237: Managing Sports Leagues Like a Pro with Etienne Bernier of Kreezee Sports

Welcome to another episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Matthew Ward are joined by Etienne Bernier of Kreezee Sports.  Etienne is an ex-firefighter from Quebec City that used his entrepreneurial spirit to solve a problem he was facing while managing an adult hockey league.  He and his business partner built Kreezee Sports to help you manage your amateur sports club, league, or tournament.  Tune in to hear about Etienne’s unique entrepreneurial journey!   Shownotes (1:31) Introducing Etienne and Kreezee Sports (5:38) How Etienne’s background affected his entrepreneurship (9:02) Kreezee Sports and COVID (13:29) Quebec’s startup scene (16:18) Customer acquisition  (20:59) What does future success look like? (23:59) What sets Kreezee Sports apart (26:52) Advice for the younger self   Links Caleb Talley Jeff Amerine Matthew Ward Etienne Bernier  Kreezee Sports    Quotes “If you’re the leader of the company, you have to take the punches.  And maybe that’s the relation between business and hockey.  I think in business it takes a lot of courage and you have to never give up.  I mean, you are facing a lot of [challenges].”  (7:43)   “I think the dark side of COVID with our business is that the traffic is very low on our websites, because we do provide websites to sports clubs, leagues, and tournaments.  So yeah, the traffic has been very low since COVID happened because a lot of leagues are shut down for the entire season.”  (10:10)   “Obviously we started with a small [tournament], but having that customer in our portfolio gave us a great showcase, and then a lot of people joined us because the credibility was there because of that customer.  So that's one of the main reasons why we got into the US market so fast.  Then we grew a lot, because when you have big names using your software, it’s way easier to get new customers to join a new software.”  (18:35)   Sponsored by Tiny Capital: https://www.tinycapital.com/ Tiny partners with founders to give them quick, straightforward exits that protect their team and culture. We’ll make an offer within a week, close the deal within a month, and keep your business operating for the long term.  Get in touch at tinycapital.com/startupjunkies, and we’ll let you know within a couple of days.