New technology from startup ventures is transforming the sports industry. The mission of this series will be to introduce startup companies in the sports technology space to a broader audience and allow Founders of promising new ventures to tell their story. Feel free to contact us if you know of a startup that should be considered for this series.
Company: Navigine
CEO: Alexey Panyov
Headquarters: New York, NY, USA
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Navigine is a location aware software platform specialized for indoor spaces. Our proprietary technology enables precise positioning (up to 1 meter and better) by leveraging mobile device sensors and various types of IoT infrastructures. Our core product is an SDK that integrates indoor navigation, proximity communication and motion analytics functions into mobile apps.
We provide two major solutions for the sports industry:
- Mobile way-finding, proximity marketing and traffic analytics solutions for sport arenas to improve the fan experience, boost merchandise, food and ticket sales and better understand fan behavior.
- Advanced player motion analytics for use by Leagues and teams during games and practices to track speed, distance covered, time on ice/field or pitch and presence in zones, so as to collect history and dynamics of players’ physical performance, allowing for the benchmarking of players by key parameters.
2. Problem & Solution
Navigine’s first sports solution – Fan Engagement:
Teams’ and arenas’ management need to improve fan engagement during sport games through mobile channels. Navigine’s solutions help fans to communicate with the team, throughout the arena, and other fans right here and right now. The key functions are:
- Seamless indoor/outdoor way-finding throughout the stadium and surrounding areas;
- Proximity communication and advertisement/marketing powered by Bluetooth beacons; and
- Collection of analytics on foot traffic and behavior of fans during games.
Navigine’s second sports solution – Team Analytics:
Team management is often challenged with collecting comprehensive, easily accessible data on players’ physical performance during games and practices to make crucial decisions about their selection process and team strategy. Navigine’s solution outfits players with belt-mounted Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags with an action range of up to 70 meters, and uses antennas placed through the venue to provide player positioning accuracy up to one meter. The system helps to collect and visualize all players trajectories during the game/match or practice session. Access to the system by authorized personnel is provided through any device: laptop, tablet or even smartphone.
3. Market – target market and overall market
Navigine addresses the sport and entertainment market which is complex and continually growing. Our primary clients are large sport arenas and teams of any level, from professional to junior and amateur. In U.S. alone, there are more than 400 arenas with over 3000 seats each. Additionally, there are tens of thousands of teams in the U.S. who could benefit from affordable and effective sport analytics and increased fan engagement.
4. Business Model – How does Navigine make money?
Navigine provides software tools to B2B partners. Our regular license pricing depends on the venue size and we charge a monthly subscription fee. In the case of sport players tracking, pricing depends on a scope and complexity of the provided analytics.
5. Management Team
CEO: Alexey Panyov, PhD
VP Business Development: Oleg Demidov, PhD
Key Advisor: John Ason, professional angel investor who has funded about 60 startup companies
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
The company was started by two PhDs from Moscow State University. Since our incorporation in the USA in 2014, we have implemented over 100 installations in 7 different countries through our network of over 50 partners.
We have built a strong product and have become a leader in the Eastern European market. We have landed key partnerships with major technology companies such as: Google, Microsoft, SAP, IBM and are pleased to be included as 1 of 5 companies in Gartner’s 2016 Cool Vendor Report.
Our installation base has grown by 10 times, year-on-year. Our ultimate goal is to achieve 10% market share in all U.S. indoor installations by the end of 2017.
Bonus Question: If you were to invite any CEO to dinner who would it be and why?
Definitely Elon Musk, as he is the person who has already managed to revolutionize the most advanced industries such as: space, solar energy and electric cars. Additionally, it seems that he is already working on some of the key next industries such as: fast ground transportation (based on recent announcements) and AI. This dinner could provide a great number of deep insights into the whole technology world.
