MVP development is a crucial step in bringing your sports tech startup to the next level. As 40Love, a UK-based tennis platform, discovered, a mobile-first approach can only take you so far. To truly unlock the potential of your users and drive growth, it's essential to develop a native mobile app that delivers a seamless experience.

When 40Love initially launched as a web-based application, it was designed with a mobile-first approach in mind. While this worked functionally, it had its limitations. Real-time features like live leaderboards, instant score updates, and push notifications were either restricted or not possible through the browser. As user adoption grew within the tennis community, the need for a dedicated mobile app became clear.

To overcome these challenges, Exline Labs was engaged to design and build a cross-platform mobile app MVP that could deliver a native mobile experience while supporting the existing product vision. The goal was to upgrade the experience without slowing momentum, ensuring the app felt fast, reliable, and intuitive from day one.

Understanding User Needs

The UX work started by analyzing how users interacted with the mobile web version of the product. We identified where browser-based interactions fell short, particularly around navigation, responsiveness, and real-time feedback. By reviewing comparable sports and tournament apps across app stores, we refined the value proposition of 40Love as a mobile product.

Key UX Decisions

Our key UX decisions included:

  • Clear separation of flows for players, organisers, and coaches
  • Simplified navigation for frequent actions such as match tracking and rankings
  • Improved visual clarity for leaderboards and tournament views
  • A consistent and familiar interface that reduces learning effort

Clickable prototypes were created to validate flows before development began, allowing refinements early in the process.

Technical Challenges

The mobile app was built as a cross-platform MVP using Flutter, allowing a single codebase to support both iOS and Android while maintaining a native feel. Our key technical decisions included:

  • Frontend: Flutter for consistent performance across platforms
  • Backend: Firebase for authentication, Firestore, storage, and real-time data
  • Payments: Stripe for secure in-app payments such as tournament fees
  • Notifications: Firebase Messaging and OneSignal for push notifications

Firebase was chosen to support live score updates, leaderboard changes, and real-time notifications. The system was designed as a cloud-native platform, enabling fast updates and future scalability as the user base grows.

The Result

The result was a cross-platform mobile app MVP that delivered a clear upgrade from the mobile-first web experience. Players can register, track rankings, and follow tournaments in real time. Organisers manage matches, scores, and leaderboards directly from the app. Coaches gain better visibility and engagement tools.

The app provides a smooth, responsive experience on both iOS and Android, supporting real-time interactions, notifications, and in-app payments. It positioned 40Love as a mobile-led platform ready for the next stage of growth.