After graduating from Hastings College in 2015 with a degree in business administration, Brandon Krause began the process of transforming an idea into a reality: helping connect people looking for a pickup game or workout partner. Krause’s solution was PassTime Sports, a social networking app for people who are looking for others who share favorite sports or recreational activities.
The inspiration for PassTime came during Krause’s college years, where he noticed himself and other athletes struggling to find pickup games or workout partners during the summer. Despite the risks involved, Krause decided to act on this issue and began developing plans for the app immediately out of college, a decision he has never regretted.
“The big thing is if you have an idea, or something that really just keeps coming back to you, I would say take the risk and try it. Whatever it’s going to cost financially, you’re going to get back to you in terms of a learning experience or intellectual gain. Taking the leap and putting yourself out there to maybe fail is super important,” Krause said.
Krause spent 2016 developing blueprints for the app. He outsourced the coding to a development company overseas, and after many late nights troubleshooting and correcting mistakes, PassTime officially became available for download in 2018.
While pursuing the development of PassTime, Krause also pursued other professional goals within his career. He spent four years moving through the ranks at Union Bank in Lincoln, Nebraska, before becoming a business development manager for Advance Services, where he currently works. While PassTime is more of a hobby for Krause, he said he hopes to continue to grow PassTime into a self-sufficient business during 2021.
“I would like to someday get to the stage where I can monetize PassTime, but mostly I just want to see PassTime grow into something where I can go to any city across the U.S. and jump on PassTime and find some sort of activity that I’m looking to do. I know last year we hit over 1,500 downloads, but obviously with COVID-19 things slowed down quite a bit,” Krause said. “So I’m looking for 2021 to really push what I have going and to see if we can’t continue that reach into other states.”
Krause not only values PassTime as a business opportunity, but a learning opportunity for him as a young professional. He encourages college students and recent graduates to pursue their ideas and dreams.
“If you do have something you want to try, I think you should do it. I mean that sale or that opportunity of a good idea in your head may not come again, and it could teach you a lot of different things that lead to a lot of other opportunities,” Krause said.
PassTime Sports is available for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
