For both Win Smith '18 and Harry Stanton '18, being Wesleyan student-athletes — Harry on the lacrosse team and Win on the tennis team — had a huge impact on shaping what they wanted to do after college. As Cardinals, they both appreciated Wesleyan's diversity and the freedom to explore different interests beyond just their sports. The intimate setting of the small campus also made it easy to meet people outside their teams, stumble into new social events, and feel welcomed by everyone.

It was through those experiences that the idea for their new app, Schoolyard Social, was born. The app lets anyone — whether or not they're part of an official team — organize games and tournaments for cash prizes through a simple, streamlined process. Essentially, it combines the two steps of posting an event on Facebook and collecting payments on Venmo into one app that does both.

The idea came from the realization that after college, it's much harder to maintain social connections and friendly competition while working desk jobs in big cities like New York. With Schoolyard Social, Win and Harry along with co-founder Peter de Saint Phalle, hope to bring back that sense of bonding and team spirit that so many college athletes miss after graduation.

Wesleyan played a major role in shaping their vision and giving them the tools to launch successfully. During his time on the lacrosse team, Stanton and his teammates dreamed big about winning a national championship — and achieved that dream his senior year through hard work and persistence. Now, he hopes to do the same with his dream of building Schoolyard Social.

Launched in September, Schoolyard Social already supports a wide range of tournaments and events — from trivia to pickleball. So, if you're looking for something fun to do with friends, it's a great place to start — you can have fun, stay connected, and even make some money in the process.