# Michael Horvath

> Michael Horvath is an American entrepreneur and former economics professor who co-founded Kana Communications and Strava. After two periods leading Strava, he now serves as co-founder and CEO of Nyfik, a San Francisco software company whose first app, Foggy, combines satellite imagery and community observations of Bay Area fog.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Nyfik
- **Organizations:** Nyfik, Strava, Kana Communications, Stanford University, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, GlycoFi, FeMMA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** AB in Economics, Harvard University, PhD in Economics, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Strava, which reported more than 120 million community members in December 2023., Co-founded Kana Communications, which went public in 1999., Founded Nyfik with MacBeth Horvath and launched Foggy.

## Career timeline

- **1988** — Graduated from Harvard; captained its lightweight rowing crew.
- **1994-2000** — Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University.
- **1996-1998** — Co-founder and CFO of Kana Communications.
- **1999** — Kana went public.
- **2000-2004** — Associate Professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.
- **2001-2005** — CFO and Vice President of Operations at GlycoFi.
- **2009** — Strava launched with Horvath, Gainey and the founding team.
- **2013** — Stepped down as Strava CEO.
- **2019** — Returned as Strava CEO in November.
- **2023** — Announced a successor search in February.
- **2024** — Handed over the CEO role to Michael Martin.
- **2025** — Publicly introduced Nyfik in April with co-founder MacBeth Watson, now listed as MacBeth Horvath.
- **2026** — Nyfik’s Foggy app launched on June 29.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Strava, which reported more than 120 million community members in December 2023.
- Co-founded Kana Communications, which went public in 1999.
- Founded Nyfik with MacBeth Horvath and launched Foggy.
- Served as captain of Harvard’s lightweight rowing crew.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Discussed Foggy’s origins and community reporting in an August 30 San Francisco Chronicle interview.
- **2026-06** — Foggy launched June 29, combining satellite views with local reports.
- **2026-02** — Nyfik published notebook entries describing its approach and Foggy’s visual identity.
- **2026-01** — A Winter 2026 Tuck Today interview identifies Horvath as FeMMA’s lead investor and partner.
- **2025-04** — Announced Nyfik publicly on LinkedIn.

## Links

- Website: https://nyfik.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtkhorvath/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-horvath
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11