About Us & Our Founder Story
Tourney Direct was born from a simple idea: to create a better experience for finding, paying, and coordinating coaches and staff for sports events at all levels. Our founder's journey, from collegiate coach to entrepreneur, has driven our mission to revolutionize sports event staffing through transparency, communication, and innovative technology.
Learn more about our history and vision.
Sports Staffing Reinvented
The Seed of Our StoryTwenty years ago, our founder's story began with a young collegiate coach. A simple request from a friend running a local club team sparked an idea that would change the course of his life. The team needed a few collegiate coaches to help run a two-hour practice, offering a modest stipend, hot pizza, and cold drinks in return. As more requests for assistance at tournaments and events followed, the seed of Rian Consulting was planted.
From Side Hustle to Full-Time EndeavorBy 2019, Rian Consulting had blossomed into a thriving full-time venture. As the young coach's career evolved, it became clear that the side hustle had outgrown its humble beginnings. Enter his wife, Kate Wellner, a seasoned tech industry veteran with over 20 years of experience. She made the bold decision to leave the corporate world and channel her expertise into entrepreneurship.
Revolutionizing SportsEvent StaffingWith a fresh perspective and a wealth of knowledge, Kate set out to revolutionize the way staffing was handled. She built a cutting-edge platform, streamlined processes with automation and efficiency, and assembled a team of dedicated recruiting account managers. The goal was clear: to create a simple, user-friendly interface that catered to the needs of both coaches and event operators. To reflect this renewed vision and strategy, Rian Consulting was rebranded as Tourney Direct, aligning the company's identity with its core values and mission.
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Hassle-Free Staffing for Every Sport
Everyone wins with TD, you get a range of integrated recruiting tools and staff management functions, while coaches appreciate direct payments and streamlined communication. Get exceptional coaches and staff, coordinate flawlessly, and process stipends payments with ease. Adaptable for all sports and event sizes, we’re the ultimate solution for organizers looking to save time and effort.
Meet Our Team
Get to know the talented professionals behind Tourney Direct, each bringing a unique set of skills to our innovative platform.
Kate Wellner,
CEO of Tourney Direct
Kate is an experienced product management leader with expertise in driving customer-centric innovation in high-tech and regulated sectors. She is known for scaling global product organizations and launching strategic solutions that enhance efficiency and revenue. Skilled in product lifecycle management, strategy development, market analysis, and team leadership, Kate has led the implementation of next-generation pathogen-reduced platelets at the Red Cross, managed a global product organization at MICROS (Oracle) for cloud services, and directed a multi-million-dollar website and portal initiative at AT&T for B2B cloud service management. She holds a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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Greg Pasha,
Director of Recruiting
Greg is a seasoned marketing executive with over two decades of proven expertise in managing marketing operations and customer relationship management. He excels in driving sales growth and recruiting top talent by enhancing organizational effectiveness. His strategic improvements in account operations lead to increased efficiency, profitability, program ROI, and overall account performance. Greg holds a BS in Marketing from Castleton University.
Rebecca Lewis,
Director of Recruiting
Rebecca is an experienced Hospitality and Customer Service Manager with a successful 20+ year career in the leisure, travel, and tourism industry. She has played a pivotal role in various service teams, overseeing the entire hospitality experience from arrival to entertainment and event production. Rebecca has developed and implemented policies to effectively address member needs and inquiries. Proficient in building strong member relationships through regular communication and understanding their interests, needs, and goals, Rebecca excels in organizational skills, efficiency, management, delegation, and interpersonal qualities. She completed her studies at Hawaii Pacific University.
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What Our Clients Think:
We Want to Hear From You!
We want to show you how Tourney Direct will make your life easier and the staffing of your sporting event run better. Contact us to discover the power of streamlined staffing and payment processing.