LINZ, January 20, 2020 – After a year off since leaving Runtastic and adidas, Florian Gschwandtner is returning to work. He will take on the operational role of Chief Growth Officer at Tractive and help the successful startup from Pasching to continue on its growth path as the market leader in GPS tracking for cats and dogs. Gschwandtner founded the GPS pet tracking company together with Michael Hurnaus, Michael Lettner, Michael Tschernuth and his Runtastic founding colleagues back in 2012. He has previously worked as an investor and advisor at Tractive, but is now taking on an operational role.

“After a year off from work, mainly focusing on business angel investments and traveling, I am ready for a new challenge. Tractive undoubtedly has the potential to become the next Runtastic, which is clearly shown by its 250,000 paying subscribers . At Runtastic, I gained so many invaluable insights, which I am looking forward to using and applying at Tractive”, Gschwandtner said.

In his operational role, Gschwandtner will work closely with existing management to further continue and even accelerate the existing growth rate. “I have numerous business angel investments and companies I regularly support. However, at Tractive, I was a co-founder from day one and therefore have a very close relationship with both, the company and the founders. I’m ready to hit the ground running and help Tractive get to the next level”, Gschwandtner further stated.

World market leader in less than 5 years

Tractive started selling the first GPS trackers for dogs and cats in early 2013 and has grown continuously since then. The company is now the global market leader in GPS tracking and activity monitoring for dogs and cats. “More and more, our four-legged friends are being embraced as regular family members and it goes without saying that their safety and well-being is of the highest priority. Our GPS tracking devices range from $50 to $70 and are therefore affordable for every pet owner”, founder and CEO of Tractive, Michael Hurnaus, explained.

Gschwandtner, who grew up on a farm with a dog, added: “The market potential of Tractive is almost infinite. In Germany, Tractive’s strongest market, 9 out of 10 dog owners don’t even know that this product category exists.”

Tractive employs more than 80 team members, from 20 different nations. The startup has received numerous international awards in recent years. “We are particularly proud of those awards that recognize us as the most popular employer. As a company, we can only provide the framework for this. It’s the entire team that creates the positive working atmosphere and is responsible for this reputation.”, CFO at Tractive, Wolfgang Reisinger, said.

New product for the US market

At the beginning of January, Tractive presented its latest product at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest electronics fair in Las Vegas: the new Tractive GPS LTE Tracker, which combines precise GPS tracking and detailed activity monitoring of pets together with the latest mobile network standards. “So far, Tractive has focused heavily on the European market and has taken a leading role there. With the new product, we will actively address the US market, and here I can apply my learnings from the internationalization of Runtastic,” Gschwandtner said about the new product.

With a new product, a new top-level manager, and an excellent team, the course has been set for a successful 2020 at Tractive.

About Tractive

Tractive develops GPS trackers for dogs and cats, which allow for location tracking and activity monitoring of pets via a smartphone app or web browser. Tractive was founded in October 2012 by Michael Hurnaus, Michael Lettner and Michael Tschernuth along with the founders of the successful fitness company Runtastic. Additional investors include European Business Angel of the Year, Hansi Hansmann, former race car driver and investor Harold Primat, and Trivago founder Rolf Schrömgens. The company based in Pasching, Austria has customers in more than 150 countries worldwide, and currently employs around 80 people at its location in Pasching, Austria.

More information about Tractive can be found at www.tractive.com

Contact: press@tractive.com
Tractive GmbH
Randlstrasse 18a
4061 Pasching, Austria