The story behind Swellbase
Built inside a busy outdoor centre
I opened Blue Coast (my multi-activity centre in Scotland) in 2021 with a tiny budget, a trailer, and some meticulous planning. Back then, my main problems were logistical problems. No fixed location, no systems.
As I solved these problems one by one and the business grew into a centre with fixed locations and a team, growing bookings meant more and more of my problems became technology problems.
Hours and hours spent running staff & freelancer scheduling on WhatsApp and Google Calendar. Sharing Drive links with customer photos. Getting medical info to instructors. Sending email newsletters, doing social posts, improving our website. Years spent wrestling with booking software that wasn't built for us, using paid tools and fighting with spreadsheets to fill the gaps.
All the time thinking, “surely it doesn't have to be like this” .
I spoke to 40+ operators from across the UK and the same frustrations came up everywhere. That's why I built Swellbase: not another generic booking system, but a platform designed from the ground up for how we actually work.
Today, Swellbase is used by 20+ centres and schools across the UK and Canada, built by a small and growing team who've spent time on the water and in the centre office.
I hope Swellbase helps you spend less time on admin and more time doing what you got into this for. Cheers!
Adam El.
Founder of Swellbase
