After earning my business degree at McGill University, I chose to take a different path instead of applying to companies. I’ve always been passionate about building things from scratch, so launching something of my own felt like the right move. While still enrolled in university in 2016, I launched TasteMontreal–a marketing platform focused on showcasing Montreal’s vibrant food scene. As a longtime foodie, I saw the venture as a way to explore the city’s diverse dining landscape with fellow enthusiasts. I wanted the platform to serve as an insider’s guide to Montreal’s best culinary experiences–from popular eateries to hidden gems. By 2018, the platform’s Instagram account had grown to over 180,000 users. 

The success of that experience strengthened my passion for entrepreneurship and inspired me to eventually explore another interest of mine–sports. As a student, l loved playing sports but struggled to find and book available rental spaces. Bookings were usually limited to local neighbourhood arenas, and finding information about venues farther away was hard to come by. Existing booking platforms lacked real-time availability, and my calls to confirm reservations frequently went unanswered. Staff would sometimes ask me to call back or promise to follow up, but that rarely happened. Most spaces were fully booked well in advance, and the fragmented nature of these platforms did little to ease the process.

I was eager to find a solution to this problem. Having already started and launched an online business, I felt ready to take on a new challenge with my next venture. I set out to create a platform that would make accessing and booking sports spaces quick, easy, and accessible for everyone.

My sister, Maya, and I grew up playing hockey together in Toronto, where securing time and space to play was often a challenge. Drawing on that shared experience, we teamed up in 2019 to launch CatchCorner–an app designed to simplify booking sports and recreational spaces across 16 metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States.

To better understand the scope of the issue, we spoke with dozens of regional coaches, facility managers, professional players, and recreational athletes. Their feedback confirmed what we had experienced: the problem was widespread. Many facility owners still relied on outdated methods like pen-and-paper calendars or basic spreadsheets, making it difficult for people to find and book available time slots. CatchCorner was created to solve that problem by modernizing how people connect with the spaces they need to stay active.

To start developing our idea, we manually gathered detailed information on a wide range of rental-based sports venues in Toronto—everything from ice rinks, indoor basketball gyms, tennis courts, and soccer fields, to niche spaces like cricket grounds and batting cages. We later expanded our database to include Ottawa and London, Ontario. This deep dive helped us understand the types of facilities out there, which ones were popular, and how they were run.

We knew that for our platform to succeed, it had to serve both customers and facility managers effectively. To provide the best options, we set clear, consistent standards for the facilities, taking into account factors like cleanliness, maintenance, and popularity. We also considered the availability of sports people actually wanted to play. Equally important was ensuring that these venues were open to adopting new technology and comfortable using digital tools.

After finalizing the list of participating facilities, we launched our platform in early 2019. We started out with about a dozen venues and steadily added more in the following weeks, making sure that each listing included key details like availability and hourly rates. By being selective about the facilities we featured, we were able to generate bookings quickly.

We eventually realized that we needed a trusted partner to help grow CatchCorner, so we reached out to American sports brand Sports Illustrated. After a series of meetings, emails and phone calls, we secured the partnership in 2021. This collaboration led to our app being featured on the Sports Illustrated website, allowing us to reach a wider audience. The partnership also helped expand our presence into major cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, and New York City. Today, we’re proud to be known as CatchCorner by Sports Illustrated. 

In addition, our platform started connecting users with a variety of top-notch sports programs offered by our participating facilities, which boosted the app’s popularity. Our goal has always been to make it easy for people from all backgrounds to find a place to play sports–whether they’re seeking high-end options or more budget-friendly choices. That’s why the app features everything from world-class facilities like the Ford Performance Centre–where the Toronto Maple Leafs train–to smaller, family-run venues and neighbourhood community centres.

Related: How I Turned Millions of Hockey Data Points into a Multi-Million Dollar Business

Today, CatchCorner operates in 16 cities and processes over $50 million in annual bookings. Looking ahead, we plan to expand our reach to over 1,000 new facilities across Canada and the U.S., continuing our mission to make sports more convenient and inclusive.

Our team remains focused on enhancing the user experience by actively listening to and incorporating feedback from our community. From my experience leading businesses, I’ve learned that engaging users not only improves efficiency but also leads to products that are more accessible and adaptable. We approach our work as a team effort, with collaboration and coordination guiding us every step of the way.

– As told to Vartika Puranik