mygames
MyGames, the start-up company of Tehnopol’s Startup Incubator scalup program, strives to be the world’s largest tennis court sharing platform. Recently, they signed a representation agreement with racket professionals operating in the US, with the help of which marketing activities have already started and the first courts have joined.
According to Margus Randmäe, co-founder and CEO of MyGames, the cooperation will help realize the company’s mission and bring the racquet sports closer to the players in the most efficient way, increasing both supply and demand for the distribution platform. “As our partners are highly valued experts who have been operating in their field for a very long time, as a result of the cooperation we reach both the court owners and the players, for both of whom we have developed and deisgn our product. It is a great pleasure to acknowledge that we have found a partner who knows the US racket market in detail from the point of view of both the player and the court owner, as well as the coach, “Randmäe added.
MyGames’ contractual partner in the United States is MiPaddle, a New Jersey based company founded by Mikk Irdoja and Mark Innes. Mikk Irdoja, who has been one of the best tennis players in Estonia, leads a prestigious private club and holds a third place in the US ranking of platform tennis. He became the Estonian doubles champion both in 2005 with Jürgen Zopp and in 2009 with Kaia Kanepi. The end of Irdoja’s tennis career can be considered 2014 when he was appointed to the Estonian Davis Cup team for the sixth time.
Mark Innes from South Africa is also one of the top racket players and has been a coach throughout his career.
Innes, started playing college tennis at Walsh University in Ohio in 2008, while giving tennis training at a prestigious private club until graduation, after which he focused on platform tennis. Since 2015, he has been the Director of Racquets for several private clubs in San Francisco and elsewhere. In 2020, men founded MiPaddle, making pplatform tennis training more accessible to people across the United States.
In the course of their activities so far, the both parties have seen that, in addition to large racket clubs, there are a number of private and public courts that are either clearly undercrowded or whose use could be significantly better regulated. It is the easy and fast rental of such courts, their self-service automation and convenient booking for enthusiasts that are the values that will be jointly offered in the US market.
“We want to offer court owners the opportunity to earn independent income, improve the asset utilization and contribute to creating more gaming opportunities. For players, there will be a pleasant alternative to practicing their favorite sports outside the closed and expensive club model, just find, book, and play just when and where it suits you!” Innes specified. „We are excited to partner with MyGames and create more playing options for racquet sports in US.“
“Millions of people around the world share their homes, cars, even lunches and clothes on different platforms. Why not share your tennis court – a playground that is meant to share the gaming experience,” added Margus Randmäe, the head of MyGames.
The cooperation agreement between MyGames and MiPaddle was signed on November 5, 2021, and within the first days 15 courts were added to the MyGames platform. The goal for the next six months is active sales, increasing the number of courts and preparing for the 2022 season. MyGames is already preparing for the next fundraiser to further boost growth in the US market.
MyGames, founded in Pärnu in 2019, is the official cooperation partner of the Estonian Tennis Association and a member of the scaleup program of the Tehnopol Startup Incubator. During the almost one-year test period in the Estonian market, almost 10,000 bookings have been made to various courts through the MyGames platform in the total value of almost 220,000 euros. The company has won the “Pärnu County Product of the Year”, “Regional Tennis Developer” and “Startup of the Year” awards.