Meet & Compete Mobile App Brings Charleston Actives Together

Will Elliott is busy. If you were to look at his schedule with a plain perspective, you would attribute that to his full time job, dodge ball league and rock climbing, not to mention his side endeavor of producing mobile applications. To sit down with him though, you will quickly find that his body is barely keeping up with his mind. He is busy because his brain can’t slow down, and while his thoughts ping pong around in his head, inevitably leading him to jump between practical and hypothetical, it is only because of his excitement over an idea. And Will Elliott has a great idea. 

His latest mobile app is called Meet & Compete, and is now available in the iTunes store for free. The concept is a simple one. It's a way for people to easily meet others and play. 

“I remember when Tinder came out, I thought they had a really good idea—not necessarily the dating part, but finding people in your area, your age.”

Because Will was the kind of guy who grew up playing lots of sports (but admittedly was never great at one) and also joined intramural teams in college, he has produced something that recreates the joy and possibility of knocking on dorm room doors.

“I want people to connect, and to have the spontaneity to be able to go out there. So many people just go to work, then go home and sit around. It’s depressing.”

In a town like Charleston, where everyone seems to always be late, or at best fickle, Meet & Compete brings some relief to an audience that wanes from commitment. 

“Its hard to get people’s schedules together, time is always so strained. You have to make a dead set commitment. With this, once you play with someone, you can always have that person as a contact, and you’ll know what sports they are into. You don’t have to sign up for a league.” 

Will has a great vision for the app, for how much it could do for connecting people. He realizes that it may appeal most to a crowd who are already outgoing, but it could also become a way for people new in town who are looking for a new group, or interested in a new hobby, to get out of their shell. 

“The idea is to eventually create something that people who aren’t active could feel comfortable using as a way to become more active. It can also be a way for people to find out more about a different sport. You can really post whatever: rugby, yoga, art class—it’s all about finding someone interested in the same things that you are.” 

Will also realizes that there is a natural pushback to using something like Meet & Compete. It may not be too different from when someone first typed in Match.com, and waited to press the return key. 

“Most people are just busy. I’m sure after people try it once they will see that it's just other, normal people, who want to get together. Also, it is integrated with Facebook, so you get a profile picture, and chat functionality.” 

"Meet & Compete" is available now for iPhone and Android. Click to download.