Squaddle
2020-Present
Squaddle is a smart tool for organising group sports activities via a first-of-its-kind WhatsApp integration.
Its mission is to get more people playing group sports by lowering the barriers to entry and taking the pain out of organising.
5k+
Users
£14k
Monthly GMV
60%
Retention rate
Product & Design Lead (2022-Present)
Product Designer (2020-22)
UX/UI design
Prototyping
Design system
Visual Identity
User testing
Web design
Front-end development
Product management
Customer support
Figma
FigJam
Linear
Webflow
Google Analytics
Linearity Curve
Material Design
Vuetify
Chromatic
Twilio
Canny
Typeform
Mailchimp
GitHub
Visual Studio
Stripe
Pitch
No suitable organisation tool existed for recreational sports (only for sports clubs, parents, and platforms with self-hosted games)
Casual players often aren't invested enough to download a specific app or go through a lengthy signup process
Existing solutions included WhatsApp group chats, Facebook groups, email chains, and similar — all of which are noisy and hard to manage
Getting an activity to go ahead each week costs organisers too much time, energy, and stress
Chasing payments can become a nightmare, often leaving organisers out of pocket when they need to pay for venues or equipment
No suitable organisation tool existed for recreational sports (only for sports clubs, parents, and platforms with self-hosted games)
Casual players often aren't invested enough to download a specific app or go through a lengthy signup process
Existing solutions included WhatsApp group chats, Facebook groups, email chains, and similar — all of which are noisy and hard to manage
Getting an activity to go ahead each week costs organisers too much time, energy, and stress
Chasing payments can become a nightmare, often leaving organisers out of pocket when they need to pay for venues or equipment
I interviewed group sports organisers and participants, mostly involved in recreational football. I looked at regular, recreational games managed in a variety of ways, such as through Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats, or via email chains. I also spoke to those using existing solutions such as Footy Addicts or Spond. In most cases, organisers described the same same problems. Group chats were too noisy and it was hard to find important information like who could play or who had paid. Different groups wanted to be able make payments in various ways, including up-front lump sums, before each game in order to reserve a space, or post-game split equally between attendees. Almost every organiser wished they could spend less time on the admin tasks associated with running a game.
I also performed in-depth competitor analysis to see what existing solutions offered and how we could improve upon them. Some were great for individuals joining games managed by the platform, while lacking features for group organisers. Others worked well for parents tracking their childrens' activities, but weren't so suitable for adult recreational use cases.
Our goal with Squaddle is to make group sports activities practically self-organising. Once you've set up a recurring activity, invites are automatically sent out each week and payments are automatically collected, minimising the amount of time and stress organisers need to devote to running a game.
Organisers use the Squaddle web app to add squad members, set up activities, and manage payments. Participants sign up via a squad joining link and choose WhatsApp or email for notifications such as invites, messages from organisers, and payment reminders.
I designed Squaddle's visual identity to be bold and memorable while remaining accessible and inclusive. It was my first time designing a logo and brand identity, and I learned many valuable lessons along the way.
I built our marketing site using Webflow. Prospective users can learn all about how Squaddle works and read blog posts detailing our product vision. There's also a changelog to keep everyone updated on the latest features and improvements.
We're lucky to have lots of enthusiastic users at Squaddle, and we've made sure they always come first when designing new features and improvements. Here's a selection of testimonials from our beta testers…
"The payment side of the product is fantastic — as a community this has helped us massively"
"Squaddle has been great for organising our 5-a-side football games. It's easy to use, convenient for giving payments and doesn't clutter up my inbox. Love it!"
"Squaddle has been really easy to setup and use. Setup a recurring game and you’re good to go - everyone in the team has agreed that’s it a a really great tool for keeping everyone informed"
"Very easy to use. I like the payment system...you can see who owes money. No more hiding!"
“Squaddle is a fantastic tool for planning matches, fundraisers, and social events“
"The new team picker is a great time saver"
"Makes organising effortless"
"Great way to keep the ball rolling when organising the weeks 5 aside."
"Hassle-free"
"Very efficient way of organising games"
"Football match organising has never been easier and is no longer a chore thanks to this app."
"Simple and quick"
"I just registered, signed up for the game, and paid — it took me 2 minutes. Almost offensively easy"
