Editor’s note: Zwift CEO and Co-Founder Eric Min was recently interviewed on the Cycology.fm podcast, and we’re sharing it here because Eric’s interviews are always an interesting listen as he discusses Zwift’s roots, current challenges, and future goals.
If you really want to understand where Zwift is going, this is an interview worth listening to. Host Rob Reed is a longtime Zwifter, but one whose Zwift experience has been quite narrow (no group rides, for example). His questions will resonate with many Zwifters, both veterans and newbies alike.
Interesting stats from Eric:
- Over 3 million Zwift accounts have been created
- 0.7% of Zwifters are at level 50
- 25% of Zwifters are participating in group events
- 75% of Zwifters are doing workouts
Key Points From This Episode:
- The story of how Eric left the tech finance world and founded Zwift with his partners.
- The landscape of the indoor cycling world at the time of Zwift’s conception.
- Zwift’s service of combining fitness, gaming, and community.
- Opportunities as far as appealing to a cycling industry beyond road cycling.
- Some of the main challenges to adopting Zwift and how it differs from Peloton.
- Features and elements of gamification in Zwift and how it differs from a simulator.
- The capital Zwift has raised and the resources that go into building new ‘worlds’.
- The line between building new worlds and keeping them filled with participants.
- Moments when it is better to ride maps in the game with fewer people.
- Ways to optimize Zwift by adding additional controls and hardware.
- How Zwift is integrating into and influencing brands like Peloton, Rapha, and Strava.
- The evolution of the indoor cycling world and how the industry is catering to it.
- How regulations are enforced for Zwift races through the Zwift Power platform.
- Eric’s philosophy toward outdoor cycling and what types of routes he’ll still ride.
- Metrics for Zwift’s growth in users and the limitations hardware poses to further expansion.
- Leveling up in Zwift and the users who are using the platform competitively.
Tweetables:
“This is really early days in terms of connected fitness devices in every home.” — @werkdodger [0:11:00]
“If you want to combine fitness and gaming, where you can exercise with a community, which is global, that’s what Zwift is.”— @werkdodger [0:11:32]
“We certainly have the resources to have a team large enough to do a map every month, but I’m not sure that would serve the community well.” — @werkdodger [0:23:56]
I think the indoor cycling community has a pretty big voice going forward, for sure.” — @werkdodger [0:36:46]
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