kind of
reflect on the day and like how did I feel
and what did I feel good about?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
And where do I think I can do better tomorrow?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
And so just like having those pockets of individual time
are really important.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Whenever I share morning content without fail, someone's in the
DMS asking, how do I too become a morning person?
For you? Were you always this way? Or is this
learned behavior? And what helps you get up on the
days that you really don't exactly feel like getting out
(25:49):
of bed?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
I do think I have been a morning person for
a long time, probably like my early twenties, and I'm
in my mid forties now, so it's been a minute
since I had to train myself to be a morning person.
And I think just like corporate America probably did that
for me pretty naturally.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
On the days that I don't. But one, I'm pretty
strict about the bedtime.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I do try and be in bed at a reasonable
hour so that I can get enough sleep. It doesn't
always happen, but I really do try and prioritize that.
And then on the days that you know, I get
up and I'm like, oh, it's too cold, which I
live in California, so anyway doesn't live in California, They're like,
you don't know what you're talking about, or you know
it's too cold, or like I don't really feel like
(26:35):
doing it. I think about how I feel afterwards, and
it's like, you know you were going to feel better.
You know you were going to have a better day
if you get a little sweat in, if you go
take that pilates class, if you go for that run.
The other thing is like accountability buddies. I love that
I have a friend that I train with. Her name
(26:57):
is Anne, and you'll see her tagged on almost all
of my runs when I'm in town and at home,
and I know that if Anne and I have agreed
to run, she is going to be waiting for me
on the corners that we meet at at five point
thirty in the morning. And so it's a way to
just like hack it where it's like I cannot leave
Anne hanging on the corner.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
We can't leave Anne on the corner.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Man on the corner, don't do it?
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Yeah, I mean accountability buddies are everything, and obviously you
and her have this very special relationship that arguably is
made better because you've solidified it in sweat when it
comes though, to those that may not know each other.
We talked about numbers before and that comparison can be
a tough thing. That famous comparison is the thief of joy.
(27:42):
What do you say to the people who maybe do
U Strava and do feel discouraged by that comparison factor.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Yeah, I think that's like, that's a real risk and
it's one of the ones that I think make It's
so important that our community reflects the diversity that exists
in the sport types that we support, because not everybody
is going to look the same, not everybody is going
to run at the same pace. And you can find
(28:14):
inspiration and motivation no matter you know what pace you
run at, or you.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Know how far you walk or how far.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
You ride, and there is that comparison factor where like
you know, it's on.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
The top of the card where it's like how far
did you run?
Speaker 1 (28:30):
What pace was it at? And like what was your
total time? And then if you really want to get
into it, you can see like total elapse time versus total.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Moving time and see how much somebody stop.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
And I think the comparison, yes, it can be motivating.
Like there are people that I follow that I'm like, man,
I wish like you're faster than me, and I'm like wow,
like she ran like a you know, eight minute mile,
Like I wonder if I.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Could ever get there.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
And I think it's like really important to focus on
your own journey. That's what I would tell people is
like everybody is on a different path, and what my
best active life looks like might be different than what
your best active life looks like. And so I think
getting really clear on like, well, what is the goal?
My goal is like I just want to get out
(29:17):
there and move every day, and maybe I have a
distant goal for you know, I'm training for a half
local half marathon right now, but I don't have a
time goal associated with that. I just kind of want
to run and have fun and do it with a
group of friends that you know, we can do the
training together. So that's what I would say to people
is just like focus, it's so cheesy.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And cliche, but like run run your own race.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Yeah no, I mean I love the sentiments of run
your own race. And I also like don't want to
downplay that it is so okay to quote unquote just
do it for fun. I feel like so much, Oh
what are you aiming for? What are you going for?
And it's like no, like having fun and completing something
is valid and good, good and enough. Period.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Yeah, Ann and I have started a local mom's run club,
and so it's you know, it's a bunch of moms
that like can only run at five thirty am in
our suburb that we live in, and tomorrow morning we're
going for a run and brunch together.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
So I love a weekend run in frun. You're like
my friends and I. Now in New York, we have
what we call Pastry Run Club, which is every Friday,
we pick a different place and go try a bunch
of pastries.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I love that. I'm totally gonna steal that.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You can whenever you're in town. Next you can come
to Pastry run Club. Okay, deal, taking your break from
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(32:07):
Comparison can be the thief of joy, and to your point,
I also do feel like it can be motivating if
you have the right framework on things. Framework can be
the thing that makes something great or makes something awful.
Your power is really in your perspective. Speaking of perspective,
I do want to shake up this conversation a little
(32:29):
bit and talk a bit about you as a leader.
We talked about how you have this opportunity to continually
learn in your position as you evolve within your work.
You're also leading by example. Do you feel pressure in
that in being someone that people look to for answers?
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I actually, well, pressure is maybe not the wrong word.
I find it very motivating. And when I think about
my leadership philosophy and how I lead, I think it
is such a privilege to get to be a leader
and I think anybody can be a leader at any level.
(33:10):
You can show leadership as the most junior person on
the team all the way up to my level and
my boss's level and a board of director level. Because
when it comes down to where people look for motivation
and inspiration, where they look to for the examples, it
really is like the integrity with which you do your job.
(33:32):
It's the way that you show up with the We
talk a lot about the like what you do and
the how you do it. I think those are really
important to bring together. It is not just about what
you do, It is about how you do it as well, and.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
How you make people feel in the process.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So I actually think that that is like, I want
to set a really good example for you know, I
think that especially as a woman in leadership, a woman
in tech leadership, a woman of color in tech leadership, that's.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Really rare, rare, error.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
And I have people that I have looked up to
in my career and I want to be that example
for people to say, hey, like I you can't you
can't be it if you can't see it. And I
want to be the person that other people can see
and say, oh I can If she can do that,
I can do that too.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
And I think a reason that you're so great at
what you do is because you understand that you have
the opportunity to learn from everyone. Right, you just talked
about people on your team, junior folks, your boss above you. Right,
you have this opportunity, no matter what level they're at,
(34:48):
to learn from them. And I think that's very special
and what contributes to your continued success.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Oh, thank you, Yeah, you're welsome.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
It is though, And I do believe that when you
get to a place where you are convinced that you
are perhaps the smartest person in the room, and that
means that you're not in the right room anymore.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
One hundred percent. You never want to be the smartest
person in the room. Oh my gosh, Like, how scary
is that. I have a saying with my team, like
I reserve the right to get smarter and take in
new information and change my mind. And I think that
sometimes in leadership positions you can get stuck in this
(35:29):
mindset that like I have to have all the answers,
I cannot change my mind. But we're getting new information
all the time. We're finding new context to problems, both
in like personal life and in work life. There's so
much context that changes. And so it's like it's totally okay,
And it's really empowering to say I reserve the right
(35:51):
to get smarter about a given situation or a given
problem or a given opportunity.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
What has your role as a mom taught you about
being a leader?
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Oh? Man, it is the greatest teacher. It is such
a humbling experience to be a mom. One nobody knows
what they're doing because especially like with your first child.
It's like you've never been a mom before, You've never
been a parent before, and it's not like every kid
(36:30):
comes with like a set of instructions for like this
human being needs to do this, this, this, this, and this.
You're like, I think it's the greatest responsibility and one
that is like really scary on Like you are creating
the foundational experiences of this human being that is going
(36:51):
to grow up and do whatever it is that they
are meant to do in the world, and so like
what are you pouring into them?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
What are you equipping them with that is.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Going to make manifest in like therapy later, because like
I think that everybody's going to end up in therapy.
I have a great therapist that really helps me show
up as my best self. And I had a very
incredible mother have very incredible mothers. So the responsibility of
like being a mom, it has like taught me so
(37:20):
much about like humility, and it has taught me so
much about patience, and it has taught me so much
about like I am not in control of everything because
this little tiny human being is going to do what
he or she is going to do, and the only
thing I can control is how I respond to it.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
M the token respond instead of react. That is probably
one of the most challenging lessons and concepts to continually
put into practice, especially because a feeling arises and your
thoughts follow, and then you have to write I recognize
(38:00):
in that moment that you are not your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Yes, And it's so hard.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
I feel like every day I get multiple opportunities to
practice that, and I fail at least fifty percent of
the time every day.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
What do you do when you fail, though? Because it
is something that's very challenging and something that's easy to
fail at. So is there a situation where you address
that maybe you didn't handle a situation as you had hoped.
Is there a moment where you maybe put your pride
or your ego aside, so go back and handle something
(38:38):
the way that you wanted to the first time.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Oh? Yes, it happened to me this week at our
leadership off site. Somebody asked me a question in I
mean they were probably like how many people in the
room seventy ish. Somebody asked me a question and I
responded defensively to the question because the question, in some way,
(39:02):
shape or form triggered me to your point. I had
a thought about I had a feeling and then a
thought about it, and then I reacted. I did not respond,
and I was as soon as it came out of
my mouth, I was like, well, shit, like I did
not handle that properly.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
And I apologized.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I apologized in private, and I said, hey, I didn't
respond to your question in the way that I should have.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I'm really sorry that I did that.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I'm really sorry that I did that in a bunch
of in front of a bunch of people. I didn't
feel great about myself, and I think that you know,
I am a person that will like replay that a lot.
And so one of the things that I am working
on is being really kind and loving to myself on like,
we are going to make mistakes, and that one was
one of the bigger mistakes because it was in front
(39:57):
of a lot of people, and so I have to forget.
I also have to like forgive myself for that and
know that I acknowledged it, I apologize and I can
do better next time.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Yeah, And it's a learning lesson, right, Like I hear
you on the I have to get to a place
where I forgive myself about how I acted, because I
think that that can be the worst part. Also, what
a beautiful sense of awareness that you have that you
went to that person without ego and said, hey, my bad.
(40:30):
I think that is exemplary of what leadership looks like.
Because no one's going to be perfect all the time.
It isn't relatable, it doesn't make sense, it's not going
to happen. But when you own up to who it
is you are, what you want to do, and that
you can portray and enact within the best part of
your capability your positive intentions, that is leadership.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
I would agree.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
I mean, I do think when I was journaling about
that situation and the night that I have okay, I
did give myself credit on like, okay, you acknowledged it,
because it would have been very easy to just say
to dismiss it and say feel a certain way about it,
but then say, oh, but like it's too scary to
(41:16):
go apologize to the person. And this person was incredibly
gracious in the way that they responded to my apology.
They gave me grace in that moment. They could have
very easily been like, no, like I am still mad
at you. I did not think that was okay, and
that would have been okay, that would have been very warranted.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Totally understandable, And again I do think that that is
very indicative of your leadership style and the fact that
you see everyone as an equal at the table.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
When I think about what creates the environment for people
to be successful, you want people to be able to
break their whole selves and you want them to be
able to bring.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Their whole thought.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
You're in a work environment, especially you're hiring people for
their expertise, and so we need to create the conditions
where they feel like they can bring that full expertise
to the table, because that's what they were hired for.
If they're just going to be there to tell me
what I want to hear or to focus their attention
(42:26):
on orienting around what they think is the answer, then
that's like we get into echo chambers and we don't
I guess, appreciate the full diversity.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Of the team.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
We spoke earlier about what it's been like for you
to pick up running in different types of activity since
you began your time at Strava. What would you say
that added activity, that added going outside of your comfort zone,
These new added challenges have done for you, both personally
and professionally.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Personally, it has given me just one this like really beautiful,
like almost like active meditation that I didn't know existed.
And yes I did plates, and yes I did yoga
and I still do those, but there is something about
running where you can process. It's like the rhythmic nature
(43:24):
of it. It's the fact that you're out there for
like a long time, especially if you're training for something
like a marathon, you're out there for hours by yourself,
just kind of with your thoughts. And so personally, that's
been like a really nice gift. It's also given me
a lot of confidence. I mean, I picked up running
in my forties, just not at post having two children,
(43:47):
so it's not like I think that's kind of badass.
So it's given me this like wow, like if I
could do that, like imagine what else I could do?
Since given me like I think a little bit more swagger,
I guess or confidence. And then professionally, it's just opened
up this whole new industry to me. I we probably
(44:09):
wouldn't have met if I didn't start working at Strava,
I didn't start running, I probably wouldn't be on your podcast.
Having this amazing conversation with you right now. I would
have to have a very different podcast if we were
talking about pizza and tacos.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Yes, be a very different podcast.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
And it's given me just this, Like from a professional standpoint,
you know, I think that I loved working in restaurants,
and restaurants are still near and dear to my heart.
The brands that I worked on, I still love them,
and I love the people that I work with. I'm
still friends with a lot of those people. But I
think running and fitness has given me this, like other
(44:53):
path in my career, It's opened a lot more doors
for me, I will say, from a career perspective, where
or before, you know, I maybe had sort of like
one thing that I did and now I am much
more multi dimensional.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
And the thing is tho zip is that like you
were multi dimensional before, it was just getting to a
place where you could recognize and see that within yourself.
I think so often we feel as though, because of
our environment, like things are quote unquote supposed to be
some kind of way, when all it takes is just
exposure or a moment to get outside of your own
(45:31):
box to understand hey, actually it could be different if
you're open to that possibility.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
Yeah, back to you, like your mind creates a reality,
Like your thoughts can really create like oh, I'm like
boxed into this industry, or like oh I'm not a runner.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
That's not me. It's too hard.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
And it's like, well, if you actually challenge that and say, well,
what would it look like if I was a runner,
or what it looked like if I stepped outside of
an industry that I'm super familiar with, it's super scary
and it puts you in a vulnerable position because you
might mess it up and it might not go as
(46:13):
you think it's going to go. But then again, it
is like your mind. It's like what you think it's
going to go a certain way and then it goes differently.
Does that mean that it's bad, No, it's just different.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
I mean that in itself is such a lesson, right,
having to navigate quote unquote failure understanding that there are
lessons everywhere for you. You talked about, you know, the
side step that happened earlier this week, but I'm sure
there have been other quote unquote failures that have taught
you major lessons over the last few years at Strava.
(46:46):
Anything come to mind.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
When I first got to Strava, one of the things
that we wanted to do was really clarify the brand.
And you know, the job and what I was hired
to do was to grow the community and to get
us into new expansion audiences.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
And as we started to.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Define what those new expansion audiences are, I think it
was very easy for us to lose sight of our
core user base, like the people that have been with
Strava for over a decade and have loved us, and
have been in the product and are really passionate about Strava.
(47:34):
And I think in the beginning I made the mistake
of not really appreciating how deep that love for the
brand and that passion for the brand was from our
core audiences. So we made a pricing change, and we
updated our subscription prices, and we did it for the
first time in like ten years, and this was back
(47:56):
earlier in twenty twenty three, and I don't think we
did a very good job of explaining the value that
we had built into our subscription and into our features
for that core audience. And they were really surprised when
we raised our prices and we hadn't done so in
(48:18):
ten years, and we had built a lot of functionality
into the product that we hadn't told them that story.
So it was a lesson for me in really making
sure that we are continuing to nurture how our community
and especially our subscribers understand the value that we are
bringing to them, while also making sure that we are
(48:41):
setting ourselves up for business success, and we are setting
ourselves up for the expansion in our user base, which
we've seen, you know, in spades in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (48:53):
Four four in spades.
Speaker 3 (48:55):
It's so interesting. I'm reflecting back on what you said
about the fact that, unlike a McDonald's or pizza Hut,
you can walk into one of those, probably within ten
minutes somewhere, right, but you cannot walk into a physical Strava.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Yet.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
I do believe that the brand has such a strong
brand presence in that it's positive, it is community, it
is I said the word positive, but like happiness, Like
I don't think of Strava as an application that I'm
going to open and feel bad about myself. I'm like,
(49:28):
who knows what could happen elsewhere on the interwebs or
whatever else I'm looking at on my phone right and
so I think and believe that that's a testament to
the fact that you are so dialed in on this
mission statement, which is that you want to motivate your
consumers to live their best active lives.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
Yeah, I think that is that's it's really important that
Strava is that place that you find motivation, and we're
a platform, and so we want people creating whatever is
they're going to create on our platform, and that is
in the form of their upload to Strava their active life,
(50:09):
their run, their walk, their pilates, their yoga, their ride,
and in doing so, that inspires the next person to
get out there. And it's funny, like there have been
weekends where I'm like, man, I didn't meet my weekly
mileage goal.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Maybe I'll just like let it slip. And then I
open up my Strava and I see all these cool activities.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
And I'm like, ah, I probably should just get out
there and like finish the rest of the mileage. It's
such a cool positive fly wheel because we actually Strava
is a place where we want you to actually get
off of our app and go do the thing.
Speaker 2 (50:45):
We don't want you sitting on the app and just
scrolling scrolling scrolling.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
We want you to get motivated and get inspired and
then get out there and do the thing that is
going to make you feel better and live your best
active life. I think that's where the brand does become
very personal for people, because what is on Strava is
your personal body of work. I mean, that's why we
(51:10):
just came out of year in Sport and I just
got my water bottle. I think I got it in
the mail while I was out of town, but I
just picked it up when I got back this morning,
and it's so cool. It's like I have like a
personal piece of swag that has my personal stats of
what I did last year. And I think that is
(51:32):
really part of the emotion that exists, and I think
that's why our community is so passionate.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
Last year was the year I remember a God. Two
years ago was the year we started adding photos and
videos and everything to Strava. Last year was the year
of dark Mode, among many other things, athlete intelligence. What
is there to be excited about right now on the
horizon for Strava.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, what I am excited about is we're going to
be talking a lot more to our community, and so
I think we have done an okay job of that,
but I don't think we've done a great job back
to you know, one of the missteps that I think
we made a couple of years ago, I don't think
we talked to our community enough about the value that
(52:16):
we are adding and the value that they get from
being on Strava.
Speaker 2 (52:20):
And so that is one of the things that I'm
really excited about.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
And you know, I mentioned kind of like everybody has
a goal in their active life. We are going to
get much more This is like so cryptic, but we're
going to get much more intentional about how we think
about helping people meet their goals on our platform.
Speaker 3 (52:41):
I love this. I know that cam Strava is only
a few months away, so more will be revealed in
the coming months when we want to learn revealed behind
the cryptic messaging. What are you personally excited about right now?
Speaker 2 (52:55):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (52:57):
Yeah, it's maybe like kind of a controversial one.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
I'm excited about saying no more.
Speaker 3 (53:04):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (53:05):
One of my reflections at the end of last year
is Q four was just a really hectic quarter for me.
I was traveling a bunch, I wasn't sleeping. My aura
was very very mad at me. My writing score was
very low for most of Q four, and it's because
I was trying to say yes to all of these things,
and by saying yes to all of these other things,
(53:27):
I was saying no to myself.
Speaker 2 (53:29):
And so I'm flipping the script in twenty twenty five.
I am saying no to more things so that I
can say yes to myself more.
Speaker 3 (53:37):
How do you remove the shame and guilt of saying no?
Speaker 2 (53:42):
Real hard? It's still a work in progress.
Speaker 1 (53:45):
One of the things that I am doing is I
am when appropriate, not all the time, but when appropriate,
I am giving context for why I am saying no.
Speaker 2 (53:54):
So I just said no to an event.
Speaker 1 (53:58):
And it is because I am just going to be
coming back from a seven day business trip away from
my family, and I cannot come back to my kids
on a Friday and tell them Mommy is going to
be gone on a Saturday after being gone for seven days.
Like that's just not fair to me or to them.
(54:19):
So I gave that context to my team, and I
gave that context to our partner, and they've been really
gracious about it.
Speaker 3 (54:26):
Yeah, and I appreciate that sentiment when appropriate, right, and
that you don't always need to say no and then
give a paragraph answer as to why you can't make
it happen. Sometimes a no is enough, but it just
depends on the context of the relationship and what it
is that you're you know, you've got going on.
Speaker 1 (54:46):
Yeah, I learned a phrase this week that I'm starting
to test out. I just don't have capacity for that.
Speaker 3 (54:57):
That's a good one. Yes, I just don't have the
capacity for that right now? Yeh like respect, Yeah, I'm
gonna start trying it out. I was gonna say, have
you tried it yet?
Speaker 1 (55:09):
I did, But it was like, as soon as I
learned the phrase, that one of the other people I
was with was like, Okay, let's try it out.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
Zip, do you want to hang out with this weekend?
And I was like, I just don't have the capacity
for that. And I was like, oh, that's all good.
Speaker 3 (55:22):
I really am going to start doing this too. Oh
my goodness, I can't wait when I as soon as
I use it, you will be the first to know.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
Oh please please please let me know. Now.
Speaker 3 (55:33):
We talked about what it's like to be at the
front of the room, at the top of the ladder,
for people to be under you looking to you for
inspiration and motivation. Someone comes to your Instagram page and
they see someone that is in this special role as
chief business officer at Strava. You're a loving mom of
two children and so much more. But specifically, when you
look in the mirror, zip, what is it that you
(55:56):
see looking back at you.
Speaker 2 (55:59):
I see a woman who is.
Speaker 1 (56:05):
In I'm gonna steal Michelle Obama's word, who is becoming.
I see a woman who is becoming her best self
at all times. I also see a person who sits,
who has the privilege of all of the generations that
have come before me. One of the people that I
(56:27):
admire most is my grandmother. She passed away a couple
of years ago, so I had the like good fortune
to know her for a lot of my life. And
I am half Filipino and half black, and she moved
my family to the United States, and she has this
like amazing story, but she was the visionary that did that.
(56:51):
She moved here ten years before her kids, cleaned hotel rooms,
worked odd jobs, worked her way up to like be
you know, owned a pharmacy eventually in LA And she
was the one that gave me the opportunity to live
in this country. And have the opportunities that the US
(57:13):
and the American Dream, if you will, affords to all
of us. And I think about that a lot. It's like,
there's a lot of people that made a lot of
sacrifices for me to have the opportunity I have. So
I just I see somebody that is very grateful for
where I have come from and what has come before me,
(57:33):
and somebody that wants to pay that forward to the
next generation.
Speaker 3 (57:38):
So special and what a beautiful opportunity it was to
have her for such a long time in your life
as a as a role model for you, and of
course just to have her presence right now. Zip, you
have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice
coming into Java. I mean, you sought out the job
because you knew that you could be good at it,
(57:58):
but there was a lot that you knew you were
walking into that was going to be foreign territory. Knowing
what you know, now, what advice would you give to
your younger self during that hurdle moment?
Speaker 1 (58:12):
I would tell myself during that hurdle moment, don't be
afraid of what will be revealed within yourself based on
the situations that you put yourself in, you will blossom
more than you ever expected. You will grow and develop
(58:33):
in ways that are uncomfortable, and it's going to be beautiful.
Speaker 2 (58:39):
And give yourself grace through that journey.
Speaker 3 (58:41):
Give yourself grace through the journey. I'm so happy that
we were able to finally make this happen. Thank you
so much. For those that want to keep up with you,
maybe even just on Strava, how do they find you?
Give us the details?
Speaker 1 (58:54):
Yes, so on Strava you can follow me. I'm zip
Allen and I live. If you just search zip Allen,
I should come up. I don't think there's any.
Speaker 2 (59:03):
Other Zipalans on Strava.
Speaker 1 (59:06):
And then on Instagram, on my handle is at it's
its zip Allen. I'm like a spotty poster on Instagram.
I'm much more consistent on Strava. And then I'm on
LinkedIn as well, but I rarely post on LinkedIn.
Speaker 3 (59:25):
But I love a good zip Allen LinkedIn post, though
it's always so profound, there's some takeaway there.
Speaker 2 (59:32):
It's just very rare.
Speaker 3 (59:34):
It's rare. I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcasts.
Another Hurdle Conquered. Catch you guys, next time.
You can't be it if you can't see it, And
I want to be the person that other people can
see and say, oh, if she.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Can do that, I can do that too.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Hey, Hey, Emily, a body here. You're listening to episode
three hundred and thirty nine of Hurdle, a wellness focused
podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from
their highest ties and toughest moments to essential tips on
how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We
all go through our fair share of hurdles. My goal
(00:41):
through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate
yours and move with intention so that you can stride
towards your own big potential and of course have some
fun along the way. Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness.
Three thirty nine. I could not be more elated to
bring my conversation with Zipporah Allen to the feed. Zip
(01:05):
as her friends call her, is the chief business officer
over at Strava. I am an active user of Strava
for many years now. I had the honor of hosting
their annual Camp Strava last year as their official head
camp counselor. And this is a conversation that has been
(01:28):
in the works since well before then. In today's episode,
Zip and I really get into it. We talk about
the journey that led her to Strava and what it
was like to work at brands like McDonald's and Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell believe it or not, before landing
in the health and wellness space. Naturally, when I have
(01:48):
the opportunity to talk to anyone with a title like ZIPS,
I love to get their best practice business advice. Zip
and I talk about what it's like for her to
be a leader, what her leadership style is. We also
talk about the importance she places on learning as she
progresses within her career, and what it's like to be
on the board of directors for a company. Naturally, we
(02:12):
also talked about running. Zip shares her relationship with the
Score and how she actually really got into lacing up
herself upon taking this role at Strava and now proudly
calls herself a two time marathoner. Plus she offers advice
that she'd give her younger self, and why she feels
that it is so so important to respond instead of react. Love, love,
(02:38):
Love this conversation, and again so thankful that we were
not only able to make it happen, but that I
can now bring it to the feed. Make sure if
you're not yet subscribed to the weekly Hurdle newsletter you
do that. The link is in the show notes. Follow
along with Hurdle over on Instagram. It's at Hurdle Podcast.
I am over at Emily a body and appropriate for
(02:59):
this episode, the Hurdler's Strava group is waiting for you.
I'll link that in the show notes as well. With that,
let's get to it. Let's get it's a hurdling today.
I am overjoyed to be sitting down with Zippora Allen.
(03:21):
She is the chief a business officer over at Strava.
How are we doing today's ZIP?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I'm fantastic. It's so nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
It's so good to see you. Zip and I are
old friends. Now, what's your most recent activity on Strava ZIP?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So, this week we actually had Strava's leadership off site
and it was up in San Francisco in Berkeley. Specifically,
we went on team activities that's always part of a
Strava offsite, and we did a trail run. So I
think my caption on that trail run was vibes and
vert are really high. We did two thousand feet of
(03:58):
climbing in like seven it's a lot.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Wow, that is an impressive amount of climbing and like
really fun. It seems when your personal interests align with
the interests of your company, you can't be a non
active person and work at Strava.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, And what's cool about it is you don't have
to be you don't have to be doing two thousand
feet avert in seven miles. We had a team that
went hiking, which was just a nice little two mile
loop with great views. We had a team that did
a bike ride, so it doesn't have to be this
like crazy, like really high performing team. And we did
a lot of power hiking.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
On the run, as all good trail runners know, you
do a.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Lot of power hiking and the run with air quotes. Yeah,
I see that. I see that. I only learned, like
within the last couple of years that trail running is
often simply power hiking, which is.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Okay, It's totally okay.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's totally okay. Well, I feel like someone he years
the title chief business Officer at Strava, and they think,
how does someone end up with a job like that
that sounds like something that would be really cool. So
I know that it's not a one sentence answer, but
talk to us a little bit about your career trajectory
before ending up at Strava.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, well, I do have to say I do think
I have the best job in the world, and that
is because I get to get up every day and
think about our mission, which is to motivate people to
live their best active lives. And I get to work
with a team that engages our community, our partners, gets
to bring Strava to the world and really recruit people
(05:41):
onto our platform and make them feel like they belong.
And so I get to do that every single day
and it's just a joy and a privilege, and I
feel like.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm so, so so lucky.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
How I got here is I grew up as a
marketer and a brand marketer specifically, And to say, I
made this pivot from fifteen years in a fast food
career to a fitness career, which might not seem that
intuitive to a lot of people, but when you look
at the similarities across fifteen years in restaurant brands. So
(06:15):
I worked for McDonald's for a long time. I was
the Chief Marketing officer of Pizza Hut. I was the
chief Digital officer of Taco Bell most recently. But the
common thread there is food is actually very emotional for people,
and so as a marketer, you want to tap into
the emotion. You want to tap into what it is
(06:36):
that the food enables. So for Pizza it was really
that connection and families were really important. For Taco Bell,
it's a really cool brand, and so when you go
to the Taco Bell brand, yes, it's about like emotionally
fulfilling that craving for that really specific taste, but it
also is about that cool factor of what being a
(06:57):
Taco Bell customer says about you. And so taking that
over to a brand like Strava has just been really
interesting to make a pivot in my career to be
more digitally focused. Strava physically doesn't exist in the world.
It exists in people's run clubs, It exists in their
hearts and their minds and in their own personal fitness journey.
(07:23):
But you can't like walk into Strava like you can
Taco Bell or Pizza Hut, and so that has been
like a really interesting flex for me as a marketer
to just learn that muscle of like, how do you
create a brand? How do you create momentum when you
don't have the like physical there's a McDonald's sign every
(07:44):
like two miles in America, so that's kind of.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
How I got here.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
And then at Strava, I made the pivot from just
marketing specifically to really broadening my experience. I have aspiration
to continue to grow in my career. I'm an ambitious
woman and I'm not shy about saying that. And expanding
beyond marketing to really be accountable for all of our
(08:11):
business growth, for our top line growth, for our community growth,
for our revenue growth has been just a really great
stretch for me.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
This is so admirable. First and foremost, I need to
know before we go any further. Go to Taco Bell,
order Oh, a black bean crunch rap. Do not sleep
on the black beans at Taco Bell. They are so, so,
so good. And then I'll usually pair that with a spicy,
potato soft taco. So I eat almost entirely vegetarian at
(08:45):
Taco Bell. My go to Taco Bell order is also
a bean and cheese burrito, So I'm with you on
the vegetarian avenue.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I love it. My kids love the bean and cheese
burrito too.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I can't say I eat it very often, but I
would be remiss if I didn't ask you that. And
what I really appreciate about the insights that you gave
me about how you ended up at Strava is the
clear indication that you want to continue learning. And I
believe that when you get to a place where you
have these really grand titles where you're leading business units
(09:21):
and change and entire companies right that sometimes that isn't
always an option for you. Now to be in this
position where you are the chief business officer, who are
you learning from? Who are you leaning into to garner
more education and continue to flex these muscles?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I love that question because I've always had it. You know,
if you look at my career, I will say the
through line is learning and development. And when I have
gotten myself into like situations where you're like, ooh, I'm
a little uncomfortable, I don't know if I can actually
do it, that's when the growth happens. And so earlier
(10:04):
in my career, I actually moved internationally for three years
with McDonald's, and that was like I knew nobody on
the continent. It was Australia. I did not have the
cultural context of like marketing a brand in that space,
and I look back on that as one of the
pivotal moments in both my life and my career on learning.
(10:27):
And so now you're right, it does get harder when
like you are looked to to be like, well, you're
the person that's supposed to like know what to do
in this scenario. One I find it just like really
empowering to myself and also creates an environment where other
people around me can say, I don't know. So there's
a lot of situations. You know, I never worked for
(10:50):
a subscription business before. This is the first time I've
done that in my career, So there's a lot of
situations where I tell my team, well, I don't know.
I'm really lucky that I have a lot of people
on my team cross functionally and that report to me
that have taught me a lot about subscription businesses that
I didn't know before. And so I think that, like,
(11:11):
when you're at the top, it's very easy to say, oh,
I should know all of the answers, but I look
to my team to teach me a lot. And I'm
humble about that. We have a new CEO, Mike Martin.
He's awesome at Strava. He just came in just over
a year ago and he has a completely different background.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Turns out he has a lot of experience and subscription businesses,
so he has taught me a lot. My peer set
teaches me a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
And then you know, I think I sit on a
couple of external boards and that experience has really helped
round out my perspective on just what's going on with
the consumer, what's going on in the environment, what is
cool right now? And where are the conversations going in
(11:57):
the business world.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, when I saw that you sit on the board
for Reformation, I was like, hmm, I wonder if there's
a discount that's involved with that. Now, this isn't a
business podcast, so I don't want to go too far
down this road, but I do need to ask because
this beckons the question how does someone sit on a board?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
How does that happen? Oh, that's a great question. So
I think there does need to be a fit with where.
So what do boards of directors do? They really help
the CEO be successful in achieving the mission and the
financial results of a company that is like my definition
(12:37):
of it. But really you're there to help the CEO
and the management team be successful. And usually boards are
made up of if it's a private board of investors,
and then also independent board members. And I'm an independent
board member on a couple of private companies, and what
my role is is really to bring my background and expertise.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And so I.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Think you need a certain level of background and expertise
to be valuable. And with the ref board, they were
looking for somebody that understood consumer and understood digital and
so you know, I in the conversations that I would
have with recruiters would I would just tell them, hey,
I'm open to board seats. I think I'm experienced enough
(13:23):
to be able to add value, and also I'm looking
to learn these specific things.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
For my board seats.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
So I think it's a give and take, but really
just like putting it out there to the network. I
really encourage, especially women, to just say what you want
in every conversation because you never know when that's going
to come back to you.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I love this and again that through line of learning here, right,
it's not only what can I bring to the table,
but also who else is sitting at the table and
what is it that we can exchange with one another.
That's right, absolutely, Now transitioning back to the work that
you do at Strava, not to are removed from when
you started working at Strava, you also started to invest
(14:03):
in your own journey of personal health and well being.
Can you talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, I've told this story on a couple of stages
that you've been on as well. Yeah, if you look
at my physical and I guess my wellness and fitness journey.
I grew up as a dancer, and so I was
a pretty serious ballet dancer. I danced in college on
the dance team, and so I was sort of like
(14:30):
a pilates yoga girly and I used to run very
short distances for like I would say, like vanity purposes.
And when I came to Strava, I said, look, there's
this product that really helps people live their best active lives.
But you know, at the time, and I think still
is the case, Strava is really best suited to runners
(14:52):
and cyclists. Bikes were a little bit intimidating to me.
There's a lot that goes into riding a bike. I
do have one now, but running was sort of the
first place that I started, and I said, Okay, well,
I have to learn the product. I have to really
understand our consumers, so I have to start running, and
boy is running hard. I ran my first two mile
(15:12):
loop with my cell phone and the mobile recording screen
on Strava around my house, and like five minutes in,
I was like, how much longer do I have to go?
And I was not even close to I mean, I
don't think it was even like a quarter of the
way through that run. So fast forward to I just
I stuck with it. I gave myself a goal. I'm
(15:35):
a goal oriented person, so I decided to run a
local half marathon and I got myself a little hell
Higden training plan and executed the plan and it was
just like so hard, like everyone run was the longest
I had ever run, and I was so proud of
(15:56):
myself and Strava really did it helped me learn the
product of Like wow, the kudos, the comments.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The community was so so so supportive.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And so now fast forward, I've run two marathons, the
first of which was in New York City. You saw
me probably at the lowest point of my running career ever,
at mile eighteen and a half, I saw Emily and
she was cheering me on, and I think I was
like sort of like blacked out in like a fog
of like, I still have like eight miles to go,
(16:25):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Know how I'm going to finish.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And then I ran a marathon in Paris this summer.
So it's been a really fun journey. It's really fulfilling.
I'm getting in a trail now, I'm loving it. Power
hiking is for me, and it's just been really rewarding
and fulfilling.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
You highlighted something that I believe is so essential, as
you know, to the DNA of Strava and also the
success of anyone that's going to begin a new activity,
and that is the kudos and the community for so
many when you get involved in a new something, whether
it be running or cycling or hiking or walking or dancing,
(17:05):
whatever it is, you there's this fear that you're not
good enough to do it with other people, right, and
so open yourself up to that community, to open yourself
up to those kudos. What you find then is that
there's a perk to that. There's a perk to being
surrounded by like minded people who want to see you win.
As you started your journey, you were immediately open to
(17:29):
that community because of your role within Strava. Were there
are emotions, feelings, thoughts associated with that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Absolutely, I think you're touching on something that I think
prevents people from getting started, where it's like I'm going
to be bad at it. I'm not going to be
like good enough to run with the group. I'm not
going to be like fit enough to actually like complete
the workout or whatever it is. And especially like we
have a lot of really fast people that work for Strava,
(18:00):
and so the first time we have a we have
a workout Wednesday Wednesday that we do with in our
global offices, and so it's really cool. You like go
for a walk or run or whatever together and everybody
does it together and it's really fun, and it's also
like pretty intimidating if you're a first time runner and
(18:23):
like I am, if you follow me on Strava, I
think I'm a fun follow.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But I'm not fast.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And it's just like you have that anxiety, you have
that worry, you almost have that like self doubt of
I'm not going to fit in and that's what you know,
I think a lot. A large part of my team's
job is at Strava is to create the conditions where
people can see themselves in the community. At a colleague
(18:54):
that was like, ooh, I don't want to like post
my pace on Strava, and I was like.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Why not.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's super inspiring to see somebody achieve something that is
hard for them, no matter what your pace is. And
everybody is trying to like do something in their active life,
whether it's that's be more consistent, or it's to go faster,
or to go further, or to do it more often.
(19:21):
Everybody has a goal and it's really inspiring to see
people reach those goals. And when you post something on Strava,
even if it is your slow thirteen minute mile run,
that's totally fine because guess what, it's going to inspire
one hundred more runs that look exactly like yours.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Yeah. And so for you as you started out, did
you feel anxious or nervous?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
One hundred percent? I felt. So it's like exposed almost
where you're like, it's a vulnerable place to be, like, man,
I'm like out there doing this thing and I don't
know what it's going to to look like, and I
don't know if I'm going to be good, and you just,
of course you feel anxious and nervous. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I think when I like, even when I said, oh, okay,
I'm going to like try and run the New York
City Marathon, people were like, how fast do you think
you were going to run it?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I was like, I'm just trying to finish.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
The thing that should be your only goal at your
first marathon is simply to finish. Yes, and I did that.
I'm proud of myself, but I and I'm proud of
you too. I what I appreciate, though, is that you
at Strava have, then, being that you're using the product,
taken what your learnings are and then implemented them into
(20:38):
said product. Right, So you knew that there were other
people that didn't want it all to be about the
pace that they were running and maybe didn't want to
share information like the roots that they were on, and
then integrated that into it so that those things no
longer have to be visible.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
One of the things that we have really started to
be intentional about is how do we build specifically for her.
So Strava has historically it started out for male cyclists really,
and as we've expanded into running, and as we've seen
new audiences come onto our platform, and as more of
(21:16):
us on the leadership team have started to be less
of that sort of like elite athlete, it has been
really cool to see one the product team's openness to
be building for expansion audiences and two being willing to
really take our input, and it's like amazing what can
come out of that. So things like we launched a
(21:39):
product feature called quick Edit this year where it just
brings up all of the things that you want to
edit about your run in like one sheet as soon
as you finish the activity. And it's so helpful because
like I have started hard hiding my heart rate on
specific workouts because one, I don't want people to know
that how out of shape I am sometimes and like
(22:02):
do that's really private information and so when it is
like a harder workout, I maybe don't want people to
know all of that. In addition to things like our
privacy settings around like maps and you know, I don't
want people to know where I live. I don't even
want people to know sometimes what city I'm in because
I travel so much. So it's great to see some
(22:25):
of the controls, especially as we start to build in
for women.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, and you mentioned traveling a lot. I know that
you are constantly on the go. With that said, how
do you find the time to take care of yourself
when you are going and coming and flying and training
and driving. Right, You're constantly on the move, and so
(22:50):
with that comes a little bit of fatigue, a lot
of I'm just trying to do the best I can
with everything that's happening around me. How does ZIP take
care of zip?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Wow, that's a big question. I don't think I do
it as well as I want to all the time.
And when I think about when I do it at
my best, I'm really intentional about how I'm spending my time.
I'm really planful about that. So right now I know
(23:23):
that I'm coming up into a pretty big travel block.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I was in San Francisco last week.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I'm going to be traveling in two weeks time, and
I have traveled back to back weeks. I actually try
not to travel back to back weeks. I'm a mom
of two amazing kids. I have an eight year old
and a six year old. I have an amazing partner
in my husband, who really supports our whole family, including me,
(23:49):
and I want to make sure that I have time
to give them what they need from me as well.
So like, and I don't know if you know anyagrams,
but I'm an aneagram too, which means I'm a considerate helper.
And I'm a social enneagram too, which means that we
have this I have this analogy that like, I want
to give all my pie away to people because I
(24:10):
want to help people.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
And I want to be there for them, and I
want to support.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
All the things that my team is doing and our
community is doing. But what that means is that I
have no pie left for myself. And so I really
I'm like calibrating all the time on like do I
have enough pie for myself? And so I take time
early morning workouts are really important for me. That is
my time to myself, and so I get up early
(24:37):
and I do the workout so that I can come
to any situation with like my best self and my
rested self and my like reset self. It starts the
day off well for me. I see that you do
that too. You're a source of inspiration for me. I
follow you on a lot of social networks, and I
think that that is like such an important practice of
(24:59):
like how in that time every day and then I
round the day out every night I journal, and.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
So I just like it's nothing like over the top.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
If like anybody read it, they'd be like, what are
these like random thoughts? But I just like kind of
reflect on the day and like how did I feel
and what did I feel good about?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
And where do I think I can do better tomorrow?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
And so just like having those pockets of individual time
are really important.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Whenever I share morning content without fail, someone's in the
DMS asking, how do I too become a morning person?
For you? Were you always this way? Or is this
learned behavior? And what helps you get up on the
days that you really don't exactly feel like getting out
(25:49):
of bed?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
I do think I have been a morning person for
a long time, probably like my early twenties, and I'm
in my mid forties now, so it's been a minute
since I had to train myself to be a morning person.
And I think just like corporate America probably did that
for me pretty naturally.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
On the days that I don't. But one, I'm pretty
strict about the bedtime.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I do try and be in bed at a reasonable
hour so that I can get enough sleep. It doesn't
always happen, but I really do try and prioritize that.
And then on the days that you know, I get
up and I'm like, oh, it's too cold, which I
live in California, so anyway doesn't live in California, They're like,
you don't know what you're talking about, or you know
it's too cold, or like I don't really feel like
(26:35):
doing it. I think about how I feel afterwards, and
it's like, you know you were going to feel better.
You know you were going to have a better day
if you get a little sweat in, if you go
take that pilates class, if you go for that run.
The other thing is like accountability buddies. I love that
I have a friend that I train with. Her name
(26:57):
is Anne, and you'll see her tagged on almost all
of my runs when I'm in town and at home,
and I know that if Anne and I have agreed
to run, she is going to be waiting for me
on the corners that we meet at at five point
thirty in the morning. And so it's a way to
just like hack it where it's like I cannot leave
Anne hanging on the corner.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
We can't leave Anne on the corner.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Man on the corner, don't do it?
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Yeah, I mean accountability buddies are everything, and obviously you
and her have this very special relationship that arguably is
made better because you've solidified it in sweat when it
comes though, to those that may not know each other.
We talked about numbers before and that comparison can be
a tough thing. That famous comparison is the thief of joy.
(27:42):
What do you say to the people who maybe do
U Strava and do feel discouraged by that comparison factor.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Yeah, I think that's like, that's a real risk and
it's one of the ones that I think make It's
so important that our community reflects the diversity that exists
in the sport types that we support, because not everybody
is going to look the same, not everybody is going
to run at the same pace. And you can find
(28:14):
inspiration and motivation no matter you know what pace you
run at, or you.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Know how far you walk or how far.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
You ride, and there is that comparison factor where like
you know, it's on.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
The top of the card where it's like how far
did you run?
Speaker 1 (28:30):
What pace was it at? And like what was your
total time? And then if you really want to get
into it, you can see like total elapse time versus total.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Moving time and see how much somebody stop.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
And I think the comparison, yes, it can be motivating.
Like there are people that I follow that I'm like, man,
I wish like you're faster than me, and I'm like wow,
like she ran like a you know, eight minute mile,
Like I wonder if I.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Could ever get there.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
And I think it's like really important to focus on
your own journey. That's what I would tell people is
like everybody is on a different path, and what my
best active life looks like might be different than what
your best active life looks like. And so I think
getting really clear on like, well, what is the goal?
My goal is like I just want to get out
(29:17):
there and move every day, and maybe I have a
distant goal for you know, I'm training for a half
local half marathon right now, but I don't have a
time goal associated with that. I just kind of want
to run and have fun and do it with a
group of friends that you know, we can do the
training together. So that's what I would say to people
is just like focus, it's so cheesy.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And cliche, but like run run your own race.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Yeah no, I mean I love the sentiments of run
your own race. And I also like don't want to
downplay that it is so okay to quote unquote just
do it for fun. I feel like so much, Oh
what are you aiming for? What are you going for?
And it's like no, like having fun and completing something
is valid and good, good and enough. Period.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Yeah, Ann and I have started a local mom's run club,
and so it's you know, it's a bunch of moms
that like can only run at five thirty am in
our suburb that we live in, and tomorrow morning we're
going for a run and brunch together.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
So I love a weekend run in frun. You're like
my friends and I. Now in New York, we have
what we call Pastry Run Club, which is every Friday,
we pick a different place and go try a bunch
of pastries.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I love that. I'm totally gonna steal that.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You can whenever you're in town. Next you can come
to Pastry run Club. Okay, deal, taking your break from
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(32:07):
Comparison can be the thief of joy, and to your point,
I also do feel like it can be motivating if
you have the right framework on things. Framework can be
the thing that makes something great or makes something awful.
Your power is really in your perspective. Speaking of perspective,
I do want to shake up this conversation a little
(32:29):
bit and talk a bit about you as a leader.
We talked about how you have this opportunity to continually
learn in your position as you evolve within your work.
You're also leading by example. Do you feel pressure in
that in being someone that people look to for answers?
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I actually, well, pressure is maybe not the wrong word.
I find it very motivating. And when I think about
my leadership philosophy and how I lead, I think it
is such a privilege to get to be a leader
and I think anybody can be a leader at any level.
(33:10):
You can show leadership as the most junior person on
the team all the way up to my level and
my boss's level and a board of director level. Because
when it comes down to where people look for motivation
and inspiration, where they look to for the examples, it
really is like the integrity with which you do your job.
(33:32):
It's the way that you show up with the We
talk a lot about the like what you do and
the how you do it. I think those are really
important to bring together. It is not just about what
you do, It is about how you do it as well, and.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
How you make people feel in the process.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So I actually think that that is like, I want
to set a really good example for you know, I
think that especially as a woman in leadership, a woman
in tech leadership, a woman of color in tech leadership, that's.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Really rare, rare, error.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
And I have people that I have looked up to
in my career and I want to be that example
for people to say, hey, like I you can't you
can't be it if you can't see it. And I
want to be the person that other people can see
and say, oh I can If she can do that,
I can do that too.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
And I think a reason that you're so great at
what you do is because you understand that you have
the opportunity to learn from everyone. Right, you just talked
about people on your team, junior folks, your boss above you. Right,
you have this opportunity, no matter what level they're at,
(34:48):
to learn from them. And I think that's very special
and what contributes to your continued success.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Oh, thank you, Yeah, you're welsome.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
It is though, And I do believe that when you
get to a place where you are convinced that you
are perhaps the smartest person in the room, and that
means that you're not in the right room anymore.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
One hundred percent. You never want to be the smartest
person in the room. Oh my gosh, Like, how scary
is that. I have a saying with my team, like
I reserve the right to get smarter and take in
new information and change my mind. And I think that
sometimes in leadership positions you can get stuck in this
(35:29):
mindset that like I have to have all the answers,
I cannot change my mind. But we're getting new information
all the time. We're finding new context to problems, both
in like personal life and in work life. There's so
much context that changes. And so it's like it's totally okay,
And it's really empowering to say I reserve the right
(35:51):
to get smarter about a given situation or a given
problem or a given opportunity.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
What has your role as a mom taught you about
being a leader?
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Oh? Man, it is the greatest teacher. It is such
a humbling experience to be a mom. One nobody knows
what they're doing because especially like with your first child.
It's like you've never been a mom before, You've never
been a parent before, and it's not like every kid
(36:30):
comes with like a set of instructions for like this
human being needs to do this, this, this, this, and this.
You're like, I think it's the greatest responsibility and one
that is like really scary on Like you are creating
the foundational experiences of this human being that is going
(36:51):
to grow up and do whatever it is that they
are meant to do in the world, and so like
what are you pouring into them?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
What are you equipping them with that is.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Going to make manifest in like therapy later, because like
I think that everybody's going to end up in therapy.
I have a great therapist that really helps me show
up as my best self. And I had a very
incredible mother have very incredible mothers. So the responsibility of
like being a mom, it has like taught me so
(37:20):
much about like humility, and it has taught me so
much about patience, and it has taught me so much
about like I am not in control of everything because
this little tiny human being is going to do what
he or she is going to do, and the only
thing I can control is how I respond to it.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
M the token respond instead of react. That is probably
one of the most challenging lessons and concepts to continually
put into practice, especially because a feeling arises and your
thoughts follow, and then you have to write I recognize
(38:00):
in that moment that you are not your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Yes, And it's so hard.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
I feel like every day I get multiple opportunities to
practice that, and I fail at least fifty percent of
the time every day.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
What do you do when you fail, though? Because it
is something that's very challenging and something that's easy to
fail at. So is there a situation where you address
that maybe you didn't handle a situation as you had hoped.
Is there a moment where you maybe put your pride
or your ego aside, so go back and handle something
(38:38):
the way that you wanted to the first time.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Oh? Yes, it happened to me this week at our
leadership off site. Somebody asked me a question in I
mean they were probably like how many people in the
room seventy ish. Somebody asked me a question and I
responded defensively to the question because the question, in some way,
(39:02):
shape or form triggered me to your point. I had
a thought about I had a feeling and then a
thought about it, and then I reacted. I did not respond,
and I was as soon as it came out of
my mouth, I was like, well, shit, like I did
not handle that properly.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
And I apologized.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I apologized in private, and I said, hey, I didn't
respond to your question in the way that I should have.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I'm really sorry that I did that.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I'm really sorry that I did that in a bunch
of in front of a bunch of people. I didn't
feel great about myself, and I think that you know,
I am a person that will like replay that a lot.
And so one of the things that I am working
on is being really kind and loving to myself on like,
we are going to make mistakes, and that one was
one of the bigger mistakes because it was in front
(39:57):
of a lot of people, and so I have to forget.
I also have to like forgive myself for that and
know that I acknowledged it, I apologize and I can
do better next time.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Yeah, And it's a learning lesson, right, Like I hear
you on the I have to get to a place
where I forgive myself about how I acted, because I
think that that can be the worst part. Also, what
a beautiful sense of awareness that you have that you
went to that person without ego and said, hey, my bad.
(40:30):
I think that is exemplary of what leadership looks like.
Because no one's going to be perfect all the time.
It isn't relatable, it doesn't make sense, it's not going
to happen. But when you own up to who it
is you are, what you want to do, and that
you can portray and enact within the best part of
your capability your positive intentions, that is leadership.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
I would agree.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
I mean, I do think when I was journaling about
that situation and the night that I have okay, I
did give myself credit on like, okay, you acknowledged it,
because it would have been very easy to just say
to dismiss it and say feel a certain way about it,
but then say, oh, but like it's too scary to
(41:16):
go apologize to the person. And this person was incredibly
gracious in the way that they responded to my apology.
They gave me grace in that moment. They could have
very easily been like, no, like I am still mad
at you. I did not think that was okay, and
that would have been okay, that would have been very warranted.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Totally understandable, And again I do think that that is
very indicative of your leadership style and the fact that
you see everyone as an equal at the table.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
When I think about what creates the environment for people
to be successful, you want people to be able to
break their whole selves and you want them to be
able to bring.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Their whole thought.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
You're in a work environment, especially you're hiring people for
their expertise, and so we need to create the conditions
where they feel like they can bring that full expertise
to the table, because that's what they were hired for.
If they're just going to be there to tell me
what I want to hear or to focus their attention
(42:26):
on orienting around what they think is the answer, then
that's like we get into echo chambers and we don't
I guess, appreciate the full diversity.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Of the team.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
We spoke earlier about what it's been like for you
to pick up running in different types of activity since
you began your time at Strava. What would you say
that added activity, that added going outside of your comfort zone,
These new added challenges have done for you, both personally
and professionally.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Personally, it has given me just one this like really beautiful,
like almost like active meditation that I didn't know existed.
And yes I did plates, and yes I did yoga
and I still do those, but there is something about
running where you can process. It's like the rhythmic nature
(43:24):
of it. It's the fact that you're out there for
like a long time, especially if you're training for something
like a marathon, you're out there for hours by yourself,
just kind of with your thoughts. And so personally, that's
been like a really nice gift. It's also given me
a lot of confidence. I mean, I picked up running
in my forties, just not at post having two children,
(43:47):
so it's not like I think that's kind of badass.
So it's given me this like wow, like if I
could do that, like imagine what else I could do?
Since given me like I think a little bit more swagger,
I guess or confidence. And then professionally, it's just opened
up this whole new industry to me. I we probably
(44:09):
wouldn't have met if I didn't start working at Strava,
I didn't start running, I probably wouldn't be on your podcast.
Having this amazing conversation with you right now. I would
have to have a very different podcast if we were
talking about pizza and tacos.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Yes, be a very different podcast.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
And it's given me just this, Like from a professional standpoint,
you know, I think that I loved working in restaurants,
and restaurants are still near and dear to my heart.
The brands that I worked on, I still love them,
and I love the people that I work with. I'm
still friends with a lot of those people. But I
think running and fitness has given me this, like other
(44:53):
path in my career, It's opened a lot more doors
for me, I will say, from a career perspective, where
or before, you know, I maybe had sort of like
one thing that I did and now I am much
more multi dimensional.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
And the thing is tho zip is that like you
were multi dimensional before, it was just getting to a
place where you could recognize and see that within yourself.
I think so often we feel as though, because of
our environment, like things are quote unquote supposed to be
some kind of way, when all it takes is just
exposure or a moment to get outside of your own
(45:31):
box to understand hey, actually it could be different if
you're open to that possibility.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
Yeah, back to you, like your mind creates a reality,
Like your thoughts can really create like oh, I'm like
boxed into this industry, or like oh I'm not a runner.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
That's not me. It's too hard.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
And it's like, well, if you actually challenge that and say, well,
what would it look like if I was a runner,
or what it looked like if I stepped outside of
an industry that I'm super familiar with, it's super scary
and it puts you in a vulnerable position because you
might mess it up and it might not go as
(46:13):
you think it's going to go. But then again, it
is like your mind. It's like what you think it's
going to go a certain way and then it goes differently.
Does that mean that it's bad, No, it's just different.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
I mean that in itself is such a lesson, right,
having to navigate quote unquote failure understanding that there are
lessons everywhere for you. You talked about, you know, the
side step that happened earlier this week, but I'm sure
there have been other quote unquote failures that have taught
you major lessons over the last few years at Strava.
(46:46):
Anything come to mind.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
When I first got to Strava, one of the things
that we wanted to do was really clarify the brand.
And you know, the job and what I was hired
to do was to grow the community and to get
us into new expansion audiences.
Speaker 2 (47:06):
And as we started to.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Define what those new expansion audiences are, I think it
was very easy for us to lose sight of our
core user base, like the people that have been with
Strava for over a decade and have loved us, and
have been in the product and are really passionate about Strava.
(47:34):
And I think in the beginning I made the mistake
of not really appreciating how deep that love for the
brand and that passion for the brand was from our
core audiences. So we made a pricing change, and we
updated our subscription prices, and we did it for the
first time in like ten years, and this was back
(47:56):
earlier in twenty twenty three, and I don't think we
did a very good job of explaining the value that
we had built into our subscription and into our features
for that core audience. And they were really surprised when
we raised our prices and we hadn't done so in
(48:18):
ten years, and we had built a lot of functionality
into the product that we hadn't told them that story.
So it was a lesson for me in really making
sure that we are continuing to nurture how our community
and especially our subscribers understand the value that we are
bringing to them, while also making sure that we are
(48:41):
setting ourselves up for business success, and we are setting
ourselves up for the expansion in our user base, which
we've seen, you know, in spades in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (48:53):
Four four in spades.
Speaker 3 (48:55):
It's so interesting. I'm reflecting back on what you said
about the fact that, unlike a McDonald's or pizza Hut,
you can walk into one of those, probably within ten
minutes somewhere, right, but you cannot walk into a physical Strava.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Yet.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
I do believe that the brand has such a strong
brand presence in that it's positive, it is community, it
is I said the word positive, but like happiness, Like
I don't think of Strava as an application that I'm
going to open and feel bad about myself. I'm like,
(49:28):
who knows what could happen elsewhere on the interwebs or
whatever else I'm looking at on my phone right and
so I think and believe that that's a testament to
the fact that you are so dialed in on this
mission statement, which is that you want to motivate your
consumers to live their best active lives.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
Yeah, I think that is that's it's really important that
Strava is that place that you find motivation, and we're
a platform, and so we want people creating whatever is
they're going to create on our platform, and that is
in the form of their upload to Strava their active life,
(50:09):
their run, their walk, their pilates, their yoga, their ride,
and in doing so, that inspires the next person to
get out there. And it's funny, like there have been
weekends where I'm like, man, I didn't meet my weekly
mileage goal.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Maybe I'll just like let it slip. And then I
open up my Strava and I see all these cool activities.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
And I'm like, ah, I probably should just get out
there and like finish the rest of the mileage. It's
such a cool positive fly wheel because we actually Strava
is a place where we want you to actually get
off of our app and go do the thing.
Speaker 2 (50:45):
We don't want you sitting on the app and just
scrolling scrolling scrolling.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
We want you to get motivated and get inspired and
then get out there and do the thing that is
going to make you feel better and live your best
active life. I think that's where the brand does become
very personal for people, because what is on Strava is
your personal body of work. I mean, that's why we
(51:10):
just came out of year in Sport and I just
got my water bottle. I think I got it in
the mail while I was out of town, but I
just picked it up when I got back this morning,
and it's so cool. It's like I have like a
personal piece of swag that has my personal stats of
what I did last year. And I think that is
(51:32):
really part of the emotion that exists, and I think
that's why our community is so passionate.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
Last year was the year I remember a God. Two
years ago was the year we started adding photos and
videos and everything to Strava. Last year was the year
of dark Mode, among many other things, athlete intelligence. What
is there to be excited about right now on the
horizon for Strava.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, what I am excited about is we're going to
be talking a lot more to our community, and so
I think we have done an okay job of that,
but I don't think we've done a great job back
to you know, one of the missteps that I think
we made a couple of years ago, I don't think
we talked to our community enough about the value that
(52:16):
we are adding and the value that they get from
being on Strava.
Speaker 2 (52:20):
And so that is one of the things that I'm
really excited about.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
And you know, I mentioned kind of like everybody has
a goal in their active life. We are going to
get much more This is like so cryptic, but we're
going to get much more intentional about how we think
about helping people meet their goals on our platform.
Speaker 3 (52:41):
I love this. I know that cam Strava is only
a few months away, so more will be revealed in
the coming months when we want to learn revealed behind
the cryptic messaging. What are you personally excited about right now?
Speaker 2 (52:55):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (52:57):
Yeah, it's maybe like kind of a controversial one.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
I'm excited about saying no more.
Speaker 3 (53:04):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (53:05):
One of my reflections at the end of last year
is Q four was just a really hectic quarter for me.
I was traveling a bunch, I wasn't sleeping. My aura
was very very mad at me. My writing score was
very low for most of Q four, and it's because
I was trying to say yes to all of these things,
and by saying yes to all of these other things,
(53:27):
I was saying no to myself.
Speaker 2 (53:29):
And so I'm flipping the script in twenty twenty five.
I am saying no to more things so that I
can say yes to myself more.
Speaker 3 (53:37):
How do you remove the shame and guilt of saying no?
Speaker 2 (53:42):
Real hard? It's still a work in progress.
Speaker 1 (53:45):
One of the things that I am doing is I
am when appropriate, not all the time, but when appropriate,
I am giving context for why I am saying no.
Speaker 2 (53:54):
So I just said no to an event.
Speaker 1 (53:58):
And it is because I am just going to be
coming back from a seven day business trip away from
my family, and I cannot come back to my kids
on a Friday and tell them Mommy is going to
be gone on a Saturday after being gone for seven days.
Like that's just not fair to me or to them.
(54:19):
So I gave that context to my team, and I
gave that context to our partner, and they've been really
gracious about it.
Speaker 3 (54:26):
Yeah, and I appreciate that sentiment when appropriate, right, and
that you don't always need to say no and then
give a paragraph answer as to why you can't make
it happen. Sometimes a no is enough, but it just
depends on the context of the relationship and what it
is that you're you know, you've got going on.
Speaker 1 (54:46):
Yeah, I learned a phrase this week that I'm starting
to test out. I just don't have capacity for that.
Speaker 3 (54:57):
That's a good one. Yes, I just don't have the
capacity for that right now? Yeh like respect, Yeah, I'm
gonna start trying it out. I was gonna say, have
you tried it yet?
Speaker 1 (55:09):
I did, But it was like, as soon as I
learned the phrase, that one of the other people I
was with was like, Okay, let's try it out.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
Zip, do you want to hang out with this weekend?
And I was like, I just don't have the capacity
for that. And I was like, oh, that's all good.
Speaker 3 (55:22):
I really am going to start doing this too. Oh
my goodness, I can't wait when I as soon as
I use it, you will be the first to know.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
Oh please please please let me know. Now.
Speaker 3 (55:33):
We talked about what it's like to be at the
front of the room, at the top of the ladder,
for people to be under you looking to you for
inspiration and motivation. Someone comes to your Instagram page and
they see someone that is in this special role as
chief business officer at Strava. You're a loving mom of
two children and so much more. But specifically, when you
look in the mirror, zip, what is it that you
(55:56):
see looking back at you.
Speaker 2 (55:59):
I see a woman who is.
Speaker 1 (56:05):
In I'm gonna steal Michelle Obama's word, who is becoming.
I see a woman who is becoming her best self
at all times. I also see a person who sits,
who has the privilege of all of the generations that
have come before me. One of the people that I
(56:27):
admire most is my grandmother. She passed away a couple
of years ago, so I had the like good fortune
to know her for a lot of my life. And
I am half Filipino and half black, and she moved
my family to the United States, and she has this
like amazing story, but she was the visionary that did that.
(56:51):
She moved here ten years before her kids, cleaned hotel rooms,
worked odd jobs, worked her way up to like be
you know, owned a pharmacy eventually in LA And she
was the one that gave me the opportunity to live
in this country. And have the opportunities that the US
(57:13):
and the American Dream, if you will, affords to all
of us. And I think about that a lot. It's like,
there's a lot of people that made a lot of
sacrifices for me to have the opportunity I have. So
I just I see somebody that is very grateful for
where I have come from and what has come before me,
(57:33):
and somebody that wants to pay that forward to the
next generation.
Speaker 3 (57:38):
So special and what a beautiful opportunity it was to
have her for such a long time in your life
as a as a role model for you, and of
course just to have her presence right now. Zip, you
have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice
coming into Java. I mean, you sought out the job
because you knew that you could be good at it,
(57:58):
but there was a lot that you knew you were
walking into that was going to be foreign territory. Knowing
what you know, now, what advice would you give to
your younger self during that hurdle moment?
Speaker 1 (58:12):
I would tell myself during that hurdle moment, don't be
afraid of what will be revealed within yourself based on
the situations that you put yourself in, you will blossom
more than you ever expected. You will grow and develop
(58:33):
in ways that are uncomfortable, and it's going to be beautiful.
Speaker 2 (58:39):
And give yourself grace through that journey.
Speaker 3 (58:41):
Give yourself grace through the journey. I'm so happy that
we were able to finally make this happen. Thank you
so much. For those that want to keep up with you,
maybe even just on Strava, how do they find you?
Give us the details?
Speaker 1 (58:54):
Yes, so on Strava you can follow me. I'm zip
Allen and I live. If you just search zip Allen,
I should come up. I don't think there's any.
Speaker 2 (59:03):
Other Zipalans on Strava.
Speaker 1 (59:06):
And then on Instagram, on my handle is at it's
its zip Allen. I'm like a spotty poster on Instagram.
I'm much more consistent on Strava. And then I'm on
LinkedIn as well, but I rarely post on LinkedIn.
Speaker 3 (59:25):
But I love a good zip Allen LinkedIn post, though
it's always so profound, there's some takeaway there.
Speaker 2 (59:32):
It's just very rare.
Speaker 3 (59:34):
It's rare. I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcasts.
Another Hurdle Conquered. Catch you guys, next time.
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