This program accepts applications from companies and entrepreneurs who wish to participate until August this year, and finalists who have passed the document screening will make a presentation in October, and the final participating companies and persons will be decided. Selected companies and entrepreneurs will be able to participate in the R & D pilot program in the priority areas described below with the NBA for half a year starting in November.
It is difficult to work in the “sports x technology” area because of the technologies and services of tech companies, which tend to be “seed-driven” on the premise of using them. If this tendency is too strong, customer needs and problems to be solved will be left behind, resulting in a service that fans will not look at. What it should be is an “issue-driven” that starts with the problems faced by fans and sports organizations and tries to solve them with technology.
This becomes even more difficult when tech companies are partnered in with a sponsorship framework. Because tech companies become customers of sports organizations, they have no choice but to prioritize the intentions of tech companies (not necessarily sports business experts). I don’t want to say as much as possible to hurt the customers who pay for it.
For this reason, apart from the sponsorship framework, sports organizations are also trying to regain control of technology utilization in collaboration with seed accelerators in the United States.
For example, MLB Minnesota Twins launched the technology accelerator program “Minnesota Twins Accelerator” in April this year in collaboration with Techstars. It plans to collaborate with 30 startups in three years to improve the fan experience centered on its home base Target Field. At MLB, this will be the second attempt for the team following the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Techstars is a seed accelerator that finances more than 2,300 startups, 12 of which have grown into unicorns, privately held startups worth more than $ 1 billion. Every year, more than 300 startups from all over the world participate in accelerator programs with large companies provided by the company, and in Japan, HONDA and Rakuten have partnered with the company to implement accelerator programs.
The company’s programs typically offer $ 20,000 in seed investment and $ 100,000 in convertible bonds in exchange for a 7-10% stake, and (2) the company’s network of more than 10,000 people in 150 countries. It is said that it is common to provide access to (3) demo days and other PR opportunities for external investors.
The feature of the accelerator program is that it is possible to judge the practicality of the technology in a neutral and flexible manner because the relationship with the tech company does not become a customer relationship.
