As part of the Start-up Academy, Jochen Seubert and his co-founder Dennis Weiß (HSZG graduate) received start-up coaching from September 2019 to June 2020 at to support them on their path to self-employment with the development of the tennis app TRUEPLAY.
The TRUEPLAY website can be found at www.trueplay.de
We conducted the following interview with Jochen Seubert in September 2021.
I had the idea for TRUEPLAY while I was studying sports economics in Bayreuth. At that time, I lacked suitable sports partners of a similar skill level in many different sports - especially in tennis and beach volleyball.
The initial idea was not only specialized in ball sports, but also included simple everyday bets that should be included. After many discussions among friends and with other founders, the idea became more and more concrete and the focus was reduced to ball sports. After a few tests and pilot projects in soccer, beach volleyball and tennis, I initially specialized in tennis.
The most important milestones were
TRUEPLAY is a tennis app to easily connect tennis partners & tennis coaches in the area. Ambitious players can also compete with their tennis results in flexible races with friends & from the community.
TRUEPLAY has developed its own playing strength and motivation system. The playing strength system in particular forms the basis for the outstanding function: active matchmaking. For this purpose, 12 parameters are compared in order to suggest suitable playing partners (e.g. playing strength, playing locations) via push notification and to connect them with each other. The aim is to significantly reduce and simplify communication processes. With just two clicks, a suitable game can be accepted without any additional communication. If there is still a need for communication, this can be done conveniently via chat.
Additional gamification elements, such as rankings and statistics, also motivate players to stay on the ball.
I was most motivated by the feedback from the pilot projects, which was very positive across the board. In addition, I have always initiated various tests and market research together with universities by means of project seminars. This allowed us to test and confirm our hypotheses. We were also able to gather further input and many new ideas.
Of course, the biggest motivation boost came after we were finally able to release the app in May 2021 and the first players signed up and used the platform. The feedback since then has been really great.
As a start-up, there are always problems and hurdles that need to be overcome. In the case of TRUEPLAY, it was a combination of IT problems and funding. Unforeseen challenges in software development in particular require a high degree of patience and a flexible schedule. Applying for various grants also requires a lot of patience and perseverance. It was only after around two years that we were granted a start-up grant in Saxony following several applications.
We have set ourselves the general goal of promoting tennis and motivating tennis players to play. TRUEPLAY is to become a comprehensive platform for beginners, recreational players and club players. We see ourselves as an addition to the existing club and association system, but we can also imagine an integration. Furthermore, we are striving for cross-club and colorful communities in order to break through the old structures of "club bureaucracy" to a certain extent.
In the future, it is quite conceivable to transfer the platform from tennis to other sports, such as golf, beach volleyball and other racquet sports. We look forward to what the future holds - regardless of which path TRUEPLAY ultimately takes.
It is very important to test ideas and concepts, survey the target group and launch pilot projects. This makes it possible to gather initial experience and obtain feedback. Ideas and concepts can then be refined on this basis. In the case of team start-ups, there should also be a strong belief in and motivation for the project. Start-up life requires extreme staying power and stamina, which without a strong commitment will quickly flatten out and cause the project to fail. Therefore, no compromises should be made with the team and it is better to go the extra mile.
We at TRUEPLAY wish all those interested in founding a company and founders every success. Please feel free to contact me/us at jochen(at)trueplay.de and let's exchange ideas.
Best regards
Jochen
