JOE speaks to the lads behind the excellent start-up, MyLocalPitch

In our latest installment of our conversations with innovative Irish start-ups, we speak to Finn Mongey, one of the lads behind MyLocalPitch to get their views on all things business and start-up.

JOE: So tell us Finn, what is MyLocalPitch all about? Finn: Simply put, MyLocalPitch is about making sport participation more accessible and encouraging people to get active and involved in sport at their local venues. By creating a centralised search portal at MyLocalPitch, and listing facilities by sport, location, and playing surface, MyLocalPitch makes sports venues across the city easier to find, and easier to get in touch with. What's even better is that it's completely free to use. JOE: How did the business start and what inspired you to go on your own? Finn: MyLocalPitch stemmed from the frustrations of endless Google searches, unanswered council emails, and calls back and forth to different venues to try and find available pitches to book and play. After much research and hard work, and due to the lack of a centralised sport database in Dublin, the launch of MyLocalPitch became possible. Nowadays one can reserve a restaurant, book a taxi, buy flowers, or order a take away online, but online access to sport has always been way behind. We hope to change that. JOE: I imagine the sports tech sector is quite a crowded market, but just how competitive is it? Finn: Obviously sport is hugely popular, there will always be demand. Dublin boasts some amazing facilities. What has been lacking is a simple online pathway. Our site, social media, and blogs highlight opportunities to get active in Dublin. Our goal is very much to work alongside venues to increase access and bookings at as many facilities as possible. One of the joys of MyLocalPitch is that it benefits all involved, from customer to venue. We are already working with some fantastic sport providers, including; Astropark, The National Sports Campus, Dublin Indoor Football, Powerleague Spawell, and Alexandra College and are in talks with many more. JOE: How has business been? Is there a certain demographic you find really take to the business? Finn: The feedback and enthusiasm from Dublin venues to date has been fantastic. The potential for growth is immense. Both myself and our Head of Business Development Freddy Culazzo, having grown up playing a range of sport in Dublin, are well aware of what the city has to offer, and also of the regular barriers to pitch-booking. The platform and technology exists and is used widely in other industries but it is grossly underused in the grassroots sport industry, despite sport players being among the most likely to use technology to search and book activities online. JOE: What does the future have in store for MyLocalPitch? Finn: We are very excited about MyLocalPitch's future. With every new venue, we sign up Dublin's most comprehensive sport listing and booking portal becomes a stronger tool for grassroots sport people and venues alike. In addition to our existing listings and services, we are now offering online booking and facility management software to our venues to further improve the quality and accessibility of Dublin's sport network. With more venues signing up by the week and a MyLocalPitch mobile app on the way, the doorway to sport in Dublin is wide open, and we hope to do all we can to keep it that way. JOE: You’re one of the rare and brave breed of young Irish entrepreneurs, do you think more Irish people should go out there on their own or is it a case-by-case basis? Finn: Having been involved in grassroots sport at both a professional and personal level, I was confident that this was a winning idea that sport lovers like myself have been crying out for and I jumped at the opportunity to get things up and running in my hometown. I would hope that MyLocalPitch is the perfect example of how, with a good idea and enough passion and hard work, there will always be opportunities to create something valuable. To follow MyLocalPitch click here.