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Apps are a part of our everyday lives, and a popular business for many people. If you’ve ever had an idea for one but didn’t know how to create it you’ll want to listen to Matt Sebek. On this episode Matt shares with us how he created not one but two popular apps!
Matt is a St. Louis sports nut, technology enthusiast, and co-founder of the Rookies app and The Cast app. Join us as we talk about how Matt got started and more on this edition of How’d You Get Into That?.
MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW
Matt grew up near St. Louis where he learned to love all of their local sports teams: Cardinals, Rams, and Blues. He was also into technology from an early age. Growing up in a blue collar family, he didn’t have a lot of money but his parents always seemed to scrape enough together to get him and his siblings the latest gadgets.
He was a good soccer player which led to a soccer scholarship for the University of Evansville. Matt was so good he was considering going pro but in his senior year he herniated a disc in his back, which ended his playing career.
He decided to buckle down with his studies and learn as much as he could about technology, software and coding. After college Matt went to work for AT&T and put sports on the backburner for a time. But he always knew he wanted to somehow combine his love of sports with his love of technology and bring something really exciting into the world in the process.
THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:
- How to start a sports blog.
- What’s the one key to success in business and in life?
- How to generate organic buzz for your app on a shoestring budget.
- Want to turn your love for sports into a business? Matt explains how.
- The 3 key roles your team needs to build a successful app.
- And so much more!
As sports blogging started to become popular Matt and some friends jumped on the bandwagon. They started a web site called joesportsfan.com, which was a light-hearted satirical look at the St. Louis sports scene for the common fan. They half-hoped they could someday sell it for big bucks down the road.
While that never materialized, over time Matt and his buddies generated a solid following on the West Coast and eventually St. Louis fans came around and became fans as well. Today joesportsfan.com is an award-winning publication that also sells t-shirts. The most valuable outcome of the blog however is the relationships and contacts he made in the process.
Throughout his blogging experience Matt kept his interest in technology. He saw a lot of guys with great ideas for apps; but because they had no coding or design experience a lot of those ideas never took off. Matt’s coding experience, plus his ability to network and influence others, was just the right background he needed to build an app and make it a success.
He launched the Rookies app this last Christmas as an app that allows you to create and print your own baseball cards using pictures you take. Original his target market was the hard core baseball fan, but he actually discovered a lot of soccer moms and women in general liked it, and so he pivoted and sold to them.
Matt says a lot of his success wouldn’t have happened without just getting started. They never sold the blog, but it was incredibly valuable in terms of expanding their network, which helped later when they launched Rookies.
The same lesson applies to launching his app: just get started! They built the Rookies app for one audience, but a totally different audience liked it, and the app has continued to evolve through valuable customer feedback.
Please join me in thanking Matt for sharing his awesome tips, secrets and business wisdom with us today. Thanks for being here and we’ll see you next time!
Tweetable: “So much of success is relationships.” Matt Sebek
EPISODE RESOURCES
- Joe Sports Fan blog
- The Rookies app site
- Matt Sebek on Twitter
- The Rookies app on Facebook
- Submit feedback on the show for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!
- Subscribe to the show on iTunes
- Subscribe to the show on Stitcher
- Email me with any questions, comments or guest suggestions at Grant@GrantBaldwin.com
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