It all started as a practical need to simplify pitch allocation, and over six years it has grown large and self-sustaining, with an ever-increasing number of employees. They have just received a grant from Innovasjon Norge to develop a communication platform for volunteers, and their customers include World Cup Kvitfjell, Norges Skiforbund, Norges Skytterforbund and the Para World Championships 2021.
Rubic was founded with one main goal: to make everyday life easier for clubs and associations. They have not looked back since. Six years after starting up, they have 5 employees and have gone from depending on investors to having money in the bank.
New systems are constantly being developed. They deliver complete membership systems for associations, sports clubs and event organisers, and the systems are tailored to customers' specific needs. Today Rubic has 350 sports clubs, associations and event organisers as customers.
From Excel to app
It all began when developer Anders Retterås from Lillehammer became team manager of his son's football team in 2013. At the sports club, all pitch allocation and member details were kept in various Excel spreadsheets, and it worked poorly.
Retterås built a simple website and the app “LagetMitt”, which notified parents and members of changes and match times. The solution quickly became popular and gradually spread to other sports clubs in the area, with Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb among the first.
A system for financial management
In 2014, Rune Solholm Bakken was elsewhere in Lillehammer, tasked with creating a business idea as part of his master's studies in Innovation and Business Development at Høgskolen i Lillehammer. As an ice hockey referee in the top division and a footballer in the second division, Rune knew there were many poor systems and many sports clubs struggling with financial management.
Rune has streamlined more than 100 clubs and associations
Abaris Consulting came on board with the idea and Innovasjon Norge provided support. At the same time, various investors contributed capital, and the first version of Rubic was created.
We needed a developer. Anders, for his part, wasn't making any money from the app, which until then had been a hobby. It was a great match, and he was hired as employee number two in 2016, at the same time as Rubic bought the LagetMitt app, explains Solholm Bakken.
From 40 customers to 170,000 unique users
Two years after starting up, Rubic was ready for the market and was approved by Norges Idrettsforbund. Back then it was aimed especially at sports clubs.
Rubic with approved NIF integration
Next, we developed a volunteer work solution with pilot customers such as Visit Lillehammer, Peer Gynt and Furusjøen rundt. We kept gaining more customers, most often through networks and contacts. We won the tender for the ski and football club Lyn ahead of several others, where we were the clear winner, the Rubic founder continues.
Since then, the number of customers has grown enormously, from 40 in 2018 to 350 in 2020. Today Rubic is used by many of the large sports clubs, as well as by event organisations and associations.
New app with NOK 2 million in funding
Just before the summer, Rubic received NOK 2 million in funding from Innovasjon Norge. The money will go towards developing a dedicated app for communication between volunteers, and towards expanding internationally.
This comes on top of half a million Norwegian kroner from investors, customers and our own equity, which makes us far more independent – we are now in control ourselves and have money in the bank. That in turn has meant that we have just hired two new people, Solholm Bakken concludes.
Today LagetMitt and Rubic work side by side and are fully integrated with each other. LagetMitt is first and foremost a team manager tool and an app that gives an overview of all activities, while Rubic provides an overview of the member register, sends invoices and much more.
In short, the systems make everyday life easier for volunteers, parents and guardians, and staff, so they can focus on what matters.