From PremierSports to AthleteFi: A Founder’s Journey from Listings to Protocols

 By Matthew T. Barrett, Founder of AthleteFi

Back in 2014, PremierSports was featured in Technical.ly as the “Match.com of sports.” It was a platform I created early in my career to solve a simple, personal pain point: as an athlete and coach, there wasn’t a reliable way to connect, book, and grow.

So I built it.

PremierSports became an online destination where youth athletes could find trusted, vetted private coaches in nearly every sport — baseball, squash, archery, football, and more. We didn’t just put names in a database. We onboarded thousands of coaches, verified their credentials, and gave them tools to grow their business. At our peak, we had over 3,000 registered coaches, with hundreds actively using the platform.

It was never just about tech — it was about athlete development, mentor relationships, and building a long-term record of growth that could lead all the way to college recruitment.

What We Got Right

At PremierSports, one thing we absolutely nailed was coach onboarding. We brought thousands of coaches onto the platform — many of whom had never had a real online presence before.

We gave them more than just profiles. We gave them a digital identity:

  • Searchable, SEO-optimized coach pages
  • Public reviews and training histories
  • Media uploads like photos and video breakdowns

In an era before social media really defined personal branding, PremierSports gave coaches visibility, credibility, and tools to grow their business online. We helped coaches stand out, and we helped athletes and parents find trusted trainers they could actually verify.

The Mission Never Left Me

PremierSports was a project I started early in my career. At the time, the infrastructure wasn’t there — no blockchain, no smart contracts, no community-based incentives. We were a few years too early.

But the mission stuck with me.

11 years later, after leading high-performance teams at Tesla, launching clean energy programs at PosiGen, helping build blockchain infastruture at Stably, and managing a major blockchain recovery initiative, the same ideas that sparked PremierSports are alive in my latest venture: AthleteFi.

AthleteFi: The Evolution of the Vision

AthleteFi is everything I wanted PremierSports to become — and more. It’s not just a marketplace. It’s a Web3 protocol built for the next era of sports and training.

Now we have the tech to match the mission:

  • ✅ $ALFI tokens for incentivizing training
  • ✅ Train2Earn mechanics that reward real-world activity
  • ✅ Decentralized coach onboarding
  • ✅ Validator-driven infrastructure and token distribution
  • ✅ A media presence driven by Alfi, our AI-powered mascot
  • ✅ A growing community shaping the protocol together

Full Circle

Looking back at PremierSports is like looking at a blueprint for what we’re doing now with AthleteFi. It had the right spirit — just not the right tech stack or timing.

Today, we’re building something bigger:

A decentralized, ownable, and incentivized sports ecosystem — where training leads to opportunity, and community leads to ownership.

PremierSports was the beginning. AthleteFi is the future.

Let’s build what we always dreamed of — together.

— Matt Barrett
Founder, AthleteFi
🌐 AthleteFi.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AthleteFi’s Sports Access Fund

  AthleteFi’s Sports Access Fund serves as its philanthropic arm, breaking down barriers and providing equitable access to athletic opportunities for underserved communities. The $52 billion youth sports industry is teeming with talent but plagued by inequity. Millions of young athletes face challenges like unaffordable coaching, outdated training tools, and limited pathways to showcase their progress. These systemic barriers disproportionately affect underserved communities, where financial constraints often dictate athletic potential. AthleteFi , a Web3-powered platform, is tackling this inequity head-on with its  Sports Access Fund . More than a philanthropic initiative, the fund represents a transformative approach to creating a level playing field for all athletes.” “Our vision has always been to create an ecosystem where talent and dedication — not financial resources — determine success,” says Matthew Barrett, AthleteFi’s CEO and a former Division I athlete. “The Spo...
Read more

AthleteFi Month in Review: January 2025

  Summary of January 2025: Kicking Off 2025 with Innovation, Engagement, and Growth January was a fertile month for  AthleteFi , setting the tone for what promises to be a game-changing year in SportsFi. From launching our Whitepaper to expanding our AI-driven marketing and refining our Validator infrastructure, AthleteFi continues to build momentum toward our Initial Utility Offering (Pre-Sale) and beyond. Here’s a look at the major highlights from January 2025. Whitepaper Release — January 1st We officially released the  AthleteFi Whitepaper , outlining our vision, long-term roadmap, and tokenomics for our Web3 athletic service marketplace. This marks a critical milestone, following a year of preparation, setting the stage for upcoming marketing campaigns and community-driven governance. If you haven’t checked it out yet, dive in and explore our long-term strategy! Pre-TGE (Airdrop Campaign) Updates! We’ve updated key tasks in the Pre-TGE airdrop campaign, ensuring our ...
Read more

Alfi Explores Sports: B is for Baseball

  Swinging into an A-to-Z Adventure with Precision and Strategy AthleteFi  is excited to release the second installment in the  Alfi Explores Sports  series. This article explores the history, mechanics, and impact of baseball, a sport deeply rooted in tradition and strategy. Each week,  Alfi  will highlight a new sport from A to Z, along with hidden tasks for those participating in the TGE. Enjoy, and let’s play ball! The Origins of Baseball Baseball is often called America’s national sport, but its influence extends far beyond the United States. While the game’s exact origins are debated, modern baseball is believed to have evolved from earlier bat-and-ball games like cricket and rounders. The first recorded baseball game took place in 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey, between the New York Nine and the Knickerbocker Club. The sport quickly gained popularity, leading to the formation of the National League in 1876, which remains one of the sport’s premier leagu...
Read more