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: Paranoid Fan
Co Founder: Hunter Swensson
Headquarters: Dallas, TX
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Paranoid Fan is a social mapping app that allows fans to pin, share, and discover the best kept secrets on GameDay – like where to park, find tickets, food, beer, or your friends in a crowd of people.
2. Problem & Solution
A year ago my friend Agustin attended the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Hoping to fully immerse himself in the World Cup experience, he set out looking for USA Watch Parties, Meet-Ups, and venue essentials but it proved much more difficult than he originally thought. It wasn’t until day four of his trip that, by chance, he found where USA fans gathered to watch, cheer and hangout, though by then his World Cup experience was coming to a close.
This led Agustin to develop a real-time social map where fans can pin and share information for, and directions to Game Day essentials so friends and fans can get in on the fun and excitement.
3. Market – Your target and overall market
Our app connects fans of any sport, anywhere in the world, but the area we see a great amount of opportunity is in college athletics. It’s estimated that NCAA sponsorship and ticket sales make up nearly $10 Billion in annual revenue yet this segment is proving harder and harder to engage with. During the 13-14 season when Michigan State won the Rose Bowl, 25% of student tickets went unclaimed. These were tickets that students purchased at the start of the season and, for one reason or another, never claimed.
The saying, “you couldn’t pay me to go,” actually applies here–and we’re talking about big time college football. I find it hard to believe but the fact remains: it is happening. For fans traveling to neutral site or championship games the app is especially useful in navigating unfamiliar areas or meeting up with other fans and alumni nearby. Our mission is to create an end to end fan experience.
One that begins with planning to attend the game, continues on through tailgaiting, and ends well after the clock hits 0:00. Buying a ticket is just the beginning of the experience; so much happens after that. We hope to improve the fan experience by connecting fans to each other and what’s around them.
4. Business Model
- The benefit of using the app is twofold for fans and teams alike. Big Data plays a big role in the fan experience, and the data we collect from users will further help teams and leagues understand how fans experience game day. They will also be able to use this information to make data-driven decisions that can determine anything from where to place additional security, or when to run a specific promotion.
- We will change the way people view scalpers from, “the guy you see on the corner every game,” to understanding that sometimes, it’s simply a fan with an extra ticket. We created a peer to peer ticket exchange where fans can sell extra tickets on-site, or online. This is ideal for the fan hanging onto an extra ticket at the game, with no means other than standing with his arm in the air, to sell his ticket. We’re hoping to announce a partnership with a big player in this space shortly.
- Instead of ads, we will deliver recommendations to our users. This appeals to advertisers because it’s branding with a call to action. We can offer fans entering the game special offers on anything from team apparel, parking, or simply suggest where to eat before the game.
5. Management Team 
Founder: Agustin Gonzalez graduated from the Air Force Academy and received his MBA in Engineering from SMU. Afterwards, Agustin worked at Merryl Lynch for 10 years before founding Paranoid Fan. Agustin’s keen eye for emerging tech (invested in Tesla at $16) and product knowledge provide our team with an unmatched level of expertise and insight.
Co-Founders: Hunter Swensson and Whitney Teague. Whitney and I worked together at ESPN and The Ticket in Dallas for several years. It was a dream job, but after beta launching at SXSW we made the choice to devote our full attention to Paranoid Fan in order to keep the momentum we gained from our appearance in Austin. Rounding out our trio of founders is an incredible group of advisors: Tony Grimminck, who is the CFO of Hotels Tonight, and sports personalities Jonah Keri—an award winning writer—and Bob Sturm, Marconi award winning SportsRadio host.
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
There is a point system that rewards users for pinning key locations such as watch parties, parking, food, beer, tickets, etc. This has potential to be a means of rewarding users with special prizes or experiences, but more importantly, I’d hope fans pin to assist fellow fans. Pinning around your stadium and city makes it easier for the fan who’s taking his son to his first game, or for the 5 alumni returning to their Alma Mater. Fans helping other fans get the most out of their game day experience is the ultimate reward.
Paranoid Fan is now in the Apple Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paranoid-fan/id626385140?mt=8
Bonus Question:
If you were to invite any CEO to dinner who would it be and why?
Travis Kalanick. There are certain people in the world that, no matter their level of expertise or experience, you just know they’re going to accomplish whatever it is that they’ve set out to accomplish. I wouldn’t call it persistence or determination, it’s whatever lies beyond that. That’s what Travis has. I also heard a wild story from Chris Sacca about how Travis was ranked #2 in the world in Wii Tennis. I played Halo as an MLG Pro in college so it’d be fun to share some of our L33T gaming secrets.