Neighbors: Eric Piazza

By Nick Friedman
| 4:00 a.m. May 31, 2012

Sarasota
Neighbors

Like many people, Sarasota resident Eric Piazza often had trouble finding the motivation to exercise. When he did go for a run, it was often alone, and without a running partner, he found it difficult to push himself.

“With kids and work, I didn’t always have time to meet up with friends or co-workers to run,” said Piazza. “I thought, ‘Why not make an app for that?’”

A software developer by profession, Piazza created his free app, called Running Club. As the name suggests, the app allows users to schedule runs, walks or even cycling trips with friends or strangers in a virtual club.

Users create a profile and then invite others to a scheduled event. Before the run, participants meet in a chat room, where they can catch up with old friends or enjoy some good-natured, pre-run trash talk. Each runner is assigned a dot, and the app tracks each person’s progress in real time.

“I’m competitive by nature, so being able to see the other runners’ dots in real time makes me run harder,” said Piazza. “And signing up for the race in advance gives you some accountability, so I’m less likely to blow it off.”

Piazza and another software developer created the app over the course of about eight months, and the app officially launched earlier this month. The two developers, along with a handful of other friends across the country, work together virtually as part of their company, Southdowns Interactive LLC.

“It’s more challenging than you would think,” said Piazza of creating the app. “It’s a fairly complicated app. There are a lot of things going on in real time, and the app industry is still relatively new, so the tools are still evolving.”

Piazza and his Southdowns partners are currently working on a set of updates, which include social-media integration, voice feedback and more features to cater to individual runners.

Piazza says he’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and he hopes to see other people pursue their creative ideas as well.

“There are very few people out there who don’t have that one idea they’re passionate about,” he said. “My advice would be to just go for it. Obstacles like finding time and resources can always be overcome — you can always find a way to make it happen.”