New technology from startup ventures is transforming the sports industry. The mission of this series is 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 submit your startup’s answers to the below questions or contact us if you know of a startup that should be considered for this series.
Company name: ProHero.com
Headquarters: Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California.
1. What is your elevator pitch?
ProHero is a social marketplace and app that allows your friends, followers and people nearby to buy anything directly from you. It connects you directly with professional athletes and celebrities that are nearby. You can meet, dine, workout, chat, hang or get merchandise from Super Bowl champions, Grammy Winners, Emmy Winners, NBA, NFL, MLB, Hockey, Olympic and Soccer stars. ProHero users can even attend a concert with Grammy winners, Emmy winners and reality TV stars. Accounts are free and available at ProHero.com (desktop and mobile versions) and through an Android app with an iOS app coming soon.
In addition to individual users, businesses, marketers and brands that want to offer products and services directly on social media or are looking for an athlete, celebrity or expert endorsement can do it all easily through ProHero.
Here is an example of some of our live users: 3X Super Bowl Wide Receiver, Mark Jackson.
2. Problem & Solution
As a social marketplace we drive solutions for multiple parties including (i) current and retired athletes and celebrities (ii) companies and organizations and (ii) fans. For athletes and celebrities, we drive income to them by making it easier for corporations and organizations of all sizes to find and do deals with them through our social media platform. We provide companies and organizations with streamlined access to athletes and celebrities for business engagements. We provide fans access to VIP fan experiences and content from the athletes that they follow on our platform.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
Our target markets include endorsements, event attendance/speakers and fan experiences. Below is an image of fans bidding on an actual Prohero experience.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
We are FREE to many users and will remain free to them forever. To some business users we operate a subscription model + % of each transaction.
5. Management Team
Steven Ogunro – Chairman. Former Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley investment banker. Founded Capital Mergers And Acquisitions, LLC. Completed over $20 billion valuation of investment banking assignments. Exits include: Cvent (NYSE: CVT) exit through IPO, Zip (Board Member) – IAC completed an investment in Zip, it was ultimately acquired by a leading insurance company. IIT – chairman, acquired by Service Power, Inc.
Mike Little – Head – Technology. Founder WordPress: used on 20% of the world’s websites. WordPress.com is one of the world’s top 10 most trafficked sites. In June 2013 Mike Little was awarded the SAScon’s “Outstanding Contribution to Digital” award for his part in co-founding and developing WordPress. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Little
Joice Maduaka – Founder, Double Olympian and holds the record for winning the most medals of any athlete at the British National Athletics Championships. She is a marketing executive who spent over a decade winning multiple gold medals at national and international events. https://prohero.com/profile/joice-maduaka : 2011 – 200m National Indoor Champion, 2010 – 4×400 Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist, 2010 – 200m Commonwealth Games Finalist, 2010 – 60m National Indoor Champion, 2010 – 200m National Indoor Champion, 2010 – 100m National Outdoor Champion, 2009 – 100m National Outdoor Champion, 2009 – 60m National Champion, 2008 – 200m Olympic Games Quarter Finalist, 2007 – 4x100m World Championships Finalist, 2006 – 100m National Outdoor Champion, 2006 – 200m National Champion, 2006 – 4x100m European Championships Finalist 2nd Place, 2002 – 4x100m Commonwealth Games Finalist 2nd Place
1999 – 200m National Champion, 1998 – 100m Commonwealth Games Finalist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joice_Maduaka
Norm Nixon – 2X NBA Champion Lakers Point Guard. 2X All Star and Fox Sports Analyst In game one of the 1983 finals Norm had a violent collision with Andrew Toney of the 76ers early in the first quarter. As he came off the floor, coach Pat Riley asked Nixon “You need a blow?”, to which Nixon replied: “No, a casket.” He would continue to play in game one and game two despite a separated shoulder. He played for the Lakers for six successful seasons and helped the Lakers win NBA championships in 1980 (4–2) and 1982 (4–2), both against the Philadelphia 76ers. During his NBA career, Nixon scored 12,065 points (15.7 points per game) and had 6,386 assists (8.3) in 768 games played. After his NBA career he became a sports agent (at Premier Management Group Inc. and then later Norm Nixon & Associates) representing such clients as Doug Edwards, Samaki Walker, Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, Teddy Dupay, Gary Grant, Gerald Fitch, the NFL’s Peter Warrick, Larry Smith, and Al Wilson, and entertainers such as LL Cool J and TLC. He is currently a Fox Sports Analyst. He took over Jack Haley’s position as studio analyst for all Lakers home games, working alongside studio host Bill McDonald during pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Nixon
Ato Boldon
Mike Little – Founder WordPress: used on 20% of the world’s websites. WordPress.com is one of the world’s top 10 most trafficked sites. Mike Little is an English web developer living in Stockport, England and co-founder of the free and open source web software WordPress along with American Matt Mullenweg. In June 2013 Mike Little was awarded the SAScon’s “Outstanding Contribution to Digital” award for his part in co-founding and developing WordPress. Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg began working together on the development of WordPress, releasing the first version on May 27, 2003. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Little
Julianne Kennedy – Recruiting executive. Experience across athletic, financial services sector and healthcare sector.
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
We are VERY supportive of non-profits and active with many. We have tools that help non-profits (charities, schools, organizations, associations etc.) advance their causes through charity auctions, celebrity engagement and more. The second week of August 2016 we will be launching a service at prohero.com/charity-auction for the benefit of nonprofits.