Thoughts | Launching On The Run, scaling convenience
An adventure in the land of operations heavy products
On The Run was a startup launched within Fact0ry.
Our mission was to rid gym members of their gym bags and, one day, to make buying sports wear irrelevant.
Wait, what?!
The problem
“On The Run” was one of 3 ideas we uncovered during an ideation process with a client. 2 of these 3 ideas went on to be tested through in-market interviews and higher fidelity prototypes. “On The Run” (OTR) triggered higher customer enthusiasm and was selected as a consequence.
Our main concern going into launch was people’s sensitivity to using “washed” clothes previously worn by others. The problem we thought we were solving was one of convenience: No one wants to wash their gym clothes.
What we built
- Team // We were 2 co-founders, a developer, a designer and a team of 8 “agents” responsible for the daily order fulfilment and delivery.
- Product // Our challenges were both technical and operational. Technically, OTR was a minimal website where customers could choose sports gear (a top, a bottom and a pair of socks and shoes) and a time for delivery. Operationally that meant we had to fulfill the order with clean gear and deliver it to the gym within 20 minutes. If orders were placed the night before, then we could deliver to the gym in batch in the morning. If not, it meant we had to order an UberRush!
The promise of clean premium gear also meant we had to work with a laundry service that could wash items impeccably and deliver them back within 12 hours. Sudzee was our go-to solution.
- Execution // The team (2 co-founders, head of operations) met for sprints on a daily basis. An advisor was part of all strategic discussions such as new revenue streams and holistic re-designs. As a Product Manager, I served as an API translating company priorities to both the designer, the developer and, in some cases, to the larger operational team. I had weekly and monthly 1:1s with most stakeholders and came out of OTR thinking I should honor these brief conversations and never miss them. Ever again.
What we measured
- Metrics // The team’s core focus was customer retention and satisfaction. We wanted to build a service people loved first. Growth would come later. We were lucky though: As we improved the service, customers (and the gym staff!) became referrers and the customer base grew. The numbers were nowhere near what a focused effort would have yielded but were still a great motivational boost for the team. When the trial ended and we started asking customers to pay, “paying users”, ARPU and “churn” became our main metrics.
- Tools // Our funnel was a classic one. We used sign ups to measure acquisition, 1 order placed to measure activation and 5 orders as a threshold to measure retention. Later on, Stripe’s data helped us measure monetization. Referrals, as well as qualitative feedback, were tracked using the texting tool we used to communicate with customers. Our last and most fertile source of data (because these were early days) was customer feedback. I did over 15 interviews with diehard, and less excited, users of OTR.
What we learned
- Assumptions // We were right! And wrong. Our main assumption was correct: No one wanted to wash their gym clothes. But during customer interviews, the feedback that kept emerging was how much customers enjoyed looking at themselves wearing premium gear: Self esteem was the main driver for converting customers to paying customers.
- Opportunities // Customers made it clear they wanted to “re-order” more easily and see more information about the gear. Both of these were features we launched in later iterations. Customers also shared how they might want to buy gear through the app. However, this was a feature for a later time!
OTR, after a successful streak, was eventually suspended to focus on other projects.
