Welcome, Startup School Participants!

We are at Startup School today, so please stop by and tell us your favorite club - the smaller and more obscure, the better. My favorite club at the moment are the Puerto Rico Islanders, who just whooped up on FC Dallas. I'll try to wear something soccer-obvious. Yes, even Chelski fans are welcome. ;)

Socster.com is about changing the world through soccer. The idea is to grow our community by relentlessly focusing on customer service - a la Craigslist. We help people find pick-up soccer games to play in, and then help them build community in whatever ways they see fit.

Chief among our values are anti-racism, anti-bigotry, and anti-violence. We started as an exclusively pickup soccer site, but we've recently begun branching out. We think the pickup soccer 'philosophy', both here in the U.S. and around the world, is one to be admired, and it should be shared more explicitly. Respect for diversity in all its forms, teamwork and cooperation, responsibility to the greater good - these are things that pickup soccer can teach us.

We're not overly concerned about making money - for us, there really is nothing more important than trying to make the world a better place. No, we don't take ourselves too seriously - we've just had the chance, over the years, to play pickup soccer with hundreds/thousands of people all around the world who continue to inspire us to do better, to be better. So, Socster.com is not just about getting you off your behind and out onto the pitch, it's about getting you to be more active in all aspects of your life - to lead a healthier, happier, more meaningful existence with your family, friends, and your community.

If you need to find a local pickup soccer game, just have a look-see (or try our light Google Calendar integration). Or, you can ask me, as Palo Alto is my hood these days (there is at least one game I know of this weekend that is pretty reliable, though I haven't played in it for a few months - Sunday, 3pm, across from Stanford Mall).

And if you know any cool (technical) peeps who might want to help build a slow-growing, but focused 'Get off your butt and play soccer and change the world in the process' community, drop us a line. We recently picked up some expert (and inexpensive) technical talent and we're looking for more. We're all (ok, both) working for equity or equity+.

Have a great day, today!