SportsTech Allstars for Feb: Startups Elevating Fan Experiences
Podcast episodes with 4 great founders focused on sports fans
A new theme every month
Starting in Feb 2023, our SportsTech Allstars podcast will have a theme every month. We really like the idea of focusing in on one area of SportsTech, whether its a sector, a region or a type of player. We hope you like it too.
For example, next month we will be speaking with a stellar line up of SportsTech Investors: Elysian Park Ventures, Wildcard Ventures, KB Partners & Courtside Ventures. Those names speak for themselves so nothing to add here, be sure to tune in.
For February we wanted to stay with the Sports Fan. We’ve called 2022 ‘The Year of the Fan’ in SportsTech, with over 60% of all SportsTech funding, which crossed $10b for the year, going towards the Fans & Content sector. 43% of that went only into Fan Experiences. So we decided to pick 4 companies that we really like, each presenting a unique perspective and solution to help fans enjoy their sports just that little bit more.
The startups
NEIL ZHANG , CO FOUNDER — FRONTRUNNER
Neil shares the origin story of US based Frontrunner, built to address the issues in traditional sports betting. Where the house always wins because of its total control. Frontrunner is a decentralized sports betting platform based on web3 and cryptocurrency, built with a market-driven model rather than a user or price book model. Neil sees a convergence of gaming, finance, and crypto, and wants to create a “Robinhood” style sports betting platform.
#RichtoPoortoRich
PIYUSH KUMAR , CEO — ROOTER
Piyush shares Rooter’s journey, focusing on their pivot from a fan engagement platform for sports to a market leader in India for video game streaming. An especially tough call given they were already at 500k Monthly Active Users. And that move paid off big time, growing the company to 17m MAU / 1m DailyAU . Especially how the lockdown led to unprecedented growth in the gaming industry, with Indian content marketing peaking in 2020.
#GameOnIndia
BRENNON D’SOUZA, FOUNDER & CEO — DIBZ
Brennon shares his eureka moment of seeing so many empty seats in sports stadiums, believing that maybe there was a way to fill them quickly from within the stadium! And with a great user experience, it would be a game-changer. This led to the birth of Toronto based DIBZ, which focuses on upselling seats to fill empty ones in sports & entertainment venues, all by text. Brennon notes that DIBZ works across various leagues and verticals, with the key being to adapt their successful approach to fit different areas and leagues.
#FillMySeatUp
SIMON THOMPSON , FOUNDER — TRICKSHOT
Simon explains how London based Trickshot’s 3D imaging technology can help sports organizations engage younger audiences. Especially those seeking immersive experiences, not currently provided by traditional sports broadcasts. The conversation explores various use cases their technology can cater to, allowing fans to create personalised content using existing game footage. Simon explores Trickshot’s successful partnership with AFC Wimbledon and their ongoing discussions with various sports leagues and brands looking to connect with younger sports fans.
#ImmerseMeUpScotty
More to come
Like I mentioned already, next month will be SportsTech investors while in April we’ll be exploring a region that is growing in importance for SportsTech. Lots of interesting conversations to come so join us.
Rohn Malhotra is a Co-Founder at Berlin based SportsTechX — Data & insights about SportsTech startups and the surrounding ecosystem. You can get in touch via LinkedIn or email.
