Athletes Untapped is an online marketplace that connects parents and kids with private sports coaches for in-person training. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Athletes Untapped founder and CEO Gene Williams to learn more about the company.
Gene Williams’ Background
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What is Gene Williams’ background? Williams said:
“I played college basketball at Johns Hopkins and professionally in Ireland. After hoops, I worked at a tech startup for five years before stepping into Athletes Untapped full-time.”
Formation Of Athletes Untapped
How did the idea for the company come together? Williams shared:
“As I was working my 9-5, I ran private basketball lessons on the side. The more I got into it, I realized the need for a platform meant to help coaches effectively scale their business – like Airbnb does for homeowners or Rover for dog walkers – so I used my background in tech and built AU.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Williams’ favorite memory working for the company so far? Williams reflected:
“It was a review we received from a parent that said (summarizing): ‘Because of the training sessions with our AU coach, my daughter went from the B team to the A team for travel soccer! Thank you so much for your help – it really changed her life!!’ To some it might seem like a lot to say ‘it changed her life’ but if you’ve ever played sports you know exactly the feeling her daughter had after seeing the hard work pay off. That’s why we love what we do.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Williams explained:
“We’re an online marketplace connecting parents & kids with private sports coaches for in-person training. We’re live on web & mobile, and we focus on 5 core features: messaging, scheduling, booking, video feedback, and coach vetting. It’s a one-stop-shop to find a coach (as a parent), or start/scale your business (as a coach).”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Williams and the team faced in building the company? Williams acknowledged:
“For sure. Scaling our supply side (coaches) was difficult in the beginning since we did all 1-to-1 outreach. We tried finding a platform to source candidates, and it was tough initially but then we found a few channels that clicked. Since then, our coach count has doubled in just a few months.”
Evolution Of Athletes Untapped’s Technology
How has Athletes Untapped’s technology evolved since launching? Williams noted:
“We initially started just on web, then we launched our app in Spring 2023. It’s been a gamechanger (pun intended) for communication & bookings.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Williams about the company’s customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Would love to! For coaches – our 2023 Coach of the year was Coach Julie. Before us, she had 0 clients and 0 bookings (she didn’t know how to get started as coach, which is common). In 9 months as an AU coach, she acquired 15 clients and ran over 100 lessons. For parents – it all comes down to reviews. Here’s a direct review from a parent about their coach: ‘My daughter has seen Coach Viki Kneis three times so far. The difference in her confidence is so awesome, and it’s all because of Coach Viki. She’s learning so much from her. She’s a great coach and a really nice person. My daughter loves her!’ – Valerie, basketball mom”
Funding
When asking Williams about the company’s funding, he revealed:
“We are completely self-funded, and we’ve 5x’d bookings every year since inception (2022).”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Williams assessed:
“According to a study done by IBIS Research, the private sports coaching marketplace in the US is valued at $14.9 billion. Large number, obviously, but I think it just goes to show how big the industry has become – and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Williams affirmed:
“High-quality coaches, video feedback tools, and a flat commission rate for coaches. We’re a team of former athletes/private coaches, so we know what it’s like to be on both sides of the marketplace.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Williams pointed out:
“Expand internationally, launch better features to help coaches with large group bookings + camps, and connect over 1M parents/athletes with coaches.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Williams concluded:
“For anyone looking to start a business, here was my roadmap: Started private coaching in 2017 (on the side) to stay involved with basketball & earn additional income. When it became too much to manage leads, scheduling, and bookings, I tried sourcing platforms to help – but couldn’t find anything I liked. Lightbulb goes off, and I start piecing the product/team together in 2021. Two devs got the platform halfway there, then they bailed. Give up? Nope. Found another dev (moonlighting – cost effective!) to finish the job. Platform goes live in early 2022. We start with basketball and soccer in the Philadelphia area. Enough sign-ups and bookings to know we’re onto something. 6x’d bookings in 2023, added 8 sports, expanded into 10 states, onboarded hundreds of coaches, and launched our app on iOS. What’s up for 2024? More growth, a host of new features for coaches, and a bigger team. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s worth spending the extra time proving your model while keeping a job. Just don’t quit!”
