Built by Someone Who Lived the Problem
After coaching 800+ youth basketball games and running club operations for over two decades, founder Eric B. Johnson saw the same pattern everywhere: talented coaches and dedicated parents held together by Venmo payments, spreadsheet rosters, and group chat chaos. The tools that existed were built for leagues and tournaments — not for the club operator trying to collect $90/month from 60 families while also running practice.
Eric's background in payment solutions (as COO of Akord.io, a payment brokerage working with Fiserv and Global Payments) gave him a unique perspective: the payments infrastructure already existed to solve this problem. Clubs didn't need another all-in-one platform with features they'd never use. They needed a clean, professional way to collect money, look credible to parents, and stop chasing payments.
That's PlayFuel. A payments platform built for youth sports clubs, by someone who's been on the sideline.
The Team
Eric B. Johnson
Founder & CEO
800+ youth basketball games coached. Co-founder of Utah Top 50 and Youth Development Now. Jr. NBA clinician. COO and Managing Partner at Akord.io (payment solutions brokerage, 10+ strategic partners including Fiserv and Global Payments). $100M+ in facilitated online transactions for direct-to-consumer brands.
Kevin Gull
Partner & Chief Business Officer
20+ years building brands and scaling technology companies. Currently Partner & CBO at Wave4 Technologies (platform-as-a-service, team of 23). Previously VP of Marketing at iCentris (SaaS) and President of Wealth Generators (scaled fintech startup from $0 to $100M revenue in two years). 12 years coaching youth football, baseball, and basketball.
What Makes PlayFuel Different
Payments First
We're not trying to be your scheduling tool, your stat tracker, or your communication platform. We do one thing exceptionally well: make it easy to collect money and look professional doing it.
Your Brand, Not Ours
Our Growth and Pro plans put your club's logo and colors front and center. Parents interact with your brand. We stay in the background.
Built by Coaches
Our founder has coached 800+ games and collected more Venmo payments than he'd like to admit. PlayFuel exists because we lived the problem.
$0 Processing Fees for Clubs
With our default fee structure, parents cover a small convenience fee on each payment. Your club keeps 100% of what you charge.
Ready to See It in Action?
Set up your club in minutes. Built by coaches who've been on the sideline.
Get Started in 2 Minutes