ESTEVAN — The next Innovation Conversation will have the theme of “You Don’t Need a Tech Background to Build a Tech Company,” and the speaker for that gathering is an example of that.
Morgan Walter, who is originally from Lampman, will share her experiences at the event on Aug. 24 at the Southeast College’s Weyburn campus, starting at 6:30 p.m. The event is put on by the Southeast Techhub (SETH) and the Southeast College.
“I’m going to be speaking about my experience with developing my own tech company," said Walter, who is the Techhub's regional innovation connector. "So … I’m looking forward to just getting to talk about how I got to where I got to today, and just try to encourage and inspire some other people who maybe don’t have a tech background that it’s never too late. They can get started and chase those dreams and aspirations that they have if they want to try to build their own business or start a technology-based company."
Walter played softball in North Dakota and Nebraska until she suffered an injury that caused her to want to get into the coaching side of softball. She obtained an undergraduate degree in sport and exercise science, with a coaching emphasis, and pursued a master’s degree in sport management. She took a few business classes that pertain to sport.
Walter also gained some experience coaching at a high level in Texas, and has returned home to southeast Saskatchewan, where she launched her tech company.
She is the owner of Her Softball Hub. It’s an app with an online drill library in which players can purchase a membership and have unlimited access to resources, drills and tutorials. Coaches can access practice plans and support through coaching.
“There’s also a video analysis part of our app as well, so athletes can upload videos, we can break it down frame by frame and look at mechanics … swing angles … pitch velocities and all sorts of stuff to try to analyze athletes’ skills and their mechanics," she said.
Camps, clinics, private lessons, winter training programs and winter travel teams can all use the app. The business has been running well, the app is expected to be released shortly, and she’s been busy with the business and other softball commitments.
“There are opportunities for players to play on teams, whether that’s house ball in their local community or they want to play a little more of a competitive level … but there’s no resource for where players can access help and support outside of the practice time where they’re with their coach a couple of times a week," she said.
There's also a lack of support for coaches where they can go and access drills and practice plans, or reach out to someone with coaching experience to help a struggling player. There’s no other app like this one that she’s seen in Canada.
Walter grew up with smartphones, computers and other forms of technology, but doesn't have an extensive background.
She joined the SETH’s Rural Innovation Startup Ecosystems program and did everything she could to learn and launch her business.
Free tickets for the Innovation Conversation can be found on the SETH’s website. The event will also see the college’s latest computer science students present their projects.
