New technology from startup ventures is transforming the global sports industry. This Startup Series has introduced over 300 startup companies in the sports technology space to a broader audience by allowing Founders of promising new ventures to tell their story and pitch their idea. Feel free to submit your startup’s answers to the below questions or contact us if you know of a startup that should be considered for inclusion in this series.
This series is supported by Stadia Ventures. If you are a sports technology startup looking for strategic investors, we recommend checking out their upcoming accelerator programs.
Company name: PONYAPP
Founder(s): Lucy Davis, Lindsay Douglass
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
1. What is your elevator pitch?
PONYAPP streamlines the daily management and invoicing of equine services into one, collaborative location. Our iOS application includes in-app payments, record keeping and a mixed-media newsfeed for professionals, clients and brands. Above all, PONYAPP strives to modernize and grow the equine industry’s business practices and sports.
2. Problem & Solution
The problem…The equine industry is a fragmented ecosystem—a community of multiple different parties all involved in daily horse care. Many professionals within the equine community still use pen and paper for their organization and accounting. This outdated methodology, coupled with particularly mobile lifestyles, leads to an enormous amount of inefficiency within a global, multi-billion-dollar industry.
The solution…. PONYAPP funnels the management of horse care services into a distinct location. By providing an iOS, android and web application (coming soon!) on which the entire equine community can invoice and record data, PONYAPP addresses direct inefficiencies in a two-sided market – professionals get paid quicker and clients have centralized access to horse records.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
The horse industry in the United States contributes $39 billion in direct economic impact to the US economy. When indirect and induced spending are included, the industry’s economic impact reaches upwards of $102 billion. Most importantly, equine services are routine. There will always be multiple care related transactions performed per month, per horse.
PONYAPP is targeting this U.S. market first, specifically within the showjumping community. However, since the platform is not specific to any one discipline, we plan to scale our marketing across equine sports globally.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
PONYAPP’s initial revenue will come from a model that combines monthly subscription fees from premium users, a tiered flat-fee structure for in-app ACH payments and advertising on our newsfeed (“Spotlight”).
Once a significant user base has become familiar with the PONYAPP invoicing feature, we will be able to refine our in-app transaction fee structure. Additionally, PONYAPP continues to accumulate data on regular horse “activities” to better understand what products and brands are preferred by its users. This will allow us to establish future retail partnerships to distribute these products directly to those users.
5. Management Team – with titles
Lucy Davis (co-founder) graduated from Stanford University in 2015 with a B.S. in Architectural Design. She is a member of the United States Equestrian Team and has a Bronze medal from the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy and a Silver medal from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Lindsay Douglass (co-founder) graduated from Stanford University in 2015 with a B.S. in Product Design. Before PONYAPP, Lindsay worked for divisions within BMW. She has ridden throughout the US and Europe on the international level.
6. Financial Needs: are you currently looking for investment? Have you raised investment already? If so, who are your investors?
N/A
