What’s next?
We have some news to share
As both a startup founder and an investor, I have always followed the maxim: “How upset would people be if the company disappeared?” It’s a proxy for assessing product-market fit, customer engagement, and most importantly, love. If you make something people love, the rest will take care of itself.
A little over two years ago, Zack and I and our small team set out to do just that.
We founded Overtime to build the biggest sports network in the world. And we have made tremendous progress — thanks to our proprietary mobile camera capture technology, our grassroots efforts to literally be at thousands of gyms and fields worldwide, and thanks especially to our powerful community of athletes and fans.
There are the numbers, of course: in just two years, we’ve gone from monthly video views of 1 million to more than 550 million. And we’ve shown that every month one out of every seven Americans between the ages of 18–24 consumes Overtime videos. If you are Gen Z and watch sports on your phone, you know Overtime.
But beyond the numbers, the visceral reason I know we’ve created something special is that every month, hundreds of young people figure out that I am the CEO of Overtime, find my personal Instagram account and they DM me (apologies to English teachers everywhere):
“This year ima be on Overtime then ima have my first offer. I just wanted you to know. Remember this.”
“I’ve always wanted to be on Overtime. Dreams come true.”
The opportunity to build a new global sports network is right in front of us. That’s why over the past year, we have expanded our focus to cover far more than just highlights. We have invested heavily in longer-form series, launching four on Snapchat and 13 on YouTube, many with 20-minute episodes and some now in their second and third seasons.
We have continued to grow our coverage of football and soccer to cover more athletes and tell more stories. And with OvertimeWBB, we have begun a focused expansion into women’s sports.
We have also moved aggressively into broader culture. We are creating content around sneakers and lifestyle, and working to break new music through our videos. A year ago, we didn’t cover competitive video gaming — now we have a Pro Fortnite team that is top 20-ranked and drives 20 million minutes of watch time a month on Twitch.
But for all of that growth, we’re still just getting started.
There are more than 2.3 billion Gen Z consumers worldwide, and while Overtime currently reaches more than 1% of them, the opportunity remains massive.
As a result of our traction to date and the opportunity ahead, we are pleased to announce that we have raised a $23 million Series B funding round, led by Spark Capital’s Bijan Sabet and joined by investors who underscore Overtime’s impact in sports and media and our growing influence in culture.
In addition to Spark, these new investors include Sapphire Ventures, via its recently-announced $115 million Sapphire Sport investment platform; MACRO Ventures, the leading creator of film and television representing the voices of people of color; The a16z Cultural Leadership Fund, which connects important cultural leaders (including Will Smith, Nas and others) with leading technology companies; sports media pioneer MSG Networks Inc.; and NBA all-stars like Victor Oladipo; Baron Davis; and Carmelo Anthony (who’s investing via his Melo7 Tech II fund). Andreessen Horowitz, which led Overtime’s Series A investment a year ago, also participated in this new round, as did a number of our existing investors, including Afore Capital and Correlation Ventures.
So indulge me if I am a little bit proud. I am proud that these investors believe in us and thankful for their support. And I am proud that we are telling important stories, stories about young people like Toni Harris, who wants to be the first woman to play in the NFL, or Jamad Fiin, a young Muslim woman who broke stereotypes and balled out in her hijab, or Kalin Bennett, the first autistic athlete to receive a D1 scholarship. Or this story about an inspiring local NYC basketball player:
We are focused on building a platform for the next generation of young storytellers, who film, produce and edit for us, full-time, and whose youthful point of view informs our content. I am honored to work with our experienced content team, who guide and support these young creators. I am proud that Overtime Larry, one of our first interns, is now a bonafide YouTube star, and Trey, Tom and others are up next. We are building a platform for young athletes to tell their stories; and we’re also creating a place where the next generation of diverse young creatives and talent like Dontae, Malik, Mitch and Chloe can reshape the narrative of sports.
We will use this new funding to invest in sharing more stories like these, and in building out our team to continue to tell those narratives in new and exciting ways. In 2019, expect to see more live activations from us. Expect to see more merch collabs, more commerce and more shows to rival a traditional network. And expect us to go global, pushing Overtime into Europe, Asia and Africa.
Most importantly, Zack and I remain thankful. Thankful to all of the amazing athletes we have the chance to work with — from Trae Young (who’s now in the NBA) and Zion Williamson (who is about to be) to Mac McClung and Kardell Thomas, who have all taken us into their homes and and shared their lives and let us tell their stories. To our investors and supporters. To our amazing team. And most of all, to all the young people across America who, when they see someone in an Overtime shirt, in a gym or on the street, throw up the O with their hands and yell: “Shoutout Overtime.” Gotchu fam.
