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: Prospect Dugout
Founder(s): Craig Maddox and Joel Hartman
Headquarters: Bradenton, FL
Website: http://www.prospectdugout.com
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Prospect Dugout is a digital exposure platform that lets players build profiles to show off their talents throughout the year and be seen by college coaches and scouts. The social network aspect lets players, parents, instructors, teams, and amateur coaches interact and communicate by uploading videos, asking questions, or book lessons.2. Problem & Solution
Gaining exposure as an amateur baseball player takes a lot of hard work, time, and money. Showcase events offer in-person exposure, but many athletes miss out because of cost, location, some are unaware of the events, and some lack the necessary ability for that type of event. Out of the athletes who can and do attend showcases, many have "bad days", and their only option is to wait until the next showcase and spend more money on the chance to perform well and be seen. For the players who choose not to attend, their only hope is to buy an expensive "recruiting video" and send it blindly by email to college coaches with the hope that it doesn't get lost in the thousands of other emails the coaches receive. For players who aren't "draft prospects" or D1 level athletes, it's an even tougher road because of the lack of recruiting budget in less competitive programs.Prospect Dugout is a free platform for players to build their user-controlled "resumé" profiles and showcase their skills using their phone. Players can upload unlimited videos from their training, input their stats and schedule so coaches know when they are playing, and they can interact with other players on The Dugout news feed. As the sports world goes digital, Prospect Dugout creates a unique opportunity for players, college coaches, and professional scouts to come together in one place. Coaches and scouts can search our advanced database for players that meet the exact criteria of their program. Smaller colleges and Universities across the country don't have the necessary recruiting budget to travel and see a wider range of players, but with Prospect Dugout, a coach can see great context on any player prior to traveling to an event or showcase to see that player in person.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
Our target market is every amateur baseball and softball player from youth through college. In addition to players, Prospect Dugout offers profiles for parents, instructors, teams, facilities, college coaches, and professional scouts. There are over 20 million youth baseball and softball players in the USA, plus their parents and the coaches in the industry. We started an Instagram page as a proof of concept, and our brand has organically grown to over 210,000 followers. Currently, we have 20,000 registered users on the app, and all of our marketing has been organic through our social media.4. Business Model – how do you make money?
We will create revenue through premium features, brand partnerships and integration, and advertising.5. Management Team – with titles
Craig Maddox - co-founder and CEOJoel Hartman - co-founder and COO
Scott Elarton - Investor and Advisor, former MLB player and current pitching coordinator in MiLB
Anthony Iacovone - Investor, founder and president of Ad Theorent