Story

How I grew LeagueSheets from an idea into a product

I am Scott Flodin, an independent software developer who builds online tools for businesses and non-profits to keep track of their customers and members.

Senior Softball-USA uses my software to plan national tournaments and manage their growing database of softball players. When the local senior softball league in Kansas City, Mo., asked Senior Softball-USA if they could use similar software to organize their league it looked as though the software they wanted would be too expensive.

So I did a bit of research and called dozens of directors of senior softball leagues of all sizes around the United States to learn how they operated their leagues and find out if my software would have broader usefulness. Most senior softball league operators I spoke with explained they use a combination of paper forms, PDF documents and Excel spreadsheets. And almost none of them accepted player registration payments online by credit card. Some of the leagues told me they like the way they do it and don't see a reason to use online tools.

It wasn't my mission to tell leagues they needed software. I was looking for leagues that already wanted to use the kind of software I could provide. If I found enough willing to pay, I could start building the basic tools these leagues would need.

To be continued ...