The Digital Opportunity for IRL Experiences

The average American spends approximately 7 hours and 4 minutes per day online looking at screens. In 2025, it's safe to say we're digital natives.

For years we worked in video games and online worlds, places where millions of people connect without ever being in the same room.

But even then, we always believed there's no replacement for real-world connection.

We're both technology people. But we're also both athletes, so we're constantly thinking about how we can merge the things we love – not just for selfish reasons, but because we think it makes sense for the world we live in.

Especially now, when AI coding tools allow us to build products that dramatically improve how people interact with technology. Which we can accomplish at 10x the speed for a fraction of the cost from just 6 months ago.

So our big question is: can we actually use digital tools to counter the passive social scrolling and brain rot that has become synonymous with screen time to spark real-world action?

Building for IRL Experiences

In our opinion, there's nothing like being on court, crossing the finish line, or making that game-winning shot. And while all of these moments are dopamine hits that happen offline, we believe that with the right digital tools, we can actually create more of them.

This is why we've found ourselves building sports-related products for clients (and ourselves too) that turn technology into a catalyst for real-world connection. We're designing digital tools that help people connect and spend more time together IRL, where they can log off and have some fun.

Julia logged off last weekend to run the NYC Marathon.

On-Court / Offline

We've focused a lot of our work on racket sports, because 1) we love them and are each in a weekly league and 2) we've seen first hand that there is demand from players for a better experience, which means there are opportunities for clubs to step it up.

Court time is finite. Player schedules never align. Membership systems are often outdated or disconnected. And somewhere between "I want to play" and "we actually played," a huge amount of value gets lost. That's the space between interest and action, and it's where digital tools can make the biggest difference.

Let's use padel as an example. It's the fastest-growing sport in the world. Investors are pouring money into it—new courts, clubs, events. But nearly all of that investment is going into physical infrastructure.

The digital experience is completely fragmented. Players are stuck organizing matches in WhatsApp chats and legacy booking apps. It's messy, inefficient, and not built for how the sport actually works.

What's missing is the social layer — the one that connects players to each other, helps them play more, and builds real community. That's why we're building Rulo, the social coordination app for communities, starting with padel.

Every Court Counts

We can look at some numbers to see what clubs are leaving on the table. Say a club charges $100 per court booking. They're constantly struggling to fill court space, especially during off-peak hours during the work day. If, for example, better scheduling, membership, and digital tools were used to create a community of retirees to get them on the court which helped fill just three additional courts a day, that's:

• $300 more per day
• About $9,000 per month
• Roughly $108,000 per year in incremental revenue

And that's before you factor in secondary effects — more lessons booked, more food and beverage sales, more members staying active. Small operational improvements can create a six-figure impact.

Relevant for Any Brick-and-Mortar Business

This logic scales beyond sports. Digital tools aren't just for digital businesses – whether you're running a restaurant, a fitness studio, a dry cleaner, a barber shop, or a local retail store, the pattern is the same.

• You already have the people, the demand, and the data — but often not the visibility.
• How many customers give up because of friction — limited hours, poor communication, or unclear availability?
• Which time slots or resources go underutilized every week?
• Who's most likely to churn — and what keeps them coming back?

If you can't see those patterns, you can't act on them. That's where technology, data, and automation move from being background tools to genuine growth engines. They help operators see what's really happening, and what's possible.

Our Prompt For You

So we will end this week's newsletter with a prompt for you — look at your work, or business, or favorite in-person activity, and ask yourself: "Where are the gaps? What frustrates me? How could this be better?"

We think there's a tech solution for that, and we're just scratching the surface of what's possible.