March 21, 2025 | Nancy Dahlberg
The Entrepreneur
Sebastian Duque, 32, CEO and Co-founder Plei, Miami
Growing up in Miami, soccer was everything to Sebastian Duque. If he wasn’t watching his favorite clubs with his dad and grandpa, he was kicking the ball with them. He played on teams at his school, Belen Jesuit Preparatory, and later Loyola University in Maryland. “Soccer was always my outlet where I would disconnect from the world and express myself. It made me some of the best friends I still have to this day and taught me characteristics such as leadership, sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance.”
After graduating with a business degree from Loyola in 2015, Duque returned to Miami to join his parents’ insurance agency, with the intention of eventually taking the reins of the family business. “I did that for a couple years, and I was doing pretty well, but I just wasn’t waking up every day with passion ready to take on the world.” That’s when he decided to marry his love of the world’s most popular sport with technology in his own entrepreneurial venture.
“My main motivation was to give access to anybody to play soccer, and to spread this love of the beautiful game,” says Duque. “It’s hard to find people to play with. It’s hard to find a field. I just wanted to make that experience for everybody as easy as ordering an Uber, which is a nice tagline, but for us it’s always been the standard that we have for the company.”
After doing market research, he founded Plei in 2017 with his older brother, Alejandro. “You hop on our app, you browse different games in your area, and you’re able to join a game in just two clicks,” Duque says. Games are available for beginners to serious footballers, and can be filtered by location, time, skill level and size of the match.
Today, Plei is the largest pickup soccer platform in the world, Duque says. It serves more than 500,000 players in 27 metro areas, with South Florida, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York leading the pack. In Florida, Plei also operates in Orlando and Tampa Bay.
With over 5,000 games hosted every month, countless operational details need to align. Plei developed technology to manage these complexities without compromising the quality of service to its users. Everything from managing operations to tracking data is optimized through automation, while still allowing players to reach a human representative when needed. Plei’s team has grown to 50 employees, and building a strong leadership team has been a major focus, with key roles like chief product officer, chief technology officer, and heads of sales and partnerships now in place.
Duque recalls the “massive moment” during Plei’s first game outside of Miami — it was in Houston in 2019. Until then, he and his brother would attend every game to ensure they ran smoothly. “I remember I started crying because I couldn’t believe this was happening outside of our city, and it was going incredibly well.”
Plei makes most of its revenue from players paying a fee to join a pickup game, which averages about $12. Soccer facilities also pay fees to be part of the platform. Plei expects to have generated about $8 million in revenue in 2024, up from $4.5 million in 2023 and $1.7 million in 2022. So far, Plei has raised $1.2 million in funding through a crowdfunding campaign and aims to raise $8 million in venture capital this year.
In 2024, Plei experimented with partnering with major soccer teams and beer brands for events and activations. “Our most significant partnership is with La Liga, Spain’s premier soccer league. Together, we’ve hosted events across the U.S., bringing La Liga legends like Iker Casillas to connect with our community,” says Duque. To score more visibility and revenue, Plei plans to scale up its partnership strategy.
This year, Plei is expanding to Toronto, and from there, the world. “Our goal is global expansion, starting with Europe. Soccer is already massive there, and we’re excited to apply our learnings from the U.S. market. In 2025, we’re also planning new app features and preparing for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the U.S., and making sure Plei has a big presence,” Duque says. “We still have to launch in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Colombia — there’s still a long way to go.”
What makes the startup game all worth it? “When people I’ve just met tell me how Plei has changed their life,” whether that’s by improving their health and fitness, making new friends, reigniting their love of the sport, or as recently happened, meeting their future soulmate on the field, says Duque. “It never gets old.”
ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS
“Before investing your first dollar into your company, it’s super important to do market research, to get your idea in front of potential customers … and then develop a data-driven strategy. It’s going to be an incredibly difficult journey, and it’s going to be lonely. The best way to maintain your tenacity during those difficult times is to come back to your ‘why.’ Your why should be much greater than your personal success.” — Sebastian Duque
WHAT’S IN A NAME
Duque wanted a company name that was easy to say in any language (thinking ahead to global domination) and was “fun, positive and connecting.” Initially, he thought of “Play,” but at a family dinner his mother suggested spelling it “Plei” for differentiation and better branding. It’s also not specific to soccer, so they could use the name to branch out to other sports — Plei Basketball, Plei Volleyball, etc. Plei recently rolled out a new logo and branding.