Parks and recreation organizations help communities thrive. However, many use outdated systems that can make program registration stressful for residents and result in lost revenue for cities.
Rec, a new startup aiming to improve the local recreational experience, launched in stealth today.
The platform's services cater to four groups: residents, community organizers, coaches, and city officials. Residents can find available slots, book lessons, and learn about upcoming events in their area. Instructors can choose to run either group clinics or private classes. Meanwhile, the Parks & Rec department will have access to reservations, employee management, and marketing tools. In the background, the city displays a dashboard showing things like usage and currently missing resources.
Two former Uber Eats employees, Birju Kadakia (former product lead) and Rachel Williams (who worked in corporate operations), started Rec in 2022 after being dissatisfied with their local recreational experience. Ta.
“We both grew up playing and competing in sports, but neither of us had the means to access private clubs or expensive training. Our experience was limited to local We depend on the rec center and, of course, eagerly waited for that activity guide to arrive in the mail “every few months,” Williams told TechCrunch. “Going back, we were fortunate to be part of earlier companies that enhanced many aspects of daily life, but somehow, in most cities, even in 2024, local recreational experiences is still centered around the same activities he guides.”
While there are companies offering recreation management software (ActiveNet, Omnify, CommunityPass, RecDesk, etc.), Rec says it's the only one for community facilities that handles reservations, management, coaching lessons, and community engagement in one place. It's a platform.
“Cities currently pay for recreation management tools that are often clunky and stuck in the past. We believe that both Parks & Recreation staff and their residents deserve a better experience. ,” says Kadakia.
Image credits: recording
“My team works tirelessly to make fitness and activities in our city accessible to all citizens. The Rec platform is unlike anything we've had before.” Garrett Craig, recreation manager for the city of Torrance, said in a provided statement. “This has given my staff a set of superpowers, clearly designed to support our mission of building stronger, healthier communities.”
Rec's service is currently limited to users in California, launching in just eight cities, including Torrance, Rocklin, Emeryville and Santa Cruz counties. The company plans to add eight more locations in the coming months (though it declined to say which cities).
Rec touts its pickleball and tennis court programs as one of its main drivers of growth, with the platform having approximately 4,000 active users and more than 100 California-based pickleball instructors. The Pickleball Players Association reports there are approximately 48.3 million pickleball players in the United States, and parks and recreation centers are overwhelmed by the number of reservations flooding into their systems.
As for its business model, the company charges an undisclosed reservation fee to the Parks & Rec department. Rec's sales growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2023 (October 1st to December 31st) was 40% month over month.
“Prices vary by region and depending on the products and services offered by each partnership. In all cases, Rec prices are comparable to or lower than existing players in the space. Almost all partnerships. , the launch of Rec has increased resident participation and increased revenue for the Parks Department,” explains Rec.
The company is backed by NFX, Precursor Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, and angel investors including Uber, Google, and The Athletic. The company has raised $6.2 million to date, including a $2.2 million pre-seed round in December 2022 and a $4 million seed round a year later. Rec will use the funding to expand his 10-person team across engineering, design, sales, and marketing, as well as build more capabilities and expand its offerings to programs in schools, churches, and apartment complexes. Expanding to additional community facilities including;
“Our focus now is to partner with parks and rec departments to provide them with the tools they need to build recs and provide residents with reimagined recreational experiences. We look to the future. “We envision a world where access to local recreation, sports, and community activities is incredibly easy.” said Kadakia.