Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda McGrew.
Amanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a former college basketball player, I have always felt closely connected to other athletes. When I returned home from college in Rhode Island, it seemed that the dating landscape in LA had changed. Dating apps were taking over and there seemed to be a niche app for every type of person. I did not fit into any of these specific groups, so when I asked myself “What group of people do you identify most with?”, the answer was obvious – athletes.
There were already a few dating apps that existed for fitness-loving people, weightlifters, or people who enjoy CrossFit, but nothing that verifies an athlete’s level of competition beyond high school. Playoff Dating App is for athletes who have or are currently competing in college or professional athletics. Each athlete is verified to have been on a junior college, college, professional or Olympic roster for at least one season. No stats, playing time or game film required.
The purpose of Playoff is to connect like-minded people, and people with a major shared life experience. Being a competitive athlete is an incredibly unique experience and one that shapes the rest of your life, influencing the way you create relationships, solve problems and handle adversity. Meeting others who have gone through similar experiences can be very special,
I started the process in July of 2017 and Playoff officially launched on December 10, 2017. It has been and continues to be an unbelievable learning experience for me. Each part of the process from the development to the marketing and promotion of the app has been a new adventure and obstacle to me to get through. Funding the entire project on my own has been difficult, but it is so gratifying to see the positive feedback and support from fellow athletes and others who believe in the idea. Playoff now has over 3000 users and is growing every day.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Each step of the way has had its challenges. Finding a developer was the first real challenge that I faced because I was completely new to the tech world, and did not know what to expect. I needed to find someone I believed in but was constantly warned about being taken advantage of or having my idea stolen. Luckily, I ended up with a great developer who was able to put my vision into the code and create Playoff from scratch in just a few months.
The other major difficulty is the budget. I’m sure this is an issue that many people face when starting a new project. I have learned to get multiple quotes and get as much detailed information about the work someone is able to do for you as possible.
The one thing I can say is that going into this industry without any experience has allowed me to become very comfortable with asking questions. I know enough to know that I don’t know everything, and surrounding myself with people who are willing to help me has been so wonderful.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Playoff Dating App story. Tell us more about the business.
As I mentioned before, Playoff is a dating app for current and former college and professional athletes. There are plenty of other fitness-loving dating apps out there, but none that actually verify each athlete’s level of competition. I think there is something very unique about the experiences of competitive athletes and those experiences have the potential to connect athletes is a very authentic way.
I am most proud of the response that I have received from fellow athletes regarding Playoff. I was happy to have the support encouragement from my family and friends, but I expected that. When I started having strangers reaching out to me to let me know what a great idea Playoff is, I was absolutely thrilled. I know there is a space for Playoff in the online dating market, now it is just about continuing to spread the word as quickly as possible.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m not sure I would attribute any positive or negative circumstances that have happened during this process to good or bad luck. There have been plenty of bugs and glitches in the app that require more and more money to test, fix and maintain, or marketing materials not turning out the way I wanted them to, etc., but I never looked at those unfortunate situations as bad luck. I knew to go into this project that things would get difficult and that there would be plenty of issues arise that would be out of my control.
Athletics has always taught me that it’s not about how unfortunate a circumstance is that matters. It’s how you bounce back from it. How do you make and adjustment and keep moving forward? I have tried to keep this entire process in perspective. I know that that there are many people out there who have become hugely successful with less knowledge or resources than I have, so there is no excuse for me to not make it happen.
Pricing:
- Premium version is available at $7.99/month for added filters, backtracks, and no ads
Contact Info:
- Website: www.playoffdatingapp.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @playoffdatingapp
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/playoffdatingapp
- Twitter: @playoffdating
Image Credit:
Alexis Hunley
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