PoolExpert

The ultimate hockey and baseball pool manager — modernised for the next era

IndustryMedia & Entertainment

Team2 Members

Started In2023

ClientZepto Internet Solutions Inc.

CountryCanada

Opportunity

PoolExpert has been a trusted name in sports fantasy pools since 1999. Built and run by Patrice, it had earned a loyal following among hockey and baseball fans — with real-time stats, mobile apps, draft tools, and a growing base of corporate clients. That kind of longevity is rare, and it's earned. But the technology underneath hadn't kept pace. The mobile app was built on Xamarin.Forms — a framework Microsoft had officially sunset. The web front-end was a custom TypeScript setup that made iteration slow. The backend had grown organically over the years and was starting to show the strain. Patrice had a platform worth investing in. It needed a partner who could modernise it without breaking what users already loved.

Approach

We came in as a two-person team with a clear mandate: modernise the full stack — mobile, web, and backend — while keeping the platform running and users unaffected throughout. The first step was a thorough audit of the existing codebase across all three layers. Rather than rebuild from scratch, we identified what could be migrated, what needed to be rewritten, and where the highest-impact improvements were. We sequenced the work to avoid disruption, communicating closely with Patrice at every stage.

Solution

Mobile: Xamarin.Forms → .NET MAUI We led a full migration of the mobile app from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI — the natural successor, but far from a drop-in replacement. Every screen, component, and platform-specific behaviour was audited and ported. The result was a modern, maintainable mobile codebase on an actively supported framework with a clear long-term roadmap. Web: TypeScript → Blazor WebAssembly The web front-end was rewritten from a custom TypeScript setup to Blazor WebAssembly. This brought the web layer into the same .NET ecosystem as the mobile app and backend — enabling code sharing, reducing context switching, and dramatically improving the development feedback loop. Patrice went from maintaining two separate technology stacks to one coherent platform. Backend: ASP.NET Core & Entity Framework We worked extensively on the ASP.NET Core backend — refactoring data access patterns, optimising Entity Framework queries, improving API response times, and hardening the service layer for reliability. All backend work was done in lockstep with the mobile and web changes so the full stack moved forward together. Ecosystem: .NET 9 → .NET 10 Upgrade Following the migration, we upgraded the entire solution to .NET 10, keeping PoolExpert on the latest toolchain with access to the newest runtime performance improvements.

Technical Highlights

Xamarin.Forms → .NET MAUI Migration Navigating a framework transition that was anything but automatic MAUI introduced breaking changes across the board. We identified, diagnosed, and resolved each one without regressing existing functionality. Release-Mode Linker Crashes (iOS) Diagnosing production crashes that only appeared after the build optimiser ran The iOS linker was stripping XAML-referenced types at build time. We traced the root cause and validated the fix across both debug and release configurations. Performance Optimisation Measurable improvements users actually noticed Targeted performance work across mobile — startup time, list rendering, and memory usage on both Android and iOS — validated against real device behaviour. CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions Automated builds and deployments across a multi-project .NET 10 solution We built a full CI/CD pipeline with reliable, repeatable builds from day one — including edge cases the standard toolchain didn't handle cleanly. Unified .NET Ecosystem One team, one toolchain, one deployment pipeline Moving everything to a single .NET stack created genuine code-sharing opportunities and significantly reduced the long-term maintenance burden.

Impact

PoolExpert is now running on a unified, modern .NET stack across all three layers. Performance is meaningfully improved, the codebase is easier to extend, and development velocity has increased now that everything runs within a single ecosystem. The engagement didn't end at delivery. Patrice continues to work with us — what started as a modernisation project has evolved into an ongoing development partnership. We think that says more than any metric could.

Deployment

A full-stack transformation — mobile, web, and backend — delivered without disruption to existing users.

Testimonial

Patrice

CEO at Zepto Internet Solutions Inc.

“The team at AitchSoft was amazing! From day one, they quickly got up to speed with the existing codebase and immediately got into problem-solving mode. Highly knowledgeable, all-around developers who are very well organised and have excellent communication skills. We were able to cross the finish line on time thanks to their efforts. Moreover, they are a pleasure to work with. This is a no-brainer — just hire.”