May 16, 2018
New technology from startup ventures is transforming the global sports industry. This Startup Series has introduced over 300 startup companies in the sports technology space to a broader audience by allowing Founders of promising new ventures to tell their story and pitch their idea. 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 inclusion in this series.
This series is supported by Stadia Ventures. If you are a sports technology startup looking for strategic investors, we recommend checking out their upcoming accelerator programs.
Company name: Upper Hand, Inc.
Founder(s): Kevin MacCauley
Headquarters: Indianapolis
Website: https://www.getupperhand.com/
1. What is your elevator pitch?
Upper Hand transforms the way coaches, trainers and sports professionals conduct business. Its powerful, cloud-based mobile platform houses a suite of online tools – such as online scheduling and registration, point-of-sale, automated marketing, reporting, video analysis and more – to help sports businesses of all sizes stay relevant in today’s rapidly-advancing online world.
2. Problem & Solution
Coaches, trainers and sports professionals nationwide were struggling to manage their business and desired a way to escape the administrative vortex, so they could focus more on training athletes. These individuals were also using several different types of tools to handle various aspects of the business, including point-of-sale, camp registration, scheduling, payment processing, video analysis, marketing and so much more.
Upper Hand’s sports software provides a convenient and time-saving solution to help athletes reach their full potential while maximizing revenue possibilities for sports organizations nationwide. By resolving immediate problems with current legacy technology on the marketplace, Upper Hand surpasses the high expectations of its users by saving them an average of 200 minutes each week, contributing to a customer satisfaction rating of 98 percent.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
Upper Hand’s target market includes:
– Clubs, teams, leagues and associations for all sports
– Event operators
– Sports facilities
– Sports training and classes
– Camps and clinics
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
Users pay a subscription to use the software that ranges from $69 to $199 per month. Custom solutions and packages are also available.
5. Management Team – with titles
– Kevin MacCauley, CEO and founder
– Myles Grote, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer
6. Financial Needs: are you currently looking for investment? Have you raised investment already? If so, who are your investors?
Upper Hand has raised a total of $4 million in funding to date. Investors include the following:
– Park Ten Capital
– Elevate Ventures
– Sheets Smith Wealth Management
– Former Finish Line executives Larry Sablosky (Finish Line Co-founder), Steve Schneider (former President &
COO) and Don Courtney (former President of E-Commerce)
– Additional existing Upper Hand shareholders based in Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., and Greensboro, North Carolina
