Founder of Stockade FC Speaks to Trojans Board

In upstate New York lies the quiet town of Stockade. There was nothing too noteworthy about this town that has less than 10,000 people until Dennis Crowley, the founder of Foursquare, started a semi-pro soccer team called Stockade FC. Recently, the Trojans FC Board members read up on Crowley’s team and were inspired by his similar vision. We reached out to Stockade FC with the hopes of talking to someone in the organization that could give some advice.

We never expected that Crowley himself would respond and want to talk with us. We were ecstatic and immediately set up a conference call with Crowley to ask questions about Stockade FC’s success. While the call only lasted around 20 minutes, much was learned. For instance, Crowley explained Facebook was preferable to YouTube for streaming their games because the comments section is more active. The biggest question, though, was how to get people to care. Crowley had a team of dedicated volunteers, local sponsors, and other donors, who all worked together to support the team. What did Crowley tell people to get them to want to commit time, money, and effort to a semi-professional soccer team? He sold them his vision. In the early stages, Stockade FC had nothing to offer, so Crowley had to convince others based on the merits of vision and his story, and that got people’s attention. Finally, the last bit of advice Crowley gave to the team is to always undersell and over deliver.

If you want to learn more about Stockade FC, check out their website here.