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: myKicks - by Formalytics
Founder(s): Andrew Hall, Holly Ade-Simpson and David Budden
Headquarters: Perth, Western Australia and London, United Kingdom
Website: https://signup.mykicks.io/
1. What is your elevator pitch?
The myKicks technology utilizes advanced computer vision and augmented reality on a smartphone to turn any ball into a smart ball. Initially focused on Football, this voice-activated app (currently only in UK but due for Global Release in 2018) allow users to film their kicks and receive actionable ball metrics such as speed, placement on the goal zone and probability of goal. These metrics help users to become better players through leveling up over a series of challenges against virtual goalies.2. Problem & Solution
Problem: Currently, there is no way for footballers of all levels and ages to analyze their ball striking skills to foster improvement without the use of specialized, expensive, and inconsistent equipment.Solution: Our revolutionary app “myKicks” uses advanced computer vision, artificial intelligence and augmented reality to recreate an entire 3-D trajectory of the ball from strike point to goal plane crossing all on a mobile phone in real time. The myKicks app helps users improve through 1. In session real-time feedback, 2. Gamification of skill development through level progression and 3. Storing of kick video’s and metrics for post-session reflection and comparison.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
The Football market is big, really big. FIFA estimates that there are over 300M serious players globally and a reported 700M casual players. Our initial target market is youth players (12y.o. - 20y.o.) which account for 164M serious players (with up to 3X that amount of grassroots players) and growing at a rate of ~5% year on year.4. Business Model – how do you make money?
We are entering the market with a Freemium product with in-app purchases focused on specific challenges and master classes that demonstrate how to improve kicking power and accuracy.We will also consider collaboration partnerships with respect to sponsorship of our challenges and leaderboards.
5. Management Team – with titles
Andrew Hall - CEO and Co-FounderHolly Ade-Simpson - CTO and Co-Founder
David Budden - CSO and Co-Founder