Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver and former NBA players Steve Blake and Caron Butler have invested in the social network app, Arbit, which works to connect users with their friends, brands and favorite athletes and celebrities through photo-polling.
Users are able to create photo polls in the “Ask Arbit” upload screen, and the photos will automatically be put up side by side with a question. The photo poll posts will go out to all of the followers of that account. For example, if a user is trying to poll which outfit their followers like the best, they can put photos of the two styles side by side and users can like the ones they want to vote for. For example, sports fans could also poll their friends on who they think will win a big game or which college player will win the Wooden Award.
“I was pitching around this time last year to get seed funding to get us off the ground. A lot of angels asked how we thought we could get in touch with athletes,” Arbit co-founder Alex Bullington said. “Which is a fair question, as I didn’t know any, but I knew I could utilize six degrees of separation and find a connection. Lo and behold, I kept at it, trying to connect the dots and finally I came across a guy who introduced me to Steve who loved the idea. Two months later we pitched to Anthony. And most recently we pitched to Caron.
“Having a background in sports, the exciting thing about working alongside three professional athletes is that they are avid competitors and maniacal about the process. Things don’t happen over night and we always approach running this as a team. We all share the mindset that, despite obstacles, we’ll find a way to win and make Arbit a success.”
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Last October, Bullington and co-founder Greg DiNardo announced Tolliver and Blake’s involvement in Arbit.
“Both Steve and Anthony saw the vast potential for stars to use Arbit and involve fans in their daily decisions, thus creating a unique celebrity and fan interaction unlike any before,” read the Facebook post. “Steve and Anthony will help us get Arbit out across the NBA and into the hands of other professional athletes and celebrities.”
Butler joined in last month and reposted Arbit’s Instagram about his partnership with the company, writing, “Arbit is a social polling app geared towards anything you want using two photos or videos. Tons of content on this amazing app from debates, to photography, to sports to pop culture.”
Bulter played for several teams during his tenure in the NBA, including a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. Retired Lakers great Kobe Bryant, an investor himself, took to Twitter to support his ex-teammate’s new business endeavor.
Check out my brother @realtuffjuice app @arbit_app. Love how you are transitioning from the @nba to biz. From books to apps to films #museon
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 3, 2017
Tolliver and Blake also took to Twitter to promote the app they invested in.
Giving away prizes on Arbit! Retweet this for chance to win some KobeXl as well. https://t.co/YwDz5Tn4Xv pic.twitter.com/VPub0UQ4iS
— Steve Blake (@SteveBlake5) January 23, 2017
Which prize should I give away for the next Arbit CONTEST? – UA/JBL earbuds or Under Ar… – https://t.co/9rGiL5UJ6t pic.twitter.com/t1HbUchgAb
— Anthony Tolliver (@ATolliver44) January 19, 2017
Tolliver has a degree in finance and told the Sacramento Bee that he oversees real estate, athletic apparel and children’s fishing merchandise companies.
“I am a businessman,” Tolliver told the newspaper “My desire was always to play in the NBA, but I wanted a backup plan in case that didn’t work out.”