HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 179
Houston founder on creating an app for sports connections and having fun
Lydia Davies had the idea for an app that would forge friendship and fun — right at the beginning of the world's most isolating time.
She shouted her idea — an app that would allow golfers to connect when traveling or on nice weekends when other friends might not be free — to her husband over the heads of their rambunctious children.
"I started building the app right then and there in this tornado of noise and chaos, and it kind of just became my sanity in that early COVID time because I had something to work on and build," Davies says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast.
The idea turned into TeeMates, which launched in 2021 and focused on golf exclusively, and evolved into the TEAMATES App, the current platform that now has a growing selection of sports and activities for users to sync up with others on.
As of this week, users have new features in the app that includes rewards and incentives for users to give feedback to each other on the app. Davies has even hosted events to bring people together in the name of socialization and activity.
"There is so much tension and fear after COVID in just communicating and connecting, and people just seem to feel a bit insecure. I didn't want people to feel that way," she says. "I wanted to create a community where people could just show up and be a part of a group because they are joining in an activity together."
Ultimately, the app — and its evolving features — is all about having fun and creating real human connections, Davies says.
"Activity and fun — adults have to have fun, and not just out at bars drinking," she says. "Sports and activities are fun — competition and learning something new is fun."
Davies shares her journey of entrepreneurship — which has included a pop music career and a real estate business — on the podcast. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.
The Baylor campus is next to Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park, a 37-acre project. Rendering courtesy of BCM
The Cullen Foundation donated $30 million to the project. Rendering courtesy of BCM