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parking area and refreshment organizations help communities flourish . However , many of them use outdated systems that make program registration nerve-wracking for resident , potentially leading to lost taxation for cities .
Rec , a new startup direct to improve the local diversion experience , launched out of stealth today .
The chopine ’s offerings ply to four groups : residents , biotic community organiser , coaches and city faculty . Residents can let on available reserve expansion slot , Quran lessons and learn about forthcoming events in their region . instructor have the option to run either radical clinics or individual class . Meanwhile , Parks & Rec department gain admission to engagement , workforce direction and marketing prick . In the background , cities see a splashboard that show up things like employment and which resources are presently low .
Two former Uber Eats employee , Birju Kadakia ( former product lead ) and Rachel Williams ( make for in enterprise operations ) , get down Rec in 2022 because they were bedevil with their local recreation experience .
“ Both of us grew up playing and contend in sports , but neither of us had the agency to access private clubs and expensive training — our experience bank on the local rec center and , of course of instruction , eagerly expect that activity guide to arrive in the mail every few calendar month , ” Williams differentiate TechCrunch . “ Fast - forward , we ’ve been lucky to have been a part of old company that enhanced many facet of our everyday living , but somehow , the local recreation experience in most cities , even in 2024 , still centers around that same activity scout ! ”
While there are company offering recreation direction software ( ActiveNet , Omnify , CommunityPass and RecDesk , among others ) , Rec says it ’s the only platform for local facilities that handles booking , management , coach lessons and community engagement in one plaza .
“ Cities are presently pay for refreshment direction tools that are often unwieldy and stuck in the past , and we believe that both Parks & Recreation stave and their resident deserve a secure experience , ” Kadakia tell .
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“ My squad spends painstaking hours ensuring every citizen has access to fittingness and activity in our urban center . The Rec platform is unlike anything we ’ve had before , ” Garrett Craig , recreation manager of the city of Torrance , said in a provided argument . “ It has given my staff a set of superpowers – clearly designed to underpin them in their mission to build stronger , levelheaded communities . ”
Rec ’s serving are currently restrict to California user in only eight cities to bug out , include Torrance , Rocklin , Emeryville and Santa Cruz County . It design to add eight more in the next few months ( they did n’t order us which cities , specifically ) .
Rec touts pickleball and lawn tennis homage programs as one of the main drivers of its growth , with around 4,000 combat-ready users and over 100 California - found pickleball instructor on the political platform . There are approximately48.3 millionpickleball player in the U.S. , per a report card from the Association of Pickleball Players , and car park and recreation centers are overwhelmed by the number of reservation flooding their systems .
Regarding its business theoretical account , the company tear Parks & Rec department an undisclosed engagement fee . Rec picture a revenue growth rate of 40 % month - over - calendar month in Q4 2023 ( from October 1 to December 31 ) .
“ The fee does vary based on every region and the products and services provided in each partnership . In any suit , the Rec fee is at similar or lower price than the incumbent players in the blank space . In almost every partnership , launch Rec has result in both incremental participation from residents and incremental revenue for the Parks Department , ” Rec explains .
The company is backed by NFX , Precursor Ventures , Long Journey Ventures and angel investor from Uber , Google , The Athletic and more . To date , the party has raised $ 6.2 million , including a $ 2.2 million pre - seed stave in December 2022 and a $ 4 million seed circle a year later . Rec is using the funding to scale its 10 - person team across engineering , design , sales and marketing , as well as make more features and extend its offerings to additional residential area facilities , including programs in schools , church and apartment complexes .
“ Our current focusing is to build up Rec bridge player in hand with Parks & Rec department to give them the tools needed to give house physician a reimagined recreation experience . As we look to the hereafter , we envision a world where access to local refreshment , playing sports and being active in your community is torturously simple-minded , ” Kadakia notes .
