It is a shame that Strava couldn't just hire the creator of Footpath. While the latter's creator correctly acknowledges how common this is in our industry, it does shine a negative light on Strava.

I think one of the reason "big tech" is so successful in general is that, any time anyone might have a disruptive idea, they can just put tons of money and engineers toward replicating it. The IP, profits, and talent remain (and continue drifting toward) those large companies.