You play a game, and before you get to the car park, your highlights and stats are up.
The challenge
I didn't have the expertise or experience to build it. But I knew this was what I wanted to do — I believed the world should have this.
Looking back, the journey followed the technology entrepreneur pathway almost exactly. Here's how each stage played out.
Roadmap stage · Find a Problem →It started with my own problem
I knew I wasn't the best player on the pitch, but I also knew I was important to the team. I do the selfless things that go unnoticed — tackles, interceptions, assists. I wanted a way to prove my contribution.
So I did my market research. I found lots of competitors and adjacent companies, but they were focused on the technology, on team-based stats, on 11-a-side, or on a different sport entirely, like basketball.
I wanted to focus on the individual, and bring in a social, competitive element, with everything built around earning XP — a bit like fantasy football, but in real life.
I also knew the market was big. There are small-sided football venues all across the UK and Europe, which means a lot of players. The numbers I found suggest that around 240 million people play small-sided football every week.
Lesson: I tried running customer interviews, but most people shrugged off the idea until I had something to actually show them.
A landing page that didn't land
I started with a landing page. But my branding was poor, and the idea was too new for people to understand from a page alone. I got no more than 14 sign-ups.
So I decided to gamble. I vibe coded an app to host stats and highlights, and went straight into recording games — for free — with my local group.
Roadmap stage · Build an MVP →Testing what players actually want
With real players and real games, I could finally test what worked. I tried different camera set-ups, and three different kinds of highlights:
I uploaded more and more clips, and eventually I started getting traction. But it was too much to handle by hand: each game took roughly 10 hours using pen and paper and iMovie.
So I started building my own computer vision model. I was no expert, but I was able to show how it could work in theory.
The evidence was clear: people wanted this, with a 100% retention rate. That let me prove the concept to engineers, and I got one superstar on board who helped me build the model. See how GoalPro's artificial intelligence works →
Roadmap stage · Launch & Learn →Learning from early adopters — and my engineer
My early adopters taught me a lot. I tested different prices and revenue models, and built a product that players use again and again and are willing to pay for.
I learned a lot from my engineer too. We had to build iteratively. For the MVP, we bought custom bibs to help the model track players consistently, to prove it could work. We tried different cameras and angles, and realised that for accurate tracking, the best thing is a fixed camera:
Tripod and iPhone
Where it all started.
SmallRig Super Clamp
Not great: where I had to put it, the net kept overlapping the camera and ruining the footage.
Fence mount
The most stable option, and the one that works.
I even built a manual tagging tool while the model was being developed. It cut my analysis time by 60%.
Roadmap stage · Find Product–Market Fit & Grow the Business →What players told me
The best way to know if you've built something people want is to ask them. Here's what one of my early adopters said when I asked our group a few questions.
Did anyone moan about the payments?
“Not at all, £10 a week is quite fair.”
Before this, had anyone tried recording your games or tracking stats? What happened?
“Nope, but we used to record sessions. It was hard editing etc, so we stopped.”
What's the group chat like now — is it still as lively as after week one, or has it gone quieter?
“The group chat is now livelier, and it's added more competitiveness and passion for the session.”
Has anyone actually posted clips outside the group?
“Not yet, but I've asked a few others to post some clips — a teammate has one in their highlights.”
What's the main thing that excites you — the clips or the stats? Why?
“Seeing rankings is really exciting, and watching your own highlights, maybe a few others too. Most of us wait for the drop 😅”
How would you feel if I stopped this service and you could no longer use it?
“We would be quite upset about it, as we believe it's a very good addition to our session.”
What do I need to add?
“Nothing really. I'd say maybe shots on target instead of just shots, and maybe distance covered? But those are very specific asks — outside of that, it's perfect.”
Now we're working on scaling the business, and we have a whole strategy in place to do it.
What I'd tell anyone starting out
The point is that it was all experimentation, resourcefulness and a desire to build the ultimate experience for my users.
- Start with a problem you have. I wanted to prove my own contribution — and it turned out lots of players did too.
- Show, don't tell. People shrugged at interviews and a landing page, but lit up when they saw their own highlights.
- Do things that don't scale. Ten hours of pen, paper and iMovie per game proved the demand before any model existed.
- You don't need to be the expert. Proving the concept is what brought the right engineer on board.
- Keep experimenting. Highlights, prices, bibs, cameras — almost every decision came from trying something and learning.
No expertise, no experience — just a problem I cared about and the willingness to keep testing. That's enough to start.