1) What is exactly that you do, and what is your start-up about?
Capture and manage data points in video for sports, entertainment and media
Using AI/ML to track media, clip actions and highlights and customize content for each user.
2) What is the problem that your start-up is trying to resolve?
The problems solved by iSPORTiSTiCS range from the high cost of media workflow, the lack of visibility in media data or even democratizing the production of content for everyone.
3) What inspired you to start this particular business?
The sports sector still has difficulties with the use of artificial intelligence, and we see it as an opportunity for growth within the sector.
4) When was your start- up founded? What stage is your startup currently at?
The startup was founded in 2018 and is now in the maturity stage.
5) Are you the sole founder? If not, how did your team meet? Who does what on your team?
We are three founders:
Vini Gholmie, commercial department
Rafael Vieira, operations department
Mauricio Arima, CTO
6) What is your start-up business model, and how does it work?
Pay-per-use business model, with the consumer paying by the hour
7) What exactly differentiates you from your competitor in the marketplace? Can you name a few?
Mainly the business model, where you pay monthly in larger amounts, such as WSC, The SPOT, Grabyo.
8) At what stage is your start up currently at? (Early-stage, Growth stage, Established)
Growth stage
9) Can you discuss any significant milestones that your start-up has achieved so far?
70% reduction in customer operating costs, 65% agility in internal processes and increasingly happy customers
10) Can you provide some information about your target market and its size?
We are increasingly focused on large media companies such as Warner, Globo, ESPN.
11) How do you acquire customers or users, and what is your customer acquisition strategy?
Content Creation, PR, and Sales with a Solid Network
12) What are your main revenue streams?
The main source of revenue is direct sales.
13) Have you received any funding or investment for your start-up? If yes, can you share the details?
Two investment rounds raised US$2 million.
14) How do you plan to scale your business in the future?
Become scalable through API integrations with media companies.
15) What are the biggest challenges you have faced so far, and how did you overcome them?
Structuring processes and deliveries with a lean team
16) How will you measure success for your start-up or the achievements that your startup has reached?
The main point is to stabilize the CAC/LTV ratio by measuring growth through this main KPI.
17) How do you prioritize and manage your resources, such as time and budget?
Prioritization is carried out using the Kanban methodology and Trello software. The focus of investment is to increase the team’s ability to create projects, in addition to investments in marketing to increase the company’s visibility.
18) What is your marketing and branding strategy?
The ABM methodology is used by the marketing and sales team to choose accounts and keys and create specific materials for target companies. Another strategy used is public relations, which involves disseminating the brand through media portals.
19) How did customers/users find out about you?
Through networking, SEO and social media content
20) Who is your target audience?
Broadcasters and federations
21) Regarding your marketing strategy, do you use social media, and if so, is it in-house or outsourced?
In-house
22) Have you faced any regulatory challenges?
We do not face any regulatory challenges.
23) Can you discuss any partnerships or collaborations you have established?
We develop partnerships with different players in the market, aiming for referrals from OTT companies to consultancies like EY.
24) What are the key things about your industry that outsiders don’t understand or misperceive?
The perennial need to create content to engage with Gen Z and the importance of data in media tracking.
25) How do you handle feedback and incorporate it into your product or service development?
We have a product backlog customer suggest improvements, and we put them in development.
26) What is the biggest missing feature, meaning the one thing that customers/users keep asking for?
Improvement in the video search process for building an archive.
27) Are you going to internationalize? If so, how are you planning to expand internationally?
As it is a web browser platform we work internationally with clients all over the world.
28) Can you share any testimonials or success stories from your customers or users?
“The use of AI for production and processing tasks streamlined processes commonly human-centered for FPF. Technology assisted us in (mass) producing highlight reels, scaling all the way up to 40 matches in a single day. The agility and efficiency found in the platform were crucial.”
Bernardo Itri, CCO at FPF
29) How do you ensure the security and privacy of users’ data?
We do not obtain sensitive data; however, our platform uses security to protect customers’ video within Glazier on AWS.
30) How do you stay updated on industry trends and adapt your strategies?
We use three strategies to adapt to industry trends:
1 – Company News Committee: We meet once a month in an internal meeting to talk about market news.
2 – Events: We always seek to participate in various events in the area, seeking market insights.
3 – Compilation of market weaknesses: With constant conversations with customers, we managed to map the difficulties of the sector.
This way, we can map within the CRM and insert new ideas into the development backlog.
31) Are there any patents or trademarks associated with your start-ups?
We don’t have patents related to our startup.
32) Can you discuss your pricing strategy and how you determine your product’s value?
Billing through pay-per-use. charging per hour of processing, one hour of the solution will cost 25 dollars.
Lowering the barrier of entry for customers to realize the real value of the platform.
33) How do you plan to build and maintain customer loyalty?
We have a customer success team where onboarding is carried out, monitoring is done with customers, and in addition to carrying out usage analyzes measuring recency, frequency and monetization of customers.
34) What are your plans for expanding your team in the future?
In the short term, the acquisition of more developers will speed up the platform process.
In the medium and long term, increase the biz-dev team, aiming for traction in the sector.
35) Can you provide examples of any social or environmental initiatives your startup is involved in?
We haven’t developed social work so far.
36) How Do you approach customer support and handle any issues or complaints?
With fortnightly meetings with customers to mitigate possible doubts or difficulties. Building a beneficial relationship with customers
37) What have you learned so far from launching your start-up, and what pointers would you give a person reading this blog who is interested in having a start-up of his own?
The secret is patience, believing in your team, staying and finding the value proposition for the chosen sector.
38) Six months from now, what will be the biggest problem?
Educate the market on the need for data for growth.
39) Are you looking to hire new employees on your team? If so, what job openings do you currently have?
Currently, we aren’t, but in the future, we want to strengthen the development team.
40) Are you looking for start-seed investment or VC funding? If you are looking for funding, where can potential investors contact you?
We are looking for new investors, you can reach us via email: rafael@isportistics.com.
41) How did Coved affect your start-up??
It didn’t affect us.
42) How is Artificial Intelligence (AI)) affecting your industry and your company?
Our solutions are based on artificial intelligence, so it affects us directly.
The video entertainment industry is seeing artificial intelligence as a solution to various problems, such as media tracking or autonomous cuts.
43) Why should we feature you on our blog?
We are an innovative company with growth potential, and promoting companies from emerging countries like Brazil is a great opportunity for recognition.
44) How did you hear about our blog?
At the VivaTech event
