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: Crowd411
Founder(s): Jeremy Gocke, Jeramie McPeek
Headquarters: Scottsdale, AZ
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Crowd411 auto-digests game schedules across major professional sports then creates a virtual geofence around the arenas and stadiums to surface real-time social posts and associated data from geo-enabled social media accounts -- with no need for beacons, hashtags or third-party app downloads. Think of it as "Nielsen for Live Sports Social Pulse."
2. Problem & Solution
There are several questions that teams are always asking: ‘How can we measure fan sentiment to improve the in-game experience; how can we ‘listen’ to our fans and market to them with a personalized touch; and how can we identify and engage potential new season ticket holders?’ What used to be a tedious and manual process is now handled automatically by Crowd411 through surfacing actionable social, sentiment, emotional and fan influencer data at professional sports games. Crowd411 gives sports franchises and sponsors the ability to identify their most influential fans at games, understand trending topics, sentiment, and emotional reactions during live games and events, and measure overall social pulse originating inside stadiums and arenas.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
Our target market includes professional sports franchises as well as sponsors/brands marketing to sports fans. Over time, we will expand into major collegiate sports and international sports. Nearly $40 billion annually is spent on sports advertising, with limited ROI measurement options available to franchises and sponsors/brands, Crowd411 will fill that gap.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
Crowd411 is a visualization index of social pulse data at professional sports games and events, free to teams, sponsors, and fans interested in a quick view of what's trending at games. For teams and sponsors looking for a "deeper dive" on game and fan data, Crowd411 offers its cloud-based hyperlocal social insights and engagement tools "as a service" through a variety of monthly/annual subscription packages.
5. Management Team – with titles
Jeremy Gocke - Co-founder & Partner
Jeramie McPeek - Co-founder & Partner
6. Financial Needs: are you currently looking for investment? Have you raised investment already? If so, who are your investors?
Crowd411 has been self-funded since inception but is in the process of raising capital from strategic investors.
