startline pitch
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
16 August 2013
THE ROYAL BABY COMPANY
Turning Potential Into Success
WHAT WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT• What is Startline• The Startline Crowdfund• How it Works • The Olympic Spirit• The Nature of Sport• Sponsorship & Donations• Why Give• Sport Endorsements• Market Analysis• Marketing & Sales Strategy• Financials• Why you should support us
WHAT IS STARTLINE
What is Crowd FundingWikipedia defines Crowd funding as
“the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or
organizations.”
THE STARTLINE CROWDFUNDTURNING POTENTIAL INTO SUCCESS
A Lot of People & Organisations
A Little Money
+ =
Success
SupportingTalent
ATHLETES -
1. Get registered
2. Get verified
3. Go create
4. Go promote
5. Get sponsored
6. Get competing
HOW IT WORKSProcess for fund raising made simple to let athletes focus on raising funds as quickly and easily as possible so they can focus on their ultimate sporting goals. The process involves 6 major steps:
DEFINE WHAT A CAMPAIGN IS
The success of campaigns dependent on athletes relationship with further key stakeholders the donators (fans/investors) who provide finance and facilitators who aid relationship/ between the two:
• Fans/investors – Made of two types with quite different uses/interactions with athletes and Startline.
• Individuals • Brands
• Startline – Is itself affected by/involve relationships with other large facilitators:• Government• Professional bodies
HOW IT WORKS
THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT
A new youth sport strategy for the UK will invest GBP 1 billion in youth sport over the next five years and create 6,000 new community sports clubs.
Places People Play invested GBP 20 million in grassroots sports clubs to benefit 377 community spor ts projects across England.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games in sp i red over 2 ,000 community projects designed to educate young people in the UK about sport, health & fitness, art and Olympic values.
Britain Creating a Sporting Legacy
THE NATURE OF SPORT
• The nature of Sports is that there are winners and losers
• Whilst a number of sports and athlete’s are set to benefit from the upsurge in interest due to 2012 London Olympics, a number are set to lose out on the majority of funding with some receiving no funding at all.
• Examples Include
• Basketball - Funding cut to Zero
• Table Tennis - Funding Cut to Zero
• Volleyball - Funding cut from £4.5m to £400,000
• Wrestling - Funding Cut to Zero
• Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/20780450
• Hence, there are a number of sports and sportspeople whose funding has been drastically affected and this is where Startline steps in to help them realise their dreams.
• 74 per cent of UK adults agree that the Paralympic Games has shown the world how to treat people with disabilities with respect and equality. There is a surge in British Pride and support for sport for able bodied and disabled sportspeople.
Most frequently reported motivations for making donations were
• feeling compassion for those in need (90%),
• wanting to help a cause in which the donor personally believes (86%),
• and wanting to make a contribution to the community (80%).
The relationship between giving and altruism, specifically empathy-induced as a motive is noted by many respected psychologists.
The Story holds the Key
The Relationship is
Important
Personalisation Regular
Updates & Gratitude
Keep us Giving
WHY WE GIVE
WHY SPONSORS GIVESponsors and the “Sponsored” both have key goals to achieve via the partnership.
Corporate sponsors receive multiple benefits from their sponsorship• A return on investment with extensive exposure across the site
and social media channels.
• Celebrities have been used for endorsements since the 18th Century and with Startline, Sponsors now have the opportunity to help create celebrities to drive future endorsements.
• The benefits of rewards and endorsements from Sportspeople with a well defined Endorsements work as consumers attribute certain behaviours of the endorser onto the product.
• The altruistic benefit of helping to unlock potential & share success.
• To be seen to help turn dreams into reality.
• To create a brand association and a direct relationship with the stars of tomorrow.
• To create a relationship with consumers by supporting the “crowd”.
Personality Fit Theory – Dees, Benner & Ferreira 2010
Sponsor’sGoals
Sponsor’sBenefits
SponsoredPersons Benefits
SponsoredPersons Goals
BenefitExchange
CROWD FUNDING FOR SPORTSThe Market Overview✦ $1.5B raised by CFP’s in 2011, $2.8B in 2012 and $5.1B in 2013.
✦ Over 500 CFP’s in 2012 with over 9000 CFP related domains registered.
✦ Some existing crowdfunding platforms for Sports
✴ RallyMe
✴ Sportfunder
✴ ISupportSports
✴ MakeaChamp
✴ GoSponsorme
✴ ThrillPledge
✴ Sportaroo
✴ Sportyfunder
✦ However, crowdfunding for sport remains a small niche compared to the overall volume of funds flowing through CFP’s.
HARMFUL
INTERNAL
STRENGTHS Elite level athletesIndividual credentials Focused offeringProfessional partnerships -----------------------Captive market National interest Consumer engagement --------------------------Longer timelineNot for profit Positive Press
WEAKNESSES
Not for profit Niche market No guarantees Easily copied Public Popular sport resentment Lack of Control Legal
EXTERNAL
OPPORTUNITIES
Community engagement Increased brand Olympic legacy Increased offering Peer network Expanded markets
THREATS
CompetitorsAlternative crowd-funding models Economic downturn Open accessInvestors
SWOT ANALYSIS
PEST ANALYSIS
POLITICAL:
CIC’s Diminishing/shifting funding Olympic legacy
ECONOMIC:
Economic downturn Inflation Expenses Start Up Costs
SOCIAL:
Public awareness Obesity concern Olympic Legacy CSR
TECHNOLOGICAL:
Platform development Maintenance/Innovation Developing Sports Technology Research
ENVIRONMENTAL:
Seasonal effects Specialist facilities More Active
LEGAL:
Contractual agreements/legal liabilities Sponsorship/funding regulations Child laws
• Brand keywords: Human. Passionate. Honest. Genuine. Accessible.
• Target audiences
• 1) Athletes – marketing to them should be straightforward, we are giving them a chance of a big break after all!
• 2) Business Donors & Sponsors – Corporate social responsibility and increased sense of accountability means that a positive image is crucial. To be part of Startline will give them an edge!
• 3) Individual Donors – people who choose to support our athletes by giving personal donations
MARKETING: BRAND & TARGET CUSTOMERS
MARKETING STRATEGY
• SOSTAC & a cohesive marketing strategy across all platforms are keys to our success……..
• KPIs also crucial… - Google analytics, likes, shares, followers, retweets, clicks & views
Site sponsorship: 3 tiers
• homepage sponsorship (naming rights & wallpaper)
• sport homepage sponsorship
• athlete’s page sponsorship
Event sponsorship
• An option we will give to sponsors, to organise/ hold events on their behalf and sponsor tournaments featuring the site’s athletes. Positive PR for all!
SALES STRATEGY
By year 3 Startline can:
• Re-pay investors
• Move towards eliminating commission fees
• Create an online amateur sport community
• Bring recognition and awareness to a broad range of international sports
As a CIC (Community Interest Company) and a not-for profit, Startline does have the best interest of athletes in mind
THE FUNDAMENTALS
Pre-Launch 2014 2015 2016
No of Listings (Sportspeople) 75 200 400
Revenue - Commission 25,000 50,000 100,000
Revenue - Advertising 50,000 200,000 400,000
Sales and Marketing Expense 46,000 25,000 35,000 45,000
General and Administrative Expense 30,500 44,500 55,500 68,500
Employment Expense 32,666 96,000 100,000 104,000
EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) -109,166 -90,500 59,500 282,500
THE FINANCIALS
WHY SHOULD YOU INVEST IN STARTLINE
Startline provides investors with
•A singular opportunity to add another “first” to their investment portfolio – a crowd funding platform for sports like no other in the UK.
•An opportunity to be seen as a visionary via the association with an innovative & truly disruptive model for sports funding.
•An opportunity to help turn dreams into reality and sporting success.
•The opportunity to be involved with true Social Enterprise.
Turning Potential Into Success
Ready, Sponsor, Go….