Recast: Interview with Troy Ruediger, Founder of Starters
24 min readIn this awesome recast, we discuss with Troy Ruediger how Starters got founded and the premise behind growing the sport and technology industry. Really cool interview. He also was a QB a the NUC Sports camps when he was in high school, so its great to come full circle.
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When I listen to audible I'm not cooking Dinner for one I'm on Horseback Galloping across the Scottish moors Towards my one true love there through The Mist I see my beloved Kilt flapping In the breeze the fibers of his shirt Struggle against his bulging muscles as He takes me from my horse and my Frittata go to audible.com slstart trial And your first download is free audible Stories that surround you [Music] The following is a n NFL draft Bible [Music] Exclusive welcome back this is Dave Schuman live talking today with Stardust Founder Troy rudiger About sports and Technology got about a Half hour show for you again brought to You by nfldraft bible.com and nuuc Sports magag get 50% off for lifetime Membership go to Newports magag or Nfldraft bible.com and put in football 2016 as your code the sports Tech Guys We've been on a little Hiatus this is The first show of the of the actual fall All kinds of things going on in the Technology field right now um a lot Going on with respects to we have the NFL that just Started um so some new technologies that Coming into play with respect to that uh We have a bunch of stuff um with respect To virtual reality and augment the
Reality and I thought a real interesting Thing that has happened with the Pokemon Uh stuff which is originally was a major Obviously a major windfall from a Financial Standpoint um and a huge Fad in my Opinion of its growth and we'll see if It continues to to stay but it's now 27th on uh Apple an actual Apple uh iTunes Downloads which means there's a Significant drop in the amount of people That are going on uh Pokemon and playing The augmented real the game but Obviously many companies now are Scrambling to put stuff together because Of that uh the reason why in sports and Technologies all kinds of things going On that are going to become very very Very prevalent in the next couple of Years uh Twitter is is is flirting right Now with live streaming agement with Apple TV that could be interesting in Combining some sports uh streaming Rights and sports streaming is becoming Huge from the NFL level all the way down To the high school level it is something That is radically beginning to change The game uh from that standpoint the Second uh thing that we have as far as News and what's going on uh today from a Sports and Technology standpoint is the Idea of Virtual referees so having uh referees
That are assisting the game live virtual Standpoint um and referees that may be Replaced to a certain extent by the uh Virtual reality technology that's that's A new thing that's that's coming about Uh soccer and emls are going to be using Uh live video reviews uh on on Everything they just announced that um So there's all kinds of stuff going on There obviously in the analytics area uh Motion technology and data which is Becoming bigger and bigger in the Training space um people are now tagging Those motion tracking devices not just To track uh number of steps they take Anymore but the impact of their worker To help them work smarter in the gym and Wearables are becoming more and more the Norm from a technology standpoint uh in The athletic Arena uh and then finally I I think of some of the interesting news Of the Day uh just covering a broad scope Before we we have on Our Guest Um we are talking About the University of Texas going on Unveiling its new mobile app for sports Fans and how that's going to begin to Impact things um uh from a standpoint of What is mobile technology going to be And from now and going forward from a Virtual standpoint from augmented Reality standpoint and most importantly From a fan interaction standpoint we
Want the information now we want it live We want it uh up todate and a lot of the Colleges who have used some of the older Technologies with respect to to mobile Devices are going to have to upgrade That experience because we want to be Able to get our our replays immediately We want to be able to get uh our Information immediately we want to be Able to get our score updates Immediately and I'm continually Frustrated with the ideal that it takes So long for me to get that information From many mobile devices I don't want to Only have to go to nfl.com to get that Information I want to be able to go to The team's personal mobile app to get That information and in the college Standpoint I 100% want to because the NCA and the conferences do not have Anywhere near the technology to be able To give me everything I need on my team So without further Ado I'm going to Bring on uh Troy rudiger and we're going To talk a little bit about what's going On in the sports Tech space what's going On Troy David how are you thanks for Having me again I appreciate it ah no Problem no problem we we're kicking back Off The Fall season we took a little Hiatus uh from Sports Tech and uh we Gave it a little time for some new and Interesting things to happen and I want To get you back on to talk about those
Things um you know I've watched your Some of your uh Snapchat take over um You know there's a bunch of wildly Interesting things going on in sports And technology and happening at a very Fast rate with a lot of companies that No one probably knows about so uh with That you know why don't you give me a Little bit roundabout of some of the Exciting things that you guys are doing At starters and and some of the Interesting things you're Seeing yeah well thank you yeah thanks Again for having me on um obviously with With football teamon kicking off here Kick off Um sorry there's Echo the um the the Focus has been on uh you know fan Engagement so the fantasy sports uh Daily draft um you know we're seeing Even despite uh the legal issues and uh Kind of uh issues that the fantasy Sports industry has been facing um Leading into the football season F will Just rais like $270 million um kind of Gearing up so um it's exciting to see a Lot yeah again a lot of the focus has Kind of been on the fantasy sports and The betting side of things um and uh Yeah that's for us that that's kind of Been the main focus is the fan Engagement type stuff how can you Leverage data to make uh The Fan Experience on game day more pleasurable
More desirable um there's a company that We're working with currently hun Swinson Who host a number of our different Snapchat takeovers and the first look Which is a reoccurring Sports Tech Wrapup series on our Snapchat account uh His company paranoid fan basically Collects data uh about game day Experience so you can go on their app And before you enter the stadium it'll Show you points where you can go park Your car where you can set up for Tailgate where you can find uh food Beverages um different things like that So everything from you know buying my Ticket uh leading up to the game and Then the time you have uh before the Game and then actually you know Attending the event uh outside and Inside the stadium and then afterwards Uh people are really trying to collect As much data as possible and learn how These fans are interacting with these Experiences and how they can basically Improve those experiences so that's kind Of that's again I think leading into the Football season that's been the focus of A majority of the the sports Tech space And people working in It what what's been the Reception um to I I guess from are they Going to the colleges are they going to The NFL teams uh to to to set up these Programs and what's been the reception
To It yeah it's interesting we were Actually having this discussion the Other day um you know if you look at Tech Industries specifically outside of Sports um one of the main metrics that Tech companies look at is acquisition so How can I acquire a user to come use my Product um the sports industry is really Different in that um you know as a Organization as a business um you're not Really looking to acquire users you have Fans you have a a built-in user base um And it doesn't really you know it's not Conducive to um the teams being willing To kind of find new ways or more Efficient ways to essentially acquire Users it's more of a um you know I have These fans um and they're just kind of Built in there's nothing I really have To do extra outside of what I'm already Doing so the reception on the on the Organizational side I think has been um You know these tech companies Approaching and saying I have this more Efficient way that you can leverage Selling season tickets um you know Making an experience better for fans When they come to your games and the Reception there has been kind of you Know I'm already doing that know I'm Selling out season tickets every every Year why do I need to add anything else
Um so that's that's kind of the Perception that we're hoping to change a Little bit say you know these teams they Don't have CRM systems for selling Season tickets um any data to determine Who their fans are and how they can Leverage uh you know that data in terms Of selling them specific things um and Optimizing uh their current market um And it's just kind of yeah I think it'll Be gradual kind of Step by Step really Trying to kind of push for um you know Teams and organizations being more Willing to adopt these new tech and and New systems and and processes for Selling and and engaging with their fans And their their fan base so I think That's the the the key distinction there Between the sports industry and other Industries uh in Tech is um you know you Don't have to acquire users again it's Just kind of a built-in fan base so I Think the the push in Tech and the other Things like paranoid fans has really Been coming from the fan side of things So people who are fans who also Understand Tech have been kind of more Pushing uh Tech into sports outside of You know more so than the organizations And the teams Themselves um you know what's what's Interesting about what you said now is That is that primarily they working with The college side versus the NFL because
I would be I guess the do do NFLs not Have CRM systems involved in selling Um their tickets really no they don't It's insane I mean it's it's really I Mean you go I mean we were speaking with Someone the other day who has a a Venture fund um who makes a lot of or Looks to make a lot of investments in The early stage Sports Tech startups um Specifically in in kind of making the Business aspect of of running a Sports Organization more efficient and um you Know they're meeting with the NBA um you Know certain NBA teams and they're still Using Excel spreadsheets to kind of uh Keep tabs on people that are buying Season tickets and and uh and things Like that so it's it's again I think Being that the focus hasn't been Acquisition for sports teams they're not Really forced to find new uh and more Efficient ways to kind of Leverage uh Their fan base um yeah it's they There're there's no need to for them From their Perspective that is absolutely mind Boing because they sell out they don't Leverage the opportunity to build a Relationship and don't know who their Actual don't know a ton of things about Their actual customer the way that a Traditional business want to know would Want to know like you know Amazon would Want to know everything they could um
About everything there is to do about Their customer so they could sell more So Theoretically these teams be leaving a Lot of money on the Table oh of course without a doubt I Mean the just because they're selling Season tickets doesn't mean they're Selling to everyone who would actually Buy tickets I mean there are people who Um you know buy one off say my Girlfriend wants to treat me to a game Um and purchase tickets for me she's not Going to be the same person that's Buying tickets over a certain period of Time so they can understand that you Know this this is more of a one-off type Of thing they might you know send an Email back to her and re-engage uh During the time of maybe say my birthday Um or you know different things going on Um some of these other things that you Can easily this information about Customers and consumers in terms of fans For sports teams uh if you understand This information you can really engage Outside of how can we just you know we Sold out all over season tickets all Right we're done for the rest of the Season um I think without a doubt I mean They're missing out on a lot of um user Acquisition and a lot of Money yeah I guess VIP packages and and And those kind of things uh sure um
Which they they probably do a little but They could probably get a lot more and I Mean that's that's interesting because That tells me that Sports is really uh a Boom that in a lot of cases is just Beginning so um yeah yeah Definitely I mean outside of outside of The users as well I mean there there's Just a tremendous amount of opportunity In terms of different Tech that can be Applied outside of fan engagement I mean Efficiency with the business side of of Running a Sports organization efficiency With um operating your teams from a Player perspective uh you know and in Terms of everything I mean we're just Seeing um how Tech can really play into And and improve the sports Industry now when I go to a Game the thing that frustrates me is That there's no coordination of any one Thing to another the one thing they have With technology is scanning your ticket That seems to be what they care about um But outside the Stadium uh you know where I park um if I Have a parking pass making that a Smoother process H how could technology Really uh speed up you know the way that We get into games the way that we Interact the way that we find out about Um you know which might be there's Nothing more hate to going out and Walking around the whole stadium to find
The the apparel stand that has what I Want right because sometimes different Ones have different things but you don't Know what's that what H how can Technology begin to help That yeah I think um there's a few Different things um particularly just in This last week we've seen um the 49ers Actually um actually excuse me it's the Dolphins that partnered with uh uh Uber To you know uh bring fans to the game so Uh some sort of partnership with Uber Where Um fans that are going to the Dolphins Game at their new Hard Rock stadium get Some sort of discount and they actually Have like a tailgating package where They give them all kinds of dolphins Gear um Amazon Prime actually partner With the 49ers um where they're uh actually Delivering uh their uh products to People at the uh at the game so like as At their tail park at the uh at the Tailgating they can get stuff delivered To them um so different things like that I think from a fan Um engagement perspectives in terms of Kind of going to the game Um inside the game and outside the game Afterwards and before uh there's a Number of different things that we can Do uh the stronghold that the teams have In terms of actually inside of the game
And fan engagement there is is kind of The difficulty U that Tech is facing um Is like how can we infiltrate and kind Of help these teams uh make that Fan Experience more enjoyable um and I think We're just seeing you know kind of like The tip of that in terms of how we can Leverage Tech another thing is obviously I mentioned before is paranoid fan where They're collecting data um about the uh Grounds of the stadium like where can I Park where can I um you know buy gear For the game where can I set up the Tailgate where can I purchase food and Beverages um things like that so I think Over time it'll just be a culmination of These number number of different things Um and we'll kind of see where where Things fit um and then the other Component of that is these new stadiums That are being built with Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and and Levi Stadium Out here in California um it's how can We incorporate Tech actually into the Stadium uh and leverage that Tech and Make the the F experien enjoyable so um A few different things but I think we're Just hitting hitting the The breaking point I think in terms of Really getting teams to adopt new tech And be willing to try these new Things you know what would be cool I I'm Sure fantasy sport uh sports fans would Love this people want to go to the game
Right but if they go you know it's hard To track everything uh it would be so Cool if they had some sort of technology That allows throughout the state and People to to see what they're doing uh You know in fantasy give give um uh give An update of you know what what players Stats St within the stadium like you you Only get your team right but you be you Barely get information about that you Got to go to your phone and then it's so Hard to get um in most now Stanford and Probably the 49ers this is not the case But a lot of stadiums the WiFi is awful Uh if it's existent you know how how do You go about improving those kind of Things I mean that's a fundamental issue You know and when i' I've been to Stanford Games been to 49 game they have Decent you know pretty decent Wi-Fi so You can do some some kind of interaction But Mo almost everyone else does Not yeah yeah no I mean it's uh it's Definitely one of the difficulties BC uh With with trying to incorporate Tech Into game day experiences um the lack of Internet connection um that's there's Actually a few different companies that I know are working kind of in that space Now um trying to deliver better internet Service to fans in game Um you know and with these other newer Stadiums they're actually building in um You know places into the seats where you
Can there's an iPad or or whatever it is To be actually connected um but I think In terms of of a majority of people in Tech that are working in on fan Engagement and The Fan Experience on Game day are kind of focused more on how Can I um you know leverage data to make Uh you know the the physical experience Of going to game better so how can I um You know deliver food to that person Their seats how can I get them uh Information in terms of when's the best Time to get up and go to the bathroom or Uh how can I see the game better or see It through a different light in terms of Uh data that I can use to make the game More interesting um so I I think it's That that's one of those things that are That's really interesting in terms of uh What we'll see in the future um will it Be me going into a game looking at my Phone the entire time or will it be just A more enjoyable experience and and will I be able to go and and really attend And and kind of cut off from my phone And and you know other connected Devices right absolutely and then that's That's obviously a a big issue Especially for Snapchat and we Instagram Stories and we're we're doing everything That we can live within ourselves um and To be actual enjoy get the chance to Enjoy the experience of a game the way It should be is sometimes different what
What is um I guess it's a good question For you the battle with Instagram Stories vers uh Snapchats uh um stories I guess uh yeah what is that battle There and you know I'll give a good Example I go on Instagram stories and With some of my bigger followings I post A a something live on that and it gets For me 10 times the amount of views that Snapchat does is you know what do you Think is is gonna happen in the future With those two beginning to Compete yeah I think you know over time We've seen uh especially with with Social media um these companies larger Companies that have an audience already Built in um they they all just kind of Do do what each other does so if you Look at every single feature across Twitter Snapchat uh Facebook Instagram They all kind of uh jump on board once Someone builds a feature that uh you Know they see their audience enjoying or Or benefiting from they all kind of come On board so I wouldn't even be surprised If if Twitter announced some sort of um Story feature similar to Snapchat or or Instagram there's actually news or or Kind of rumors um that Apple was working On something themselves um similar to Snapchat or Instagram stories um but Yeah it doesn't surprise me at all I Think it's just it's just another Outlet Um we saw few years ago I think Mark
Zuckerberg actually wanted to buy Snapchat um the CEO uh Spiegel said no And that was kind of their their um Their way of of kind of combating that Was they couldn't buy Snapchat so they Just built it U but again I think over Time we'll see all these uh social media Apps uh and businesses will catch on and Kind of do the same thing that everyone Else Does yeah and I think that's the danger You uh Vine at one time was a Rockstar uh social media app and right Uh when Instagram became and Snapchat Really came to the Forefront that Changed dramatically so yeah could Snapchat be in jeopardy Because of in stories is there is there Room for multiple players in that Industry will people get tired over time Do you think of going okay let me post This one same thing just to Instagram Stories that I just posted the Snapchat Two seconds ago because that's basically What I find myself Doing right you know yeah No Capturable right no I think it's you and A lot of other people too I think um and Terms of Snapchat kind of being in Jeopardy I definitely don't see that Happen I mean they have been killing it Insanely uh they've been doing insanely Well uh I saw projection the other day
It said like 2017 Snapchat's looking uh At like a billion dollars in Revenue um So which is incredible I mean that's Outside of the money that they've Already raised and kind that's Revenue That they're projecting on bringing in So Snapchat's not going anywhere um if If Instagram stories does kind of kill Uh the the desire for people to jump on Snapchat and make stories I think They'll find something else to do um but Uh yeah no I think you know I I think um Snapchat's definitely here to stay uh And if it's not stories that they'll Find something else for Sure yeah there's no well I've noticed That they've become huge with like Breaking like gossip almost you know Through snapchat their cele ities that's Kind of I've seen as a interesting Niche Which yeah Definitely which I think is is going to Continue to uh be interesting especially With Facebook launching That Celebrity Platform thing which I don't think Really is taken off um right the way They they probably have hoped because Snapchat those celebrities are already On there and they're just snap it and Why why go use another thing you know And right and that's you know that's That's become um uh some of the Interesting stuff with techn what with With starters tell me tell me what's hot
With starters right now you know what Are you guys focusing On yeah so we're I'm actually out in Los Angeles right now I've been out here for The past two weeks about a week and a Half now um my co-founder of starters is Is based full-time out here so I came Out here to kind of he's mainly working On the products of starters. the website And kind of how we're engaging with our Community been focused on that so it's Been good for me to come out here and And kind of help them out look at the Product and and see where we are how we Can improve over the next few months We've been taking a ton of meetings We've been meeting with the Dodgers Accelerator um a bunch of Angel Investors and people out here in La um Tomorrow we're actually headed up to San Francisco so we're going to be at Tech Crunch disrupt uh we'll meet with some People out there upload VR which is a Basically a community that's dedicated To um advancing virtual reality um it's Sim it's probably one of the most Similar things to starters in terms of What exists today I would say if we had To kind of uh you know describe starters In terms of something that exists Already and and allow other people to Understand kind of what we see it as Being is definitely upload VR so we'll Meet with them um but yeah we we have a
Ton of stuff going on we have H Snapchat We're we're doing really well at U we're We're really focused on kind of being Consistent with that so Hunter Winson as I mentioned the one of the founders of Paranoid fan he's doing um Snapchat Takeover is a reoccurring episode uh Called First Look every Sunday on Snapchat he goes through and uh picks The top 10 sports Tech news stories and Kind of goes over them discusses them And um it's it's news stories from the Community so every day people come and Post sporttech news stories on starters. Go they upload and comment all these Stories and then at the end of the week Hunter uh goes through and picks the top 10 and we all discuss those um so Definitely check that out at the Starters TV on Snapchat um and uh yeah We're again we're focused on on the Product and and improving over these Next few months and really continuing to Grow and and really pushing sports or Tech into Sports um I have a question it might Sound crazy how does Starters as a Business what's the business model there I've always car yeah yeah no worries so Yeah that's a question we get a lot so Um at the time being we're Venture Funded um we were making a little bit of Money um with people actually joining The community so when we started the
Community uh the intention wasn't to Just bring in everyone that we possibly Could we really wanted people that were Engaged in making decisions actually in The sports tech industry um so we were Charging a membership and we said you Know Al the exclusivity is not really Our priority um you know we want people That are actually committed to helping Us grow this community and have a stake In uh building a beneficial community so The $9 was kind of a pay wall there was Just an arbitrary number that we set um So everyone you know there wern't people That would join just to join it was People that really wanted to to help us Build a beneficial community so that Kind of got us by for a little bit at The beginning um once we really started To take off and see the engagement with The community and the amount of really Successful and and know bigname people That we had engaged with our community Um interest you know from investors and And people in in Tech uh really you know Heightened so there was people that were Looking to kind of get involved and um So time being we do have a small amount Of venture funds uh from a small Boutique Equity F firm in New York is Funding us um long-term monetization Strategy we're still kind of trying to Figure out whether it's some sort of Consulting uh business where we're
Helping teams find uh opportunities with Different tech Companies um or it's some sort of Membership be uh you know we're kind of Bouncing those ideas around but we're We're really I think over the past week And a half and just us being out here The whole team from starters is out here In La uh We've really been able to kind Of nail down what it is our our value at Um is to people in sports and people in Tech and um we're finally starting to to Really realize and understand what it is Our value is and how we can hopefully Monetize that and then continue to Sustain because we want to you know we We're very passionate about what we're Doing and we love um you know pushing Tech into sports and and we want to Obviously continue to do that so in Order to do that like as any business Does you have to make money in some way So um I will when we have that Monetization strategy strategy lock down I I'll make sure to let you Know very cool it's cool that you can go And uh be able to to build something While you're try to figure that out Everybody has that Lu good that you guys Are in that that that position so well Iate yeah I I really appreciate you Coming on and and uh uh going through It's always great to get your Insight um Your Insight is definitely I mean you're
One of the Forefront people in sports Tech um which is definitely an emerging Marketplace everyone's trying to figure Out right now right so um cool very cool GL thank you foring on tell tell Everybody thank you so much for having Me what's that yeah where could Everybody find you yeah thank you again So much for having me I appreciate it It's always good speaking with you um Definitely follow me on Twitter uh Troy Rudiger Ru d g r um and that's probably The best place you can you can follow The starters account too on Twitter Which is Starters HQ um and that's the Best place place to kind of keep up with Everything we have going on so again Appreciate it it's always good speaking With you I really enjoy your Conversation so um looking forward to Till the next time no doubt thanks tro Have a great day awesome David thanks You Too that wraps up the sports Tech show We had Troy rudiger on uh a great quick Episode 30 minutes of quick hitting Information some round about news in the Sports Tech field uh touched on some Great topics especially that I always Intrigued about Which social media is Going to win it's always you know it's Amazing to me um how much money gets Spent in the space it's amazing to me How people are working to get traction
And then I was just really I thought we Touched on with the CRM systems and the Sports teams for your Tech guys out There there's a business opportunity Right there a real live business Opportunity to help get a lot of these Colleges and pro teams on CR systems That can integrate with what they're Doing so they can take tackle more Opportunities have a great day till next Week on the sports Tech guys this is David Schuman signing [Music] Off the following is a n NFL Jack Bible [Music] Exclusive for those of you who follow us Make sure you check us out out at ITunes if you like the show please give Me some Stars give me some love give me Some comments and every little bit helps We appreciate that you can go find us Right at Nu media on iTunes we're also On some of your favorite favoring Listening platforms um like tune in and Soon to be on iHeart radio Again David Schuman we love to see you then next Time thank you When I listen to audible I'm not cooking Dinner for one I'm on Horseback Galloping across the Scottish moors Towards my one true love there through The Mist I see my beloved Kilt flapping In the breeze the fibers of his shirt Struggle against his bulging muscles as
He takes me from my horse and my Fata go to audible.com SL start trial And your first download is free audible Stories that surround You every day there are so many missed Business opportunities sorry left that File on my work computer so many Barriers to working together sorry can't Access that file on my phone but today Microsoft Office 365 offers lots of new Features to help you be productive Anywhere like editing office files on Phones and tablets easy oneclick video Conferencing a free terabyte of secured Cloud storage sorry wait I mean really Wow that that's awesome go to try office Now.com to start your free 30-day Business trial of Office 365 that's Troff now.com [Music]
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