Onboarding project | Playo
Define your ICPs-
| ICP | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
Personal details | |||
Name | Rohit | Ismail | Harsh |
Age | 28 | 32 | 34 |
Gender | M | M | M |
Salary | 20–30 lpa | 30+ lpa | 30+ lpa |
Profession | Product Analyst | Law Firm | ex-founder, on a career break |
Married? | Y | Y | Y |
Kids? | N | N | N |
User Journey | |||
Sports journey | Used to play cricket, badminton & football in school, football in college. Not much good at it , but used to love the experience and challenge and the engagement part of it. | Used to play all sports in school. In college Football & Badminton. Loves the game and likes to make new friends over a game. | Not an avid sportsperson, used to play cricket in school & college. During first job picked up badminton, table tennis and eventually swimming, pickle ball. |
Past sports | Football, cricket, badminton | Football, Badminton | Cricket |
Struggle with playing sports | Coordinating and aligning timelines and location with players to play. Finding interested players | Bangalore is my hometown, inability to find open playgrounds to play, friends moved cities, hence it was difficult to find new play-pals | Once I realized I am good at badminton, I found it difficult to get partners and cheaper courts and their availability |
Options explored | Nearby grounds, society courts | Clubs, stadiums. | Cultplay |
Problems with those options | Fixed friend circles of different ages, improper venues, misalignment of timings | Expensive, longer memberships, faraway from home. | Slot booking, yearly membership plan |
How did you come across Playo? Sign up experience | Word of mouth | Word of Mouth | Google search "badminton courts near me" |
First Playo experience | A football club ground at Ulsoor, it was great, the venue was very well-maintained and beautiful, had all amenities. Lot of players coming to play in different courts along with training sessions. | A sports venue near my house, it had newly opened with all amenities, loved the feature of joining games and playing with new people. | Took my friend along, decent. |
Current sports | Football, Badminton | Football | Badminton, table tennis, pickle ball, swimming |
Why you don’t play rest sports, current pain points? | More effort and time required or not skilled at them | Less interest | Friction to learn and adapt to new sports, sticking to sports in cultplay, dont want to spend more. |
Sporting objectives | To have fun while sweating it out, enjoy the game along with the challenge. | To meet new people and play with them. Learn new skills and make new buddies. | Stressbuster, helps with fitness, fun/mental wellness |
Playo's solution | Find high quality venues nearby and skill matched players to play with in time slots of our choice | Find new players and venues to play | Only to play with friends |
Frequency of play | once a week | 2-3 times a week | 3-4 times a week |
What other apps you use for sports or fitness | Cult | Strava | Huddle, Strava |
Avg spends on sports per month | 2000 | 4000-5000 | 2000-2500 |
Playo Features | |||
When you first used Playo how easy was it for you to understand the booking process and other features | I installed the app and explored around to understand the features, understood how can I join a game, joined a game, pinged the host, paid, was let in , the game was booked. | It took me a while to understand how to use the app to make a booking. It was easier from the second time. | Dont remember as it was few years back |
What all do you like about its features and don’t like | Discoverability of games and venues is easy, but you can't join a game unless a host lets you in. For prebooked venues the host lets you in only after payment which is not integrated through the app. You have to pay by getting the number either from the game details section or ping the host. Sometimes hosts remove you from the game at the last moment defeating the entire purpose (mainly for non-booked games). | Its easy to find other venues and check the skill level of other players. Easy to join other football groups and chat with them. Decide to join games based on skill level and history of joined players. Lack of Split Pay integrations, Pay & Join with confirmation is a problem. The app also takes time to load. | Used Huddle more often, availability of good courts in Gurgaon, feature to create a group and let others join and play together and split payments directly. |
What are the best features for which you would be willing to pay extra for | Nudge Playpals, Skill-based matching / Filter | Checking activity and history of other players, matching skills for games, chat feature and easily discovering new venues where games are being hosted. | Better multisport venues at affordable prices/memberships, guaranteed players |
How often do you use the best features | Need based, once/twice a month. When enough players haven’t joined, or to remind a favorite play-pal to join, to book venue for skill-matched players. | 1-2 times a week. | uses cultplay 3-4 times a week |
What improvements do you suggest | Assured Game Time in Join A Game, Split payments while joining/booking and shareable pay & join link , faster load time | Smoother app, Pay and Join , Split payments. | Affordability, better courts, guaranteed players |
Why Playo | It's my go-to app for game bookings as I now know players who play regularly. | Discoverability and community features | Only when friends invite |
Using since | 1 year | 5 years | 5 years |
The above users can be categorized around motivations, usage patterns, challenges, and spending behavior in the context of amateur/recreational sports.
1. Social Sports Enthusiasts
Who they are:
Regular players in their 30s who value the social aspect of sports. They play multiple times a week and enjoy discovering new people and venues to play with.
Needs Playo to:
Match skill levels, enable group chats, and simplify game discovery.
2. Time-Constrained Fitness Seekers
Who they are:
Professionals in their late 20s to 30s who use sports for fitness and stress relief but struggle to maintain consistency due to time, motivation, or coordination issues.
Needs Playo to:
Offer assured game time, easy booking flows (like split pay), recurring play options, and low-friction discovery of games.
3. Facility-First Loyalists
Who they are:
Experienced users who care about quality venues, affordability, and flexible access. Often play multiple sports and prefer bringing their own group.
Needs Playo to:
Provide affordable, high-quality venues and guaranteed player availability.
ICP Prioritization-
Criteria | Adoption Rate | ​ Appetite to Pay | Frequency of Use Case | ​ Distribution Potential | TAM |
ICP 1 | Medium | Low | Low-Medium | High | High |
ICP 2 | High | High | High | High | Medium |
ICP 3 | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Low |
Based on user research and ICP prioritization framework we should prioritize-
1. Social Sports Enthusiasts
- High usage and word-of-mouth potential
- Willing to pay for features like skill-matching and group play
- Actively grow Playo’s community by inviting and playing with new people
2. Time-Constrained Fitness Seekers
- Large and growing segment looking for stress relief and flexible fitness
- Can be acquired easily with the right messaging (convenience, fun, fitness)
- Moderate spenders but high lifetime value if retained
- Want easy booking, reminders, and guaranteed game time- exactly what Playo can offer
User Goals, JTBD and Validate User Goals-
Social Sports Enthusiasts-
Who they are:
Regular players in their 30s who value the social aspect of sports. They play multiple times a week and enjoy discovering new people and venues to play with.
Needs Playo to:
Match skill levels, enable group chats, and simplify game discovery.
Time-Constrained Fitness Seekers-
Who they are:
Professionals in their late 20s to 30s who use sports for fitness and stress relief but struggle to maintain consistency due to time, motivation, or coordination issues.
Needs Playo to:
Offer assured game time, easy booking flows (like split pay), recurring play options, and low-friction discovery of games.
A table is shared below for your reference to put down your user goals, respective ICPs, JTBDs and validate your goals.
| Category | Social Sports Enthusiasts | Time-Constrained Fitness Seekers |
|---|---|---|
Who | Working professionals in their early 30s who love playing sports, are social, and want to make new friends. Actively looking for ways to integrate sports into their lifestyle and social circle. | Busy professionals in their late 20s who want to maintain physical activity as a fun, energizing break from work. Prefer convenient, skill-matched, and reliable ways to stay fit with minimal friction. |
What | Exploration: Searched for venues and players after friends moved cities. Consideration: Tried clubs and stadiums but found them expensive and far. Purchase: Found a nearby venue on Playo with good amenities and engaging players. Habit: Plays regularly 2-3x a week, values meeting new people and discovering new games. | Exploration: Looked for nearby venues and players with aligned timing. Consideration: Found issues with misaligned timings and rigid venue rules. Purchase: Used Playo after hearing about it via word of mouth. Habit: Plays weekly, values simplicity, consistency, and ease of booking. |
Why (Personal Goal) | Ranking: Primary JTBD: To meet new people and build friendships over sports. Validation: User Interviews — "To meet new people and play with them. Learn new skills and make new buddies." | Ranking: Primary JTBD: To stay fit and mentally refreshed through sports despite a busy schedule. Validation: User Interviews — "To have fun while sweating it out, enjoy the game along with the challenge." |
Why (Functional Goal) | Ranking: Secondary JTBD: To discover and join games nearby with aligned skills and timing. Validation: User Interviews — "Easy to join other football groups and chat with them... join games based on skill level." | Ranking: Secondary JTBD: To find reliable courts and partners with minimal effort and time. Validation: User Interviews — "Find high quality venues nearby and skill matched players to play with in time slots of our choice along with guaranteed game-time with enhanced app features" |
For both the ICP's the primary goals are Personal Goals and secondary goals are Functional Goals. While for different ICP's the primary goal can be Functional Goal.
To deepen our understanding of user goals, we conducted direct user interviews that validated both personal and functional motivations. Social Sports Enthusiasts consistently expressed a desire to build lasting friendships through sports, while Time-Constrained Fitness Seekers sought simple, reliable ways to stay fit without added stress. These insights reinforce the emotional and practical dimensions of their goals, ensuring alignment with real user behavior and deepening confidence in the JTBDs defined. Validation confirms that these goals are not assumptions-they are lived realities driving continued engagement.
How to find your Activation Metric?
Based on User Research our ICPs are ultimately trying to play a game and find good venues and players for them. They use Playo to find new players to play games ranging from 1 to 4 times a week. Also since we dont have access to Playo's data, we can base our activation metrics on User Research.
Metrics-
- Play at least 1 game in the first 7 days- Might not improve retention, might not improve WOM/referrals, might not improve LTV.
Why this metric:
This is the earliest signal that the user has moved from curiosity to value realization. Playing a game within 7 days confirms the user has crossed key friction points — like finding a venue, forming/joining a team, and committing to a time.
Why it matters by D7:
If this doesn't happen within the first week, the likelihood of the user dropping off rises sharply. The app’s value is not in browsing, but in playing.
- 4 games booked in 30 days- Improves retention, might improve WOM/referrals, might improve LTV.
Why this metric:
This indicates habit formation and aligns with users who play 1–2 times a week. It also validates that the platform is delivering consistency in discovery and coordination, which is a core JTBD for both ICPs.
Why it matters by D30:
The 30-day window reflects whether the user has integrated Playo into their weekly sports rhythm. Users who hit this metric are more likely to stick around long term and contribute to LTV.
- Invited at least 1 user for 1 game in 30 days and the invitee joined to play - Improves retention, Improves WOM/referrals, might not improve LTV.
Why this metric:
This metric validates the user’s satisfaction and trust in the product — they found enough value to refer it. It’s also a direct growth lever via word of mouth, which is already a known channel for Playo.
Why it matters by D30:
If a user hasn't referred within 30 days, they likely haven't found enough delight or confidence in the platform. Plus, successful referrals early on can multiply retention effects via social play.
- Play at least 1 game per week 10 times within 90 days- Improves retention, might not improve WOM/referrals, Improves LTV.
Why this metric:
Playing weekly for ~2.5 months reflects sustained behavior and strong product-market fit for the user. It’s not an activation metric per se, but a longer-term validation of the earlier ones.
Why it matters over 90 days:
This helps forecast cohort longevity and LTV. If a user completes 10+ weekly sessions, they likely become a sticky, high-value customer.
To bring depth and specificity, we milestone the activation journey as follows:
- D1: App install + profile completion
- D7: First game played
- D30: 4 games completed and 1 successful invite
These actions are meaningful because they reflect the user experiencing Playo’s core value: a reliable and social game-play experience. Reaching D7 shows initial product value, while reaching D30 indicates habit formation and network pull—both leading indicators for retention and referrals.
Activation metrics to go with-
4 Games booked in 30 days and invited atleast 1 user in 30 days and the invitee joined to play.
Parameters to track your activation metrics:
- D1, D7, and D30 retention
- DAU / MAU
- Subscription rate vs retention
- Average TAT
- User Cohorts
- Acquisition source
- Product reviews
- Add more based on specific context
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