
 Great Company with Jamie Laing
 Great Company with Jamie Laing RUNNA FOUNDER, BEN PARKER ON BUILDING ONE OF THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FITNESS APPS IN JUST 4 YEARS
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 Oct 7, 2025  Ben Parker, the visionary founder of the Runna app, shares his journey from being a running coach to leading one of the world’s biggest fitness apps. He discusses the personal sacrifices made for success and the challenges of scaling a startup. Ben reveals insights on building a winning team culture and the importance of having a reliable co-founder. He highlights the life-changing impact of Runna’s success on its users and investors, and offers valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on validating their ideas before scaling. 
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From Coach To Global App
- Ben automated his one-to-one coaching into an app that writes training plans for any runner using tech.
- He scaled from 40 private clients to over half a million daily users in about four years.
Sale Created Real Winners
- Ben confirms Runner sold to Strava for a large sum while noting he didn’t own all of it.
- He emphasises many early investors and employees benefited, giving real-life impact examples.
Crowdfund Investors Benefitted
- Ben describes early crowdfund investors from £10 to £50,000 including a client who now changes her life.
- He highlights early employees who received equity and gained life-changing returns.

