Ex-NBA commissioner David Stern, along with a handful of other venture capital firms, have invested in Overtime’s $2.5 million seed round, CEO Dan Porter announced Wednesday.
Overtime is a smartphone app that allows for users to record, edit and share short-form sports video content, slightly similar to what Vine used to be before it transitioned to a Camera App last month.
Excited to announce our $2.5mm seed round for @Overtime led by @greycroftvc with @645ventures, @KenMilster, @chaacventures, @edwardlando and
— Dan Porter (@tfadp) February 22, 2017
2/2 Our financing round including @CorrelationVC Fitz Gate, Afore Ventures, @Jordalev TACK Ventures, Mike Barry and David Stern
— Dan Porter (@tfadp) February 22, 2017
When Stern was asked in December on the Sports Business Radio Show Podcast about his criteria for investing in companies, the former basketball executive said he sends inbound requests “to somebody else.”
“I only invest in things that come in through Greycroft Partners, either that they have made their own investment in or that we’ve decided based on the stage of the company that they won’t be investing this time but I like it and invest personally. That’s it,” Stern said.
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With the new funding, Overtime’s Porter told Business Insider that the New York-based digital startup will soon be launching a news website and eventually, integrating content creators and on-air talent to create a larger media entity. The former digital head at William Morris Endeavor, Porter commented that “Snapchat has been really influential to us,” citing the authentic, raw video capture of a high school fan in the stands documenting an electrifying dunk.
Stern echoed Porter’s thoughts as he said in a statement to Business Insider, “This is a generation that doesn’t just want to read the news. They want to make and participate in it.”
Fans can also add special effects to videos such as slow-mo, freeze frame and rewind while also embedding music and other additional overlays. Currently, the app reaches 11 million users per month, according to Business Insider, with 95 percent on mobile and under the age of 25. With the recent demise of the six-second looping platform Vine, Overtime sees an opportunity to capture the short-form sports video market, especially at the amateur and high school level.
“It’s about putting the power in the hands of the people,” Zachary Weiner, Head of Business Development, told SportTechie in November. “Why shouldn’t a high school kid have a premium clip that looks like it’s on SportsCenter and has all these cool effects?”