“Back in 2009, the websites of London-based pool operators weren’t great,” says Dan Morgan, founder of the world’s most popular swimming app.
“I couldn’t fathom why – at a time when even Transport for London had made its travel information easy to get hold of – there was nowhere to find out information about swimming. Not being able to access timetables might only seem a small barrier, but it only takes small barriers to prevent people from doing exercise.”
Rather than lament the lack of a service, he set out to provide one. The iPhone 2 had just been launched and its capabilities were transforming a number of services – a fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Morgan.
“The iPhone was becoming a part of people’s lives,” he says. “Developers were creating apps people could access from their pockets, so I decided to find out how it worked and create something using the iOS platform.”
In at the deep end
Morgan’s idea for an app was simple: allow people to find a pool and book a swim. There was only one problem – he didn’t know anything about coding.
“Rather than going back to college to learn to code, I bought some books and got my head around it,” he says. “It was an intense learning experience – it took a year and had me dreaming in iOS code – but by the end of that year, I had the nucleus of an app.”
Morgan entered his app, which he named SplashPath, into UK broadcaster Channel 4’s competition for young tech entrepreneurs. He won and secured £70,000-worth of funding for the project. This enabled him to employ a developer, improve the app’s functionality and bring SplashPath to market.
As well offering a pool locator and timetables, the app is a motivational tool. “It’s like Strava for swimmers,” says Morgan. “You can set goals, track swims, challenge friends, comment and connect with fellow swimmers.”
At this stage, most people manually log their swim data into the app. But, Morgan says: “If you use the Speedo Shine – a tracker you wear on your arm, manufactured by Misfit – when you get out of the pool it synchs with SpeedoFit.”
Going global
In 2012, SplashPath was rebranded SpeedoFit after a chance meeting with representatives of the swimwear giant. Having a globally recognised name has since aided the app’s growth and it now has more than 400,000 users globally – from the US to China.
“We have a global pool database, so anyone in any country where they speak English can use the app. That said, in addition to English, the app is translated into French and simplified Chinese,” he says.
The next step, according to Morgan, is to literally take Speedofit into the pool. “We’re hoping the next Apple Watch is waterproof,” he says. “That will open new opportunities such as tracking heart rates and automatically charting swimming distances.” ?
