Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube
  • Get Started
    • Create Zwift Account
    • How To Get Started On Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Women’s Racing on Zwift
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Climb Portal Calendar
    • Route of the Week Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Game Updates
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Current Models
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
      • XP Basics for Riders
      • XP Basics for Runners
      • Kit Unlock Codes
      • Master List of Badges
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List: Routes
      • Master List: Climb Portal
      • Master List: KOMs
      • Master List: Sprints
      • Master List: Rebel Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Printable List of Routes by Difficulty
    • Speed Tests
    • Tiny Races
  • Women
    • Race Calendar
    • Why race?
    • Women’s Teams
    • Racer Spotlights
    • More Women’s Racing posts
  • Shop
    • Watopia Map and Other Posters
    • ZI Indoor Cycling Kit
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Get Started
    • Create Zwift Account
    • How To Get Started On Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Women’s Racing on Zwift
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Climb Portal Calendar
    • Route of the Week Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Game Updates
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Current Models
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
      • XP Basics for Riders
      • XP Basics for Runners
      • Kit Unlock Codes
      • Master List of Badges
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List: Routes
      • Master List: Climb Portal
      • Master List: KOMs
      • Master List: Sprints
      • Master List: Rebel Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Printable List of Routes by Difficulty
    • Speed Tests
    • Tiny Races
  • Women
    • Race Calendar
    • Why race?
    • Women’s Teams
    • Racer Spotlights
    • More Women’s Racing posts
  • Shop
    • Watopia Map and Other Posters
    • ZI Indoor Cycling Kit
More
    Interviews

    Zwift and 2020: CEO Eric Min Outlines New Thinking

    Simon Schofield
    By Simon Schofield
    October 6, 2020
    LAST UPDATED October 6, 2020
    26

    I first met Eric Min in the autumn of 2014. The company had a handful, literally, of employees and was about to launch in a limited, invite-only beta. Zwift was a little more than a gleam in Eric’s eye, but a long way from the game-changing product it was to become.

    I’d arranged to meet Eric for lunch and a background chat for articles I was planning to write as part of my work as a freelance cycling journalist. My train was late and I fetched up, incredibly embarrassingly, almost 45 minutes late.

    Eric was understanding and gracious. He was also accessible… a characteristic he has maintained throughout his tenure as CEO. So when Zwift announced its latest $450m fund-raise I put in a request via Zwift’s PR department, for an interview for the Zwiftcast with the specific brief of covering some of the more challenging topics raised by some of the more strident voices in the community.

    At first, the answer was a polite “No.” Zwift wanted to move on from the Series C funding – a move that elevated the once hobby project of creator Jon Mayfield to a fully-fledged tech unicorn, a billion-dollar company – and get on with the things that really mattered to customers.

    Then, a change of heart. My guess is that when my questions hit Eric’s inbox, he recognised that providing context and perspective to the community in a tumultuous year was important. I think there was also a recognition that this was a landmark moment and a good time to talk directly to the community about what 2020 has done for, and to, Zwift.

    You can hear the full interview in Episode 90 of the Zwiftcast, which is available now. But here are some of the headlines.

    Around the middle of March, as the world changed, a tidal wave hit Zwift. Eric says: ”We had hundreds of thousands of people coming to the platform and joining in numbers that we’d never seen before. The traffic was insane.” “The priority was about making sure the new customers were having the best experience. Support went through the roof.”

    Not only did the flood of new subscribers provide practical challenges, principally in keeping the platform stable, it also, said Eric, caused a change of plans, and a change of focus. The new focus was to be on ease of use of the platform… a theme Eric returns to throughout the interview. “A big theme of this capital raise is about making Zwift easier and more accessible to people – the platform, the game experience, the content, and the hardware that goes with it.”

    “The end to end experience has to be much easier for us to attract the broader audience who can’t be fussed with all the different pieces you need to get on Zwift.”

    Eric Min

    The change of plans saw long-planned new features dropped, with the headline-grabbing announcement in the Zwift Forums that the new User Interface would now no longer launch and was to be comprehensively re-thought. There was further re-thinking after THAT survey… the one that caused so many ructions in the community.

    “One of the things that came out was the idea that this was not a good time to roll out rowing.” Eric explained that the message from the survey was clear: Rowing was not important enough to the broad mass of Zwifters to justify the resources the company would need to launch it successfully. Rowing is coming to Zwift – and Eric is confident it will be a big success – but it’s not coming yet.

    The raising of new funding has also caused some to wonder whether Zwift is now on course to become “fattened up” either for a sale on the public markets or to a wealthy private buyer, and that might mean price rises. Eric is very clear on this… you can hear his full, detailed position in the interview. But Zwifters are not going to be digging any deeper into their wallets, at least in the short term.

    There are a number of other nuggets and nuances in the interview that Zwifters will find interesting. Has 2020 changed things at Zwift, like it’s changed so much else? Assuredly, it has.

    Related Posts

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    ReddIt
      Simon Schofield
      Simon Schofield
      Simon used to live in Yorkshire, but now he spends much of his time in the cycling paradise of Girona and the surrounding area, in Catalonia, Spain. In a previous life he was a journalist and TV producer, spending a career both in front of, but much longer behind, a camera and a microphone. After signing up as User No 10 at Zwift, Simon conjured up the first ever video review of the upstart new platform and later wondered if there was enough going on in Watopia to interest an audience. One hundred episodes and 1.2 million podcast downloads later, he had an answer. Simon has now happily handed over the reins of the Zwiftcast to a great new team. He’ll remain a lifelong friend of Zwift and its community. Recent health issues have kept Simon out of the saddle . . . but he’s now working on a Great Big Comeback.

      26 COMMENTS

      Subscribe
      Notify of
      guest

      guest

      26 Comments
      Oldest
      Newest Most Voted
      Inline Feedbacks
      View all comments
      wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

      Get Started on Zwift

      Sign Up (Free Trial)
      Buy Zwift Ride
      Buy KICKR CORE One
      Read More...

      Newest Featured Posts

      Zwift Offers Free Play Controllers To Level 85+ Riders

      Hardware/Equipment

      Join the CommuniTTTy: On-Demand Zwift Time Trialing!

      Racing

      Support This Site

      Write a post, shop through us, donate or advertise. Learn more

      NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

      Zwift tips and news every 2 weeks! Click to subscribe.

      More Posts

      Zwift Will Not Be Hosting an Elite Zwift World Series This Fall

      Racing

      Zwift Charts: Climb Portal Growth

      Routes & Maps

      Friday Night Fun Races Announced

      Events

      Zwift Releases Fitness Trends Charts on Companion App

      Game Updates

      This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs.

      This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts.

      Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy

      Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent

      [email protected]

      Latest articles

      “Hautacam” Climb Portal Details

      Zwift Route of the Week Schedule

      Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of July 12-13

      Popular Categories

      • Racing1509
      • Events1014
      • News833
      • Training & Nutrition712
      • Interviews564
      • Routes & Maps447
      Comment Author Info
      :wpds_smile::wpds_grin::wpds_wink::wpds_mrgreen::wpds_neutral::wpds_twisted::wpds_arrow::wpds_shock::wpds_unamused::wpds_cool::wpds_evil::wpds_oops::wpds_razz::wpds_roll::wpds_cry::wpds_eek::wpds_lol::wpds_mad::wpds_sad::wpds_exclamation::wpds_question::wpds_idea::wpds_hmm::wpds_beg::wpds_whew::wpds_chuckle::wpds_silly::wpds_envy::wpds_shutmouth:
      26
      0
      Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
      ()
      x
      | Reply
      You are going to send email to

      Move Comment

    • Related Posts