New technology from startup ventures is transforming the sports industry. The mission of this series will be to introduce startup companies in the sports technology space to a broader audience and allow Founders of promising new ventures to tell their story. Feel free to contact us if you know of a startup that should be considered for this series.
Company: Fan Media Network Inc.
CEO: Kirk Berridge
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Make videos and make money on Fan Media.
Fan Media is building a network of iPhone video correspondents, thru competition & viewer voting, for the top 200 NFL, NCAA, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS teams as a social news organization.
2. Problem & Solution
Other social networks are closed, private networks. You would have to be friends with Chicago Bulls fans to see Bulls fan videos. Fan Media is an open network, anyone can check anyone out because sports fans don’t hide.
Social media is a free-for-all when it comes to fan videos. It lacks organization, purpose and incentives. Fan Media organizes the fans as professional media through competition, viewer voting, editorial direction and the opportunity to earn money and special access.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
When you combine the 224 teams that have a channel on our app, they have over 200MM likes and followers on their official Facebook and Twitter brand pages.
15B daily video views on Facebook and Snapchat.
People are watching less TV. They get their news on social media. And they want to get it from people they want to follow, not people in a studio in Connecticut that they are forced to watch and never had a vote or a voice or choice in the matter. That is the old media model.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
Sponsorship
Crowdfunding/fan-to-fan mobile payments
Native video advertising
Ticket sales
Merchandise sales
Data
5. Management Team
Kirk Berridge – Founder, CEO, Chairman
Joel Cave – VP Product
Jeff Goda – Partnerships
Kent Koons – Media Manager
Phil Taylor – Media Manager
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
Fan Media is going to change the face and faces of sports media.
Any sports fan can crowdfund to get special “bucket list” experiences, tickets, upgrade your iPhone to make better videos and compete, whatever sports fans can imagine to help their cause or help others.