Accelerate@Shea Gets Trackster Up & Running, Sexton and Scully Snag Second Place
How did two Boston College undergrads go from struggling to track their cross-country training data to building a five-star app that boasts 1,400 users and more than 30 Division I college track and field programs? Meet Jack Sexton ’18 and Emmett Scully ’18, creators of Trackster, the first running app that captures team training data.
The idea for the app sprung from the source of most inspiration: a burning desire to solve a problem. Running coaches typically time runs with a stopwatch, note the times on paper, and save them in Excel spreadsheets. Sexton and Scully sought to integrate all that into a single app. The pair began developing the app as a group computer science project in 2016.
“Emmett worked on iOS development, and we collected lots of data from runners and coaches to figure out a potential solution,” said Sexton. “We also met with many coaches to collect qualitative data.”
Accelerating the process
In 2017, they took their fledgling idea to the Accelerate@SheaĚýprogram. “That’s when we really started to gain momentum,” Sexton said. The Shea Center helped them test the validity of the idea, offered advice on how to set up their business, and hosted workshops to connect them with fellow entrepreneurs. Then came the real kickstart: $1,500 in seed money.
“If it weren’t for that, it would have been difficult to bring on advisors and raise money,” Sexton said.
The Shea Center was indispensable in another way—prepping the budding entrepreneurs for the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference InVenture competition at Georgia Tech this past April. “They helped formulate the pitch and gave feedback on the deck,” Sexton said. “We felt very prepared in Georgia.”
Next stop: Eugene, Oregon
Though they lost out to a crop-picking robot at InVenture, Sexton and Scully snagged second place and $7,500 in additional funding at the Shea Center’s annual Strakosch Venture Competition in May.
At Commencement a few weeks later, Sexton received his bachelor’s degree in business administration (accounting and information systems) from the Carroll School of Management while Scully earned his bachelor’s in computer science from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. Then they headed off to Eugene, Oregon, to work full time on Trackster and launch a marketing campaign with “multiple influential runners.” They’ll also get to work in person with their advisor, the head distance coach at the University of Oregon, Andy Powell.
For two guys who never thought of themselves as entrepreneurs, they are well on their way down that road.
“This whole process has been one of self-discovery,” said Sexton. “We have learned to surround ourselves with people also passionate about changing an existing process, and to enjoy the journey.”
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