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.
Company: Global Sports Analytics
CEO: Brandon Smith
Headquarters: Las Vegas, NV
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Global Sports Analytics (GSA) utilizes advanced statistics to analyze current players, identify roster inefficiencies, and isolate prospects for professional basketball teams in Europe.
2. Problem & Solution
-No player draft in European (or Asian) basketball leagues
-Scouting is still done using the traditional “eye test”
-Consistent change in personnel YoY
Our product addresses many of the issues scouts and coaches overseas are facing. As opposed to the “eye test”, we are quantifying the approach, emphasizing statistics to understand player performance. We develop comprehensive reports, tailored for individual teams. Our analysis provides objective intelligence to help make roster decisions.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
We are targeting the top professional basketball leagues in Europe as our market entry point. We plan to expand into other sports as well, while maintaining a focus on Europe, representing a $2+ billion dollar opportunity. Radiant Insights projects global spending on sports analytics to grow from an estimated $125 million in 2015 to $4.7 billion in 2021.
4. Business Model
GSA operates using a subscription model, with fees paid annually and reports delivered monthly during the season (as well as an offseason report delivered at the end of the season).
5. Management Team
Brandon Smith: Co-Founder, CEO, Daniel Long: Co-Founder, Director of Analytics
Landon Glover: Legal Advisor
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
Along with being recent graduates of the Marshall School of Business at USC, our team was fortunate to learn the fundamentals of basketball analytics directly from Dean Oliver.
Bonus Question:
If you were to invite any CEO to dinner who would it be and why?
Mark Cuban – We could learn a lot from him about hoops, business, and the journey of entrepreneurship. Mostly, he would be great to grab brews and watch a bunch of games with.