PASCACK VALLEY—Your glory days are hardly over, if in fact they’ve yet begun. The playing field calls.
Conquer is a mobile app that facilitates participation in athletic competition. Users create and join local pick-up sporting events and competitions at any time. Users are ranked regionally and nationwide based on their performance.
The app, according to Conquer founders Matthew Lee (COO) and Louis Long (CEO) — “two ex-athletes longing for the opportunity to compete again” — enables widespread competition for all ages and skill levels.
“We cater to new, current, and previous athletes who once excelled at their sports but no longer have the time, organizational framework, and/or venue to compete. Ultimately, our platform seeks to restore the pre-game thrill that athletes miss, love, and need,” Lee says.
To that end they’re also trying to rally sports facilities, teams, gyms, and trainers.
Lee and Long grew up in Old Tappan, played competitive soccer most of their lives (the two were co-captains of the NVOT 2015 state sectional soccer team), graduated high school in 2016, and graduated college in May 2020 — Long from Tulane University (with a dual degree in
finance and management consulting) and Lee from Lehigh University (with a dual degree in finance and economics).
Their chief technology officer, Tanner Luke, graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2020 with a degree in computer science. He works as an associate software engineer at Northrop Grumman in the Chicago area. (He played baseball competitively through high school.)
Lee says, “Once we graduated high school, we felt a big part of our lives was missing, which led us to create our company, Conquer – The Easiest Way To Compete.”
He adds, “Our goal is to make sports more accessible to everyone, so people can play on a dime. There are a lot of high school students who get cut from sports team, and college and post graduate students at home looking to get active.”
He says, “In high school, I would have loved to play against some of the athletes from Pascack Valley, but there was no way for us to get connected.”
Lee says he hopes that Conquer can create a close-knit community for people to play sports that they love and improve their health. “As someone who did not compete at the collegiate level, I missed having an easy way to play sports with my friends.”
Over the past summer, the partners received encouragement from Roy Nygren, the legendary Pascack Valley High School boys soccer coach, who retired in 2019.
Lee and Long then presented at Bergen’s Best Soccer Camp over the summer — PV was one of the high schools there — and spoke with several high school soccer coaches at a Bergen County Boys Soccer Coaches Association meeting.
The partners also presented at rec soccer meetings “with a few towns in Bergen County, as they too are looking to get adults more involved in sports… Our goal is to make playing sports as easy as going to the gym for free,” says Lee.
He adds, “We will be working with Superdome Sports in Waldwick and have OpenPlay for soccer. I met a senior from Pascack Valley there and played soccer with him. We will be running a basketball league at the beginning of January at Impact Zone (in Norwood). We will have open runs there for basketball for around $15 per person for an hour and a half.”
Lee says, “Our platform is not only for soccer; that just happens to be our strongest network. We have tennis, basketball, football, pickleball, running, volleyball, and more.”
He notes that Covid has left “a large impact on people’s physical and mental health,” and that sports are an outlet for people to escape from everyday stress. “We want to build a community in Bergen County for athletes. We have spoken with several coaches and they think a great part of the platform is that athletes from other towns can finally connect and play with each other during the offseason.”
Their website says, “With Conquer you can be a member of any team, any time. Find the pregame thrill you seek, meet a new workout buddy, or have fun playing a sport you once loved. The Conquer community goes beyond game time.”
They also sell merch, a “Conquer Collection,” to help promote the brand.
On its webpage, Conquer makes a case for engagement:
- For yourself: “The Conquer app elicits group competition, but the best competitors are constantly competing with themselves. Use our app to show yourself what you are capable of and to constantly improve and perform at your highest level. Work for the top spot in your respective sport, where you will be known and revered in your city.”
- With others: “All events on our app require multiple participants. Join and create events with a friend or meet others while playing. Conquer events are designed for those looking to compete and improve. Work with other members of the Conquer community to improve skill and work ethic.”
- For your community: “We firmly believe that everyone deserves a chance to conquer, even if the path comes with obstacles. Conquer is proud to partner up with Tackle Kids Cancer to help raise money for pediatric cancer research.”
As part of its growth plan, the startup was looking for three students per campus to fill Content and Strategy Internship positions. “Both roles are expected to spread the Conquer mentality and bring a new energetic and competitive edge to their schools. We are looking for applicants who are well-rounded; athletic, sharp, strong-minded, confident, well-known on campus, and relentless in their pursuit of success.”
For more information, visit conquer-us.com.