Pros
Nearly all tech companies in the bay area pull a vibrant, smart crowd. Strava pulls from that same group, but nearly all employees share a common interest in running or cycling, many of them competitive. The athletic bar is high at Strava, which can be intimidating, but is also very motivating.
From a professional POV, teams have a lot of autonomy which makes the work very satisfying. The engineering team has been investing a lot of effort over the last year to become more nimble and is moving to much faster releases, which makes us more nimble.
Perks wise, it's tough to beat. Many of them are oriented around an athletic life style. On site yoga, pro deals with most gear manufacturers, stipends for new equipment and races, and fantastic health insurance, to name a few. Plenty of time off to make sure you can decompress or train. A few provided meals a week and otherwise plenty of snacks. We don't have three meals a day like many tech companies, but it's not a major downer, the local food is good and we all still eat lunch together away from our desks.
Cons
It can feel like we make big bets, but then shy away when they don't immediately provide payoffs. Or maybe the problem is that we're making big bets before we have the data to say they are worthwhile, but regardless, there is a feeling that we start many big projects and end up backing away from them in favor of other priorities when the payoff doesn't happen immediately.
