Like all good ideas, RocketSports started with the founders getting annoyed, and decided to do something about it!
Jonathan, the Founder used to run a fives team in Chiswick, where he was forever driven mad trying to arrange the weekly game, making sure he had enough players, dealing with cancellations, supplying a football, and bibs, not to mention trying get money off everyone to pay for the pitches. He always ended up short and subsidised the games and he thought, “I wish there was something I could use to make this job a whole lot easier”, and RocketSports was born. His vision was for a single site to manage his sporting life. He’s a bit mental for the sports is our Jonathan. Marathons, triathlons, football, cricket, squash, the guy doesn’t stop!
He then met Brian who’d just moved to London and had struggled to find a new weekly game of fives in Maida Vale. He really wished there was a single place online where he could find a team so he could avoid that “billy no mates” process of standing by pitches asking for a game. Jonathan had also wanted to avoid this, and so RocketSports grew. Brian also used to organise football games in his native Edinburgh, so he knew all to well the dilemmas faced. He was “in”!
But Jonathan and Brian couldn’t do it alone. They could talk all they wanted about what RocketSports would do, how it would help anyone who organises sporting events, whether it’s a cricket game, a weekly run, a yoga centre, football leagues, squash competitions, you name it, but neither of them was a programmer. They needed a John. A good John. One who understood the vision and wasn’t afraid of the challenge.
Jonathan, being the networking type of sales guy he is was continually attending start-up events, and at a Facebook Garage event met a guy called Marcus whose doing his own great start-up, who before long recommended we talk to a guy called John. Jonathan soon met with John over a Flat White in Shoreditch where John got excited about the prospect of the challenges involved in building something extensive and complex, but also something cool users would love, where he bought into the long term vision and had the same Lean Start-up principles Brian and Jonathan were passionate about. Needless to say that same day the hacking had begun and John was excitingly “in!”
So what do we do?
RocketSports.co.uk is an interactive, online management & payment platform for sports enthusiasts, managers, clubs & organisations. We facilitate the organisation of games, events, competitions, and leagues, enabling the payment of fees and allowing easy, efficient interaction between individuals whilst allowing like-minded individuals to find, see, investigate and request to join your team, club or organisation.
The system enables a user to manage groups and teams really easily, send emails, SMS messages, take fees and subs, all on line, see whose paid what, who owes what and effectively manage this “admin” part everyone dislikes.
The cool thing…
But, the cool thing, which we hope will change the World a little, is giving people the ability to find teams and groups – and join in. They can simply ask to join a team – online; so we’re taking out the embarrassing and intimidating bit of standing around pitches nights on end. That’s even if you know where the teams are playing! This also has a double whammy in enabling managers of teams to find last minute players more easily.
Just imagine – you’re running a team and some team mates drop out earlier in the day due to work; the goal with RocketSports is to enable that manager to “broadcast” for free advising they’re needing a player. Meanwhile all those people who’ve registered on RocketSports who are looking for a game to play or team to join get an email or SMS advising there’s a spot. Managers are happy as they don’t forfit the game and loose their money, and that player also found a game! Result!
Coming soon we’ll also be launching modules which coaches, instructors and personal trainers can use, upload their own logo’s, brand the site to suit their image through changing the colour schemes, add in the location of their classes, and take payment on-line in advance. They’re clients will be able to cancel, amend and re-book all online, and the system will automatically remind clients to rebook group block sessions, thus taking away the admin challenge all instructors face.
Clubs can use the pro-version, fully branded, to collect membership subscriptions and also to collect payment for any events being run, with various features to show or hide publicly whose attending, message boards and so forth.
We are also able to offer white label solutions so contact us directly if this is something you’re interested in.
If you’ve any comments or suggestions please go to the contact page.
