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: ScoutingTree
Founder(s): Justin Walsh & Mark LoPorto
Headquarters: Long Island NY
1. What is your elevator pitch?
A mobile first platform enabling talents to showcase their abilities and evaluators to identify and connect with their needs.
2. Problem & Solution
We see the sports space as a very fragmented environment. There are multiple options that all cost money per sport. Not only is it a place that is new to athletes and parents as every few years you have a new customer/user base, but it can get expensive and time consuming for both the athlete and the program, school etc. ScoutingTree delivers value by saving you time and money.
Our goal is to give both athletes and evaluators a place to connect on a fully mobile platform. We're not only guiding players to showcase what evaluators want to see, but are also aiding them in their player development in our Center of Excellence. Our CoE is an area where we have Mentors covering sports, rehabilitation, nutrition and so on sharing insights, knowledge and anything else they can to help the next generation of student athletes coming up.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
Our market consists of any athletes from middle school through college in the US, U.K. and Australia. We estimate this market to be both evolving and revolving every few years. We believe there are approximately 15+ million athletes to target. On the evaluator side we are on boarding US schools and programs. We currently host drills for the following sports: Tennis, Softball, Baseball, Football, Basketball, Soccer, Track and Field and Lacrosse.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
We have two strategies for growth. Each dependent on partnerships and investor mix. Our approach is to be as patient as possible and grow a strong brand and product with a focus on expanding our footprint and users. Without having to rush to return initial capital we'll be able to build something sustainable the right way. Three areas we can monetize the platform are through ad hyper-targeting and selling products on our platform, Broadcasting STLive sessions, and having brands pay to have their own channel in our Center of Excellence.
5. Management Team – with titles
Justin Walsh - Co-Founder and CEO (Marketing and Ops background)
Mark LoPorto - Co-Founder and President (Sales and Ops background)
Anand Rambaran - CTO
Nick Cavuoto - EVP of Technology
Chris Covale - Principal Architect
6. Financial Needs: are you currently looking for investment? Have you raised investment already? If so, who are your investors?
We have started to engage with investors, and are open to speak with others interested as well.
