GAME
APPS GO
ATHLETIC
Triton tech solutions in the stands and on the field .
BY VAL SKERKAVICH , REVELLE ’ 17
David Podolsky , Revelle ’ 02 Co-founder of ScoreStream , a sports crowdsourcing app
Sourcing the Score
“ YOU DON ’ T ALWAYS CHOOSE THE IDEA . It ’ s more like the idea chooses you .” This was the case for David Podolsky , Revelle ’ 02 , who had just taken his first entrepreneurial exeunt from Digium , a business phone system he co‐developed , when the next idea found him — crowdsourcing the world of high school sports .
“ That was the need at the time , and that ’ s what we did ,” says Podolsky . “ Mobile was really picking up and we saw a lot of parents going to the games but other parents couldn ’ t . So , how do we keep those people in touch ?”
The answer was ScoreStream , a mobile app with which anyone can keep up with local sports , as those who attend the games update scores and even upload in‐action photos for those who aren ’ t able to be there . But what makes this app work so well among sports fans is the way Podolsky built it — with the user in mind .
“ It comes down to building something that ’ s compelling . Really trying to get into the mindset of the user — I think that ’ s one of the hardest things to do . You won ’ t be successful if you don ’ t get into the head of the users you ’ re trying to make the product for .”
“ You won ’ t be successful if you don ’ t get into the head of the users you ’ re trying to make the product for .”
– DAVID PODOLSKY , CO-FOUNDER OF SCORESTREAM
Little did Podolsky know that those users would eventually be his own family . With young kids at home , he and his wife Renae , Revelle ’ 03 , couldn ’ t make it out to see Triton games . Renae played water polo in college and when UC San Diego made it to the 2014 Western Waterpolo Association Championships , she desperately wanted to follow the team . “ It was great because that ’ s when ScoreStream was coming out . The parents and fans stepped up and scored every single UCSD women ’ s water polo game with ScoreStream . My wife got to enjoy all that while at home with our kids . It ties everything together . I never foresaw that ScoreStream would be a solution for my wife . It just reaffirms that it fits user needs .”
48 TRITON | SPRING 2016