In part, this expresses a common public perception of startups: that branding and marketing are the critical early steps. It's the idea that everything starts with SEO and social media. Baseball teams don't have track records of disrupting industries...they have a fucking antitrust exemption and live off tax payer subsidized stadium deals. They all take the 3~0 pitch and don't bunt with two out. It's conservative money jumping on the startup hype and cashing in their star power
My idea: An app to let you post Dodgers watch parties, to help out the majority of Los Angeleans who don't have access to the Dodgers' TV package.
From the bottom of the FAQ page:<p>>The Accelerator model gives you the opportunity to pitch investors, venture capitalists, influential industry leaders, and R/GA executives and clients at the end of the program during Demo Day. As a benefit of participating in the program, each company will receive $20,000 as well as work space, connections, and deep mentorship in exchange for 6% equity. In addition, companies accepted to the program have the option to accept a $100,000 convertible debt note. This provides even more resources for you to get your ideas off the ground.
I would love to do a sportsbook startup, take it legit. If only the US would change its antiquated laws, it could revolutionize the industry and prevent the rampant fraud and shady business practices of current international online sportsbooks.<p>I wrote a blog post on this topic as well:<p>Online sportsbooks... A security and fraud nightmare.
<a href="http://justink.svbtle.com/online-sports-books-a-security-nightmare" rel="nofollow">http://justink.svbtle.com/online-sports-books-a-security-nig...</a>
I am wondering ... How will a DSL for trading on betting exchanges + a trading/backtesting engine will be perceived in this context? I have my doubts for even applying because the sole purpose of our software is "educated" gambling. In the past applying for accelerator in Europe did not go very well because gambling is quite regulated here, although I am seeing this more of a different financial instrument.
This...actually makes a lot of sense given the Dodgers' history. They were one of the first teams to really recognize that a strong farm system was essential to a strong team. Developing a good pool of young talent in sports tech and sports entertainment like this would make sure that the Dodgers are one of the first beneficiaries of products that come out of this accelerator.
You have to understand that baseball is basically ass-backwards in everything. Even if the terms aren't great, this is revolutionary that a team would look OUTSIDE for more information. This is becoming more common with the smarter teams but the vast majority of teams would NEVER think to do something like this. They presume to have all the answers in all realms of the business, in general.
It's interesting that an organization like the L.A. Dodgers has interest in something like this. It's also worth noting how startlingly similar this is to the YC-model of funding: $120k, 3 months, demo-day...