Playon
Playon is a web-based platform that centralizes discovery and registration for community recreational activities—parks, leagues, classes, and events. Founded in 2013 in La Porte, Indiana, it serves individual residents in Indiana with plans to expand across the Midwest.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew Buffalo, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Playon does
Playon (Playon, INC.) is a privately held web-based platform headquartered in La Porte, Indiana, founded in 2013 by Sam Maule and Marc Oestreich as a passion project to centralize information about community recreational activities. The platform enables residents to search, explore, and register for parks, leagues, classes, and events through a unified interface with filters, maps, and personalized player profiles that drive interest-based notifications. It is currently in Beta in Indiana communities (launched June 2023) and is being expanded community-by-community across the Midwest.
The platform primarily serves individual community residents (parents, players, and individuals seeking local recreational opportunities), with secondary users including parks departments, community organizations, and healthcare/public health foundations such as Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (partnership announced November 2023 in support of the HEAL Initiative). Distribution is primarily self-serve via the playonapp.com web application, supplemented by community-partnership-driven rollout into new geographies. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed—pricing tiers, subscription models, and monetization details are absent from available sources—and the user-facing experience appears free.
The product roadmap includes Create Groups, in-app Communicate (with AI-powered recommendations), real-time Pickup Games with location sharing, and Get Social features, none of which are live as of the source material. A separate sub-product, the Active Lifestyle Assessment (ALA), provides community-level research data combining attitudes, behaviors, and interests. The company operates with 1-10 employees, has no disclosed institutional funding, and no confirmed revenue. (Note: a separately named "PlayOn" entity operating the GoFan ticketing platform received a California privacy-related enforcement action; that entity is distinct from Playon, INC.)
Playon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Playon
- Legal name
- Playon, INC.
- Website
- https://playonapp.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Playon is a web-based platform that centralizes discovery and registration for community recreational activities—parks, leagues, classes, and events. Founded in 2013 in La Porte, Indiana, it serves individual residents in Indiana with plans to expand across the Midwest.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Playon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Activity Discovery Platform
- NAICS
- Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (7139)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Playon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Buffalo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Playon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Platform Services: The platform appears to provide free access to users for discovering and registering for activities. Revenue generation details are not explicitly disclosed in available sources.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Playon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Playon operates a web-based platform that centralizes discovery, registration, and engagement for community sports leagues, fitness classes, parks, and recreational events in a single searchable interface. Users can filter activities by age, gender, level of play, and other criteria, explore local parks and venues with maps, register and pay directly through the platform, and receive personalized notifications when new activities match their saved interests. The platform additionally offers an Active Lifestyle Assessment (ALA) research program that aggregates attitudes, behaviors, and interests data to provide community-level insights on active living.
Product overview
Playon is a web-based platform designed to make active living easy by centralizing information about community activities. The core Playon platform enables users to search and discover parks, leagues, classes, and events with powerful filters. The Player Profile feature unlocks personalized notifications and saved searches. Planned features include Create Groups, Communicate (with AI-powered recommendations), Pickup Games (with location sharing), and Get Social features. Playon Communities also offers an Active Lifestyle Assessment (ALA) program for community research and data-driven decision-making.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Playon
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Playon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature5 records
Playon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL)coreCollaboration in support of HFL's Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Initiative to promote active living options throughout La Porte County. The partnership kicked off in November 2023 with a digital marketing campaign focused on increasing awareness of active living options. Capitalizing on Playon's expansive library of community assets, the campaign aims to increase resident participation in local activities, targeting historically marginalized groups, seniors, newcomers, and all residents.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Playon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Jersey Watch: Sports league management and website builder for youth and amateur sports organizations—competing for the same local league organizers and participants as Playon.
- TeamSnap: Team and league management app for youth and adult sports with scheduling, rostering, and communication—overlapping with Playon's community sports league use case.
- RecDesk: Cloud-based recreation management software used by municipalities and parks departments for activity registration and facility booking—competing for the same parks-and-rec buyer Playon courts.
- LeagueApps: Direct competitor offering a platform for sports organizations and leagues to manage registration, websites, and communication—overlapping with Playon's league-discovery and registration functionality.
- CommunityPass: Online registration platform for community education, recreation, and municipal programs—directly comparable to Playon's municipality-driven activity registration.
- CivicRec: Recreation management platform for local governments, providing online registration and facility reservation—directly comparable to the parks-department side of Playon's offering.
- MyRec.com: Recreation management software providing registration, membership, and facility scheduling for parks and recreation departments—a municipal competitor to Playon.
Broad incumbents
- PerfectMind: Broader membership and activity management platform for municipalities, recreation centers, and community organizations—an incumbent adjacent to Playon's parks-and-rec target market.
- Active Network: Large incumbent in recreation and activity management, providing registration, payment, and scheduling software for parks & rec departments, races, and community activities—the same end customers Playon targets.
Emerging players
- AllPlayers: Sports league management platform with roster, scheduling, and communication features—comparable to Playon's planned groups and pickup-games functionality for amateur sports communities.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Playon social profiles
Digital presencePlayon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Playon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Playon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Playon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Playon
What does Playon do?
Playon operates a web-based platform that centralizes discovery, registration, and engagement for community sports leagues, fitness classes, parks, and recreational events in a single searchable interface. Users can filter activities by age, gender, level of play, and other criteria, explore local parks and venues with maps, register and pay directly through the platform, and receive personalized notifications when new activities match their saved interests. The platform additionally offers an Active Lifestyle Assessment (ALA) research program that aggregates attitudes, behaviors, and interests data to provide community-level insights on active living.
Is Playon a public or private company?
Playon is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Playon founded?
Playon was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Playon based?
Playon is headquartered in New Buffalo, United States, in the North America region.
How does Playon make money?
One revenue line is on record: platform Services.
Who are Playon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Jersey Watch, TeamSnap, RecDesk, LeagueApps, CommunityPass, CivicRec and MyRec.com. Broad incumbents are PerfectMind and Active Network. AllPlayers is listed as an emerging player.
Does Playon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Playon.
What industry is Playon in?
Playon's product category is Community Activity Discovery Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAKAJ, Local & City Guide Content Aggregators. Its NAICS code is 7139 and its SIC code is 7900.