Newly developed fantasy esports app HypSports "lets users pit groups of gamers against each other, earning virtual points based upon real-life performances," according to Marco Santana of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The app also "allows play in traditional sports like football and basketball." The app was co-founded by Mike Taramykin, who formerly worked for Electronic Arts, Zynga and FanDuel, and it "officially rolled out last month" after being in development since last April. The app "joins some high-profile competitors, like DraftKings and Rotowire, which also run esports-based fantasy sports sites." Users are "assigned players from which they can form their fantasy lineup." They then "pit the team they built against others and receive points based upon their real world performance." So far, 40,000 people have "downloaded the app since its debut last month." HypSports has 15 workers, 13 of them in Orlando, and the company "joins a video game industry in Central Florida spearheaded" by EA. The region also is "home to three video game development schools." The "lead investor in the company" is Orlando-based FAN Fund. FAN Fund Managing Dir Mitchel Laskey said that the firm has invested close to $2M into HypSports (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/5).
SIGN ME UP: In Cincinnati, Paul Dehner noted former NFLer Chris Crocker last week launched an app called Fan Flow, which he "believes can revolutionize the personalized sports merchandise business for the betterment of both players and fans." Crocker started the company, which "essentially allows fans to pick what merchandise they want, what player they would like to sign it, even add a personalized inscription and then have it shipped directly to them, all in one app." Crocker: "It creates a win-win-win for everyone. Teams sell more merch, the athlete gets to capitalize on his autograph and the fan gets a form of engagement that doesn’t already exist." Crocker "doesn’t quite know what direction the company will land after this test with FC Cincinnati" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/4).
