Javelin 1.1

THE WINNING SOURCE FOR SPORTS TECH PLAYMAKERS 

VOL. 1.1 

GEORGIA TECH 

SPORTS TECHNOLOGY 

ROUNDTABLE 

SPORTS EXEC 

BRIAN KOPP 

SHARES HIS THOUGHTS 

ON THE INDUSTRY'S 

MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS

04. 

07. 

08. 

TITAN SPOTLIGHT FEATURE 

BRIAN KOPP ON LEVERAGING BIG DATA 

SPORTS TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT 

EXPERT RECOMMENDED WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY 

TREND REPORT 

TITANS OF SPORTS TECH ROUNDTABLE EVENT SUMMARY 

09. KEYNOTE SPEAKER – MOUNIR ZOK 

HUMAN PERFORMANCE EMBEDDED IN TECHNOLOGY 

11. HALO NEUROSCIENCE 

COGNITIVE WEARABLES: ACCELERATING THE 

DEVELOPMENT OF ELITE ATHLETES 

12. FIRESIDE CHAT: TOM MASTERMAN’S IN-DEPTH 

DISCUSSION WITH DIANE BLOODWORTH & GEOFF ULRICH 

INSIGHTS ON MONETIZATION OPPORTUNITIES WITH ANALYTICS 

14. SHOTTRACKER 

HOW ANALYTICS IS REVOLUTIONIZING SPORTS 

15. POLAR 

SMART FITNESS AND SPORTS TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS 

16. SPONSOR’S INTERVIEW 

DENNIS CUNNINGHAM, CRO OF FANTHREESIXTY 

17. THE LINEUP 

TITANS OF SPORTS TECH PRESENTERS 

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2 | DIRECT–INTERFACE.COM

PUBLISHER’S NOTE 

Welcome to the launch of Javelin 

Magazine, the only source of sports 

tech content generated directly by 

the playmakers and stakeholders in 

the sports tech industry. 

Javelin is entirely original content. 

We provide direct access to, and one-onone 

conversations with, top executives 

in sports technology. These are the 

people who are changing the way we do business, trusted 

visionaries and decision-makers willing to share experiential 

knowledge and valuable ideas with the Javelin community. 

Our Titan Spotlight features Brian Kopp! Brian’s vision for the 

future is highly regarded and he has proven deep industry 

experience as a sought after executive. 

In addition to poignant interviews with influencers in sports 

tech, Javelin also publishes a Trend Report - a high-level 

synopsis of the presentations given at our Titans of Sports 

Tech events. Use the Trend Report to identify the key takeaways 

of our invitation-only live forums where a select group 

of high-level professionals come to glean insights, discuss 

strategy, and share innovative ideas. I’m thrilled to report 

that Georgia Institute of Technology hosted the inaugural 

Summer 2017 edition of Titans of Sports Tech Event in Atlanta. 

As Direct Interface’s flagship forum, Titans of Sports Tech 

brought together eight diverse experts in the field of Sports 

Technology who are driving transformation via innovation 

and best practices. 

The four-hour event focused on innovation, fan engagement, 

data analytics and wearable technology for elite 

athlete performance. 

Please enjoy our Trend Report, a high-level synopsis of 

this intimate gathering of decision-makers. Our audience 

heard from brands at the forefront of these conversations. 

The forum served as a platform for sharing ideas, opinions and 

experiences in this rapidly growing sports technology space. 

This event was a vehicle to facilitate a new level of 

collaboration, and we firmly believe it’s one of the best 

ways to fully grasp the mounting ins and outs of the sports 

technology space. 

I hope you enjoy our fresh take on topics that matter 

to you. And we look forward to bringing you much more. 

Game on! 

Kevin Jordan, Founder, Direct Interface 

DIRECT–INTERFACE.COM | 3

ITAN SPOTLI 

SPORTS EXEC 

BRIAN KOPP SHARES 

INSIGHTS ON HOW 

SPORTS CLUBS CAN 

LEVERAGE BIG DATA 

With sports tech still in its infancy and arguably 

under-utilized outside of professional sports franchises, 

sports tech exec Brian Kopp proposes the 

idea that if the industry is to successfully leverage 

big data to boost performance, fan experience, and 

create additional revenue streams, the first order 

of business is finding the best way to use data and 

insights in a meaningful way. Here, Mr. Kopp shares 

insights and perspectives in a lightly edited Q&A 

with Direct Interface. 

Brian Kopp 

Direct Interface (DI): What is your background and what 

are you working on now in terms of projects or initiatives? 

Brian Kopp (BK): I started my career in investment banking 

and private equity before moving into corporate strategy, 

and mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development 

roles after getting my MBA from Northwestern. In 2008, 

I took a strategic role for STATS. Kind of got thrust into 

building a new business unit within the company, based 

around player-tracking technology - using cameras to 

track the movements of athletes. 

I did that for a number of years and built that business 

within STATS. That’s when I started looking around for 

what would be the next big thing in the sports market. I 

saw wearables as a huge growth opportunity at all levels. 

I joined Catapult three years ago to head up their North 

American business. We acquired XOS about a year ago. 

I've since transitioned into more of an advisory role 

at Catapult, which gives me some flexibility to go out and 

step into similar roles for other companies. For instance, 

I now advise small start-ups to mid-stage companies 

that are trying to connect the dots within the sports tech 

industry. They either need to raise capital, connect [with] 

the right people in the industry, or strategically position 

their business. 

DI: What are some of the gaps you’re seeing with the sports 

tech industry in general, and specifically wearable tech? 

BK: There are data gaps. As I think about the market, a lot 

of it starts with collecting all the data - whether that means 

tracking data from wearable devices or cameras, data 

that you're observing, or data that an athlete is entering. 

But once you've even gotten access to data, there's 

a growing gap in the use and analytics of that data. How 

could you actually use data to make a meaningful difference 

or to solve a problem? 

I think another gap in the sports tech space is there's 

just still a lot of athletes that aren't using anything. Professionals 

use sports data, but there are plenty of other 

athletes out there, like non-revenue scholarship athletes 

who are Division 1, or athletes from smaller colleges who 

aren’t yet providing emerging data. Their teams aren’t set 

up to mine data yet. I went to a Division 3 college, and 

while we didn't have the same budget as a D1 school, we 

still took our sports seriously and looked for any edge 

we could get. 

Then there’s the huge, fragmented youth and high 

school market. Those are areas that haven't really been 

served at all, from a data technologies and physical wearable 

standpoint. I think that's a gap that several companies 

are working to fill right now. 


DI: What does the future look like in light of the current 

business climate of wearable, player technology? What are 

the pros and cons for coaches, pro athletes and consumers? 

BK: I think one major pro for coaches is they're much more 

accepting of data and technology today. Ten years ago, I 

was introducing this stuff, and nobody wanted to listen to 

how you use it. It's becoming more ingrained in how they 

coach and analyze athletes, which is great. 

The cons - as more data comes to market it can be 

difficult to manage in a meaningful way. Plus it is increasingly 

hard to validate company claims around data and 

technology. When Catapult first started, they focused 

extensively on validity. Validation studies ensure that what 

you are collecting is truly what you want to collect and is 

validated by independent third parties. You don't see that 

as much anymore. Today, data is as much for marketing 

as it is for performance. 

For pro athletes, you see the impact in the dynamics 

of what the NFLPA is doing. Athletes are becoming more 

aware of what is being collected on them and how it can 

be used. It is essential to have athletes as a part of the 

data conversation as well. 

In terms of consumers, you have seen the big companies 

like Fitbit and Jawbone that are good at marketing. 

They provide information and insight but struggle with 

showing people how having access to more data about 

themselves can help them get healthier. 

I think augmented 

reality will start coming 

to sports in the next 

couple of years to 

further enhance the 

viewing experience by 

integrating data and 

graphics in unique and 

engaging ways. — Brian Kopp 

GHT FEATURE 

DI: Many athletes and consumers alike have been concerned 

about who ultimately owns their data, What are 

your thoughts? 

BK: Data ownership, access, and rights are still in their 

infancy. I think that if I was an athlete and I put something 

on, I would expect to have access to that information. So, 

we have separate issues with owning information and 

having the right to see and use information. 

Ownership is sometimes less important than having 

access and rights to data. You can own data, but if you 

don't have the right to use, commercialize, or access it in 

certain ways, you are limited. I think professional athletes 

are going to want more access and rights to their own data. 

DI: What areas are you bullish on in sports tech, and 

what will it require to effectively deliver on those areas 

in the space? 

BK: I think in the past there has been a pillar around data 

that's used to improve performance outcomes. There's 

also been a separate pillar that has been around tactical, 

strategic information. When I was at STATS doing SportVU, 

that was more around tactical, strategic information, game 

data. Catapult is the leader in performance data and 

analytics. I think up to this point those two – performance 

outcomes and tactical strategy - have been relatively 

independent of each other. I think they will start coming 

together as technology improves. 

If you do it right, the same type of data allows you to 

then open-up a fan experience. People always talk about 

fan engagement. How can we continue to serve fans in 

different ways around sports? It won’t be the traditional 

broadband TV model. There's a lot of other experiences 

that are out there. There's been a lot of attention around 

virtual reality. The ability to combine what you see with 

different experiences that you can control yourself. I 

think augmented reality will start coming to sports in 

the next couple of years to further enhance the viewing 

experience by integrating data and graphics in unique 

and engaging ways. 

DI: Gathering data in the volume and depth that is necessary 

to make accurate predictions carry its own risks. 

What are some that you’ve witnessed? 

BK: Before SportVU, sports was focused on spreadsheet 

analytics, which you could do with Microsoft Excel. Once 

you start entering some of these other data sources, like 


TITAN SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: BRIAN KOPP 

SportVU and Catapult and others, you're talking databases 

of information. Now machine learning algorithms are 

required to really get insight out of that volume of data. 

Then it becomes another one of those dynamics where 

introduction to a lot of data is good, but needs to be harnessed 

and used the right way. At the end of the day, as 

much as we talk about big data in sports, the data that we 

capture is minuscule compared to a lot of other industries. 

DI: Data collection and analysis has increased dramatically. 

What have been some of your best practices on how 

teams, coaches and organizations can stay on top of this? 

BK: To me, it all starts with organizational structure. Traditionally, 

you had analytics in a silo, training in a silo, 

coaching in a silo, and front office in a silo. They talked to 

each other, but they did most of their work independently. 

So, there were disconnects between the decisions that 

were made, or how information was used. 

The most successful organizations are starting to communicate, 

collaborate, and understand that what goes on 

when you're out on the practice field impacts what goes 

on in the training room, which impacts decision-making 

in the front office. Having more complete information for 

communication is key. Some of that has been accelerated 

by technology. I think the best practices are those that 

don't view those as independent jobs, but do it as a collaborative 

team effort. 

Once you've done that, the way that technology and 

use of data comes in becomes pretty core to how they 

handle that as well. You look at things holistically. That’s 

true at the pro level, and at the college level. 

DI: What does digital transformation look like to you and 

how are you integrating that to better understand the 

customer experience? 

BK: Good question. We've gone through a couple different 

evolutions as an industry. 

Digital transformation is taking different data that's 

being used in a lot of different ways, presenting it and 

using it in unique ways. Take augmented reality. I think the 

best augmented reality experiences are going to be those 

that integrate cool graphics with really cool and interesting 

insights that are based on the data you're collecting. 

A few years ago, the emphasis was around collecting 

and getting access to data. We've now evolved into more 

analytics, visualization, and application of that data. I think 

The most successful 

organizations are 

starting to communicate, 

collaborate, and 

understand that what 

goes on when you're 

out on the practice field 

impacts what goes on in 

the training room, which 

impacts decision-making 

in the front office. — Brian Kopp 

that's where a lot of the transformation will take place. It's 

matching up with the demands of the market, because 

people don't want to just have the passive experience. 

They want to be more interactive with what they're seeing 

across the board. 

DI: What companies come to mind that are driving sports 

markets? 

BK: Young start-up companies are going to get some things 

off the ground. One of the key players will be apparel 

companies - Nike, Under Armor, Adidas. They've been in 

the space, and they have the brand credibility. This whole 

technology / data area of the landscape is not something 

they've traditionally spent a lot of time cultivating. So rather 

than do it themselves, I think there will be some nimble 

startups that the apparel companies are going to [rely on]. 

These will be companies that are able to connect a few 

of the dots within the industry. 

I also think major technology companies – like Intel, 

SAP, or Microsoft - and others who have the market clout 

will take some of these ideas and bring them to market 

in a much bigger way. 


SPORTS TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT 

Our Titans of Sports Tech knows the Sports Technology 

space and shared some of their trusted wearables 

both established and emerging. They offered their 

recommendations to be part of your evaluation and 

consideration set. 

INSIDETRACKER 

www.insidetracker.com 

POWERTAP 

www.powertap.com 

»» 

With the release of the Advanced 

Pedal Metrics (APM), athletes training 

with the PowerTap P1 pedal power 

meters can now unlock unprecedented 

access to their pedaling data. An 

analytics dashboard, dubbed Rouvy 

Virtues, riders have a wholistic view of 

their training session, with drill down 

data such as mid-ride pedal data and 

enhanced playback post-ride. 

KINDUCT TECHNOLOIGIES 

www.kinduct.com 

»» 

Kinduct’s software integrates with 

emerging technologies and data 

sources to help produce a more 

accurate picture of your organization’s 

current and future predicted 

state. Kinduct’s Athlete Management 

System (AMS) is integrated with the 

best and brightest companies in the 

wearables, assessment and data 

collection sector. 

»» 

InsideTracker is a web-based nutrition-tracking 

service: measuring 

hormones levels, glucose, cholesterol, 

vitamins and other key biomarkers that 

don’t show up on a standard physical 

or blood test. They use blood testing 

to screen for 30 different biomarkers 

— including vitamins, hormones 

and other metabolic markers — and 

determine optimal zones for each 

level based on a highly personalized 

questionnaire which looks at a 

person’s age, weight, activity level, 

ethnicity, personal goals. 

TRAININGPEAKS 

www.trainingpeaks.com 

»» 

TrainingPeaks provides the complete 

web, mobile and desktop solution 

for enabling smart and effective 

endurance training. Their products 

include TrainingPeaks.com Athlete 

and Coach Edition, WKO+ desktop 

software for cutting-edge scientific 

analysis and planning. 

VERT 

www.myvert.com 

»» 

VERT Products measures power, 

kinetic energy, jump analytics, G-force 

and other information as an athlete 

wears the product around his or her 

waist. Vertcast, VERT’s sports telemetry 

system, fans could see jump height 

data in real-time on live television. 

MOTUSGLOBAL 

motusglobal.com 

»» 

Through Motus’ proprietary algorithm, 

coaches and trainers can 

measure acute (weekly average) and 

chronic (monthly average) workload 

trends and the amount of stress being 

placed on a player’s throwing elbow. 


TREND 

REPORT 

PRESENTED BY FANTHREESIXTY 

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 

HOSTED DIRECT INTERFACE’S 

TITANS OF SPORTS TECH 

SUMMER EVENT IN ATLANTA 

Titans of Sports Tech is Direct Interface’s flagship forum, bringing together thought 

leaders in technology and sports who are driving transformation via innovation. 

Our Trend Report highlights well-funded, game-changing startups like ShotTracker and 

Halo Neuro, juggernauts like the United States Olympic Committee, and firmly established 

brands such as POLAR and Speedway Motorsports. 

The forum included talks on innovation, fan engagement, data analytics, and wearable 

technology for elite athletes. The feedback was electric and confirmed that as an 

organization, we have our finger on the pulse of this industry. 


“These kinds of events create a unique 

opportunity for dialogue and knowledge 

exchange. We need more opportunities 

in the sports technology and innovation 

industry to speak openly about our 

challenges and share best practices. 

Kudos for the whole team for putting 

this together!” 

— Mounir Zok, Director of Technology and Innovation, 

U.S. Olympic Committee 

Mounir Zok, spoke about how 

USOC has seen significant 

improvement results in human 

performance embedded in 

technology. He shared insights 

on strategies, technology platforms, 

and ecosystems through 

which elite athletes, teams 

and coaches are witnessing 

success with marquee wins, 

Mounir Zok 

together. As per the recent 

market trends, he discussed how smart sensors, smart 

fabrics, computer vision, augmented reality, virtual reality, 

artificial intelligence, internet of things, and smart materials 

is still in the infancy, but quickly gaining momentum with 

market penetration. 

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER: 

Mounir Zok is the Director of Technology and Innovation 

for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). 

ZOK SHARED ADDITIONAL 

INSIGHTS IN HIS KEYNOTE. 

• Evolve to a Digital Mindset 

• Human-centered Design 

• Cross-Pollinate Across Different Domains 

• Learn New Ways of Working and Engaging 

• Digital Ecosystems 


TREND REPORT: PRESENTED BY FANTHREESIXTY 

HERE’S A LOOK AT 

FIVE KEY TAKEAWAYS 

FROM ZOK’S KEYNOTE: 

1. TECHNOLOGY IS 

A STRATEGIC ASSET 

Think about technology as an asset. If we’re serious 

about success in sports, think of technology as a fundamental 

strategic partner of any athlete. Just like nutrition 

and hydration, physiology and coaching, strength and 

conditioning, all are strategic assets for athletes. Moving 

forward, we cannot consider success in sports unless we 

embed technology - That’s key. 

2. HUMANIZE TECHNOLOGY 

No matter what technology we’re going to be using, no 

matter how sexy, futuristic or complicated it sounds, it has 

to be humanized. And the humanizing process may be the 

most difficult element of technology. Making technology 

to the level where it starts speaking each and every one 

of your languages is a challenge. 

3. CROSS-POLLINATION 

The biggest opportunity is when we are able to cross-pollinate. 

Let’s say, from USA Gymnastics today, we can pour 

into USA Diving tomorrow, or whatever learning we will get 

from USA Skiing and Snowboard in the upcoming Winter 

Olympic Games, we’ll work those into a sport that you 

would not even be thinking about. I don’t know, maybe USA 

Weightlifting. So that cross-pollination is a responsibility 

of ours. I would say the more effective that is done, the 

better results we will get for our athletes. 

4. CHALLENGE THINKING 

If we continue predicting what our future will look like 

based on our experiences, we are going to be moving 

only with incremental steps. If we are really serious about 

growing, and making significant change, we must always 

be challenging our thinking. We must always be innovative 

in the ways that we’re working. Reset the clock and put in 

doubt everything and anything that we’re doing. 

5. RECREATE AN ECOSYSTEM 

Mounir Zok 

speaking during 

the Titans of 

Sports Tech 

roundtable event 

Recreating around ourselves an ecosystem, a community, 

that is able to deliver results that we can leverage, while 

we focus on what we know best. And what we (USOC) 

know best are our athletes, our coaches, and what their 

needs are. There’s no reason for us to develop a way to 

scan the whole basketball field if we know we can work 

with people at ShotTracker. There’s no reason for us to 

develop any neural priming technologies. Why not partner 

with Daniel (CEO, Halo Neuroscience) and what he’s 

doing? This is the new thought process. 

“No matter what technology we’re going to be using, no matter how 

sexy, futuristic or complicated it sounds, it has to be humanized.” 

— Mounir Zok 



HALO NEUROSCIENCE 

HAS FOUND A WAY TO 

TRIGGER “FLOW” 

ABOUT HALO 

Before Halo Neuroscience released Halo Sport, the company’s 

team members were spread in different organizations 

in the field of neuroscience. Since its founding in 2013, 

Halo Neuroscience has successfully used brain stimulation 

to trigger optimal performance in athletes, soldiers, 

musicians, and other skilled professionals with the most to 

gain from expediting the development of muscle memory. 

Halo Sport, a first-of-its-kind neurostimulation wearable 

device, supports the single identifying core value of 

Halo Neuroscience and that is, improving lives through 

neuroscience and technology. 

CHALLENGES 

Halo’s aim is to help athletes boost their performance 

by electrically stimulating the brain to expedite motor 

memory in the motor cortex. The first challenge Halo must 

overcome is the lingering stigma around using electricity 

on the brain. 

The widespread and inhumane use of electric shock 

therapy to coerce compliance from patients of mental 

institutions in decades past, is in stark contrast to Halo 

CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Chao’s description of Halo 

Sport being a “refined and sophisticated way to communicate 

with the brain in its own language.” Chao believes 

brain science has come a long way, but Halo still has 

much ground to gain if it wants to close the gap between 

everyday moments and peak performance. 

Another potential ethical red flag for Halo is the age of 

its customer. Chao encourages the public to limit use of the 

device to adults who are old enough to consent to doing 

so. Further, Chao insists Halo Neuro’s studies have been 

conducted on adults, so the company has data to support 

the device’s effects on users 18 years of age and older. 

SOLUTION DESIGN 

Halo Sport was created to provide users with greater 

results for the hours they invest in the focused learning, 

practice and repetition that is requisite for champion-level 

performance. 

According to Chao, “A 20-minute session with Halo 

Sport will induce this temporary state of hyper learning 

in your motor cortex,” the part of the brain that controls 

movement. 

That’s good for the 10% of Halo customers who are musicians 

and the majority segment of Halo Sport users who 

are active military personnel and elite sports organizations. 

For mass market use, the Halo Sport device comes with 

an app that limits a user’s access to the neurostimulation 

function by only allowing customers to use the app once 

a day for twenty minutes. 

IMPACT GOALS 

Using neurostimulation to help post-surgical and immobile 

athletes maintain muscle memory by coupling 

visualization techniques that engage the motor cortex 

with neurostimulation is yet on the horizon for Halo. 

In addition, the availability of Halo Sport through 

retailers like Amazon.com speaks to the potential of 

neurostimulation devices to gain a wider presence in the 

market and possibly get enough exposure to move past 

only attracting elite organizations and early adopters, and 

moving into mainstream America. 



FIRESIDE CHAT 

INSIGHTS ON MONETIZATION 

OPPORTUNITIES WITH ANALYTICS 

Tom Masterman discussed with Diane Bloodworth, the 

founder of a high traction startup, Competitive Sports 

Analysis (CSA), and Geoff Ulrich, the Vice President of 

Consumer Strategy for Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI), 

companies on opposite sides of the sports technology 

transaction (the sale-side and buy-side), to get their insights 

on how they’re Monetizing Opportunities with Analytics 

for the Sports Tech Industry. 

“I think it’s finding 

the innovative 

coaches early on, 

who are willing to 

get involved and do 

business.” 

— Diane Bloodworth 

Tom Masterman, founder of Top 

of Mind LLC and former CRO 

for Sportradar, is a consultant 

open for innovation in sports 

technology and digital media. As 

part of his work he’s interested 

in Startups and emerging technologies. 

Always researching for 

the next big startup and trying 

to figure out if they are the next 

hot B2B startups. 

SESSION TAKEAWAYS 

• Sale-side Monetization Strategies 

• Buy-side Monetization Strategies 

• Business Impacts 

Masterman points out that a sale-side monetization 

opportunity with analytics requires driving many initiatives 

to capitalize on the opportunities presented. And on the 

selling-side, CSA is emerging to be the sports technology 

analytics provider for the next-generation of applications 

incorporating advanced and predictive analytics to find 

the best recruits for college athletic programs. Bloodworth 

relates that initiatives within CSA’s analytics team, in terms 

of value proposition, pricing strategies, lines of services 

and customer collaboration is bringing success with their 

monetization efforts. 

Bloodworth sees intellectual property (IP) as playing 

a key role for market success of the startup’s core technologies. 

“My company provides predictive analytics for 

a college sports team, and we have patented algorithms 

that allow us to do this,” said Bloodworth. Furthermore, 

CSA has launched marketing initiatives to drive market 

awareness about CSA’s predictive analytics capabilities 

and to enable partnerships with colleges and universities 

with the objectives toward building an innovative predictive 

analytics culture among the athletic department ecosystem. 

The initiative “convinces them to try something new 

and different, with a free version of our new software, 

it’s a software-as-a-service model. It’s very effective,” 

said Bloodworth. Also, as best practice, Bloodworth recommends 

participating in events to create connections 

especially with athletic coaches who have an increased 

level of awareness about analytics. “I think it’s finding the 

innovative coaches early on, who are willing to get involved 


and do business.” Additionally, CSA’s business model also 

provides for Joint-Project support, that is, working with 

coaches and the larger part of research and athletics departments 

to tailor solutions, provide proactive proposals, 

and create a solution architecture that maps very well to 

the ASK/Proposal. Based on the recent economic activity 

CSA has achieved using this business model, Bloodworth 

is optimistic toward capturing future predictive analytics 

budgets in this space. 

Alternatively, on the buying-side, Geoff Ulrich makes 

clear that SMI, which is an established world-class brand, 

never shies’ away from making investments for the future. 

Ulrich sees CRM, Mobile and Analytics sports technology 

as a strong driver of business competitiveness and profits, 

and leverages these digital technologies to create new 

and improved products, services and experiences that will 

deliver greater value to fans. He increasingly considers 

analytics and predictive analytics for SMI to address their 

demand for trusted and secured fan data in real time on 

their over one million social followers. 

In SMI’s on-going quest to deliver added-value to the 

company, industry and the fans, Ulrich said, “We want to 

look at where we make investments, smart investments.” 

And he stresses that SMI’s investment in these digital innovative 

platforms is underpinned by top-down investment, 

and by an overall strategy aligned to objectives around 

TCO and ROI. According to Ulrich, here are the three 

reasons why it is important for SMI to invest in analytics: 

“Sponsors want 

to know they’re 

making the 

right decision 

when they work 

with us. They 

like data.” 

— Geoff Ulrich 

1. To sell tickets. 

2. To upsell our fans greater 

access and more experiences 

at our venues and events. 

3. To sell sponsorships. 

“Sponsors want to know they’re making the right decision 

when they work with us. They like data. It’s really 

those three things that drive it,” said Ulrich. 

SMI’s analytics monetization efforts have been successful 

through sponsorships and by turning data into insights 

that provides value for the company, the industry and the 

fans. “We’re monetizing investments in analytics through 

new sponsorships acquisitions, and by helping our sales 

teams leverage our data,” said Ulrich. 



SHOTTRACKER DELIVERS 

NEXT GENERATION PLAYER 

PERFORMANCE INTELLIGENCE 

We’ve all heard the story of how Major League Baseball 

organizations have leveraged datasets and statistical 

summaries to help drive evidenced-based decision-making, 

yielding tangible value in terms of Competitive Advantage 

and Profits, as popularized through the American sports 

drama film, MONEYBALL (2011). ShotTracker’s decisionsupport 

analytics platform makes game-playing analytical 

results available in real-time to coaches as well as players, 

to support their desire to make the correct calls, decisions 

and plays at a moment’s notice. 

ShotTracker’s platform brings in real-time player performance 

analytics to empower coaches and players with 

intelligence. Intelligence about their player performance, 

intelligence about various possibilities, intelligence about 

how and where to improve player performance, and most 

importantly help teams gain a competitive edge using 

information assets. 

Their next generation platform is designed to capture 

basketball players practice performance in real time, analyze 

it and help coaches design their skill and tactical workout 

drills around these insights. It speeds up the decision making 

process on what coaches can focus on to ensure player 

and team competitiveness along with continued growth. 

Using data science algorithms, the platform enables smart 

decision support and creates a major disruptive shift in 

how basketball teams practice and compete. 

“Our system can capture multiple balls, multiple players, and multiple moves, all 

in real time. Imagine you have 18 players shooting 18 balls at one hoop. We can 

tell you who made it, who missed it, and give you that statistical data.” 

– Davyeon Ross, CO-FOUNDER AND COO, ShotTracker 



POLAR GETS CANDID ABOUT 

THEIR TRANSFORMATION 

ABOUT POLAR 

A leading developer of heart rate monitors and cutting-edge 

wearable sports tech, POLAR has a business presence in 

consumer and sports industries throughout Europe and 

the US. The company’s technology innovations include 

Chip Sensors, Wearable Fitness/Sports Devices, Next 

Generation Analytics/Metric Architecture and Communication 

Technologies (GPS, Wireless, Accelerometer, etc.). In addition 

to this, the POLAR Team is also taking up developments 

in emerging technology areas such as smart applications. 

M430 

Advanced Running Watch with 

Wrist-based Heart Rate and GPS 

OH1 

Optical Heart Rate Monitor 

SOLUTION DESIGN 

Brajer emphasizes that POLAR’s overall strategic endeavor 

focuses on innovations in data, metrics and analytics. 

POLAR inventors have a legacy of passion for innovation 

and hard work. Brajer is quick to point out, “We’re not 

resting on our laurels.” POLAR is building robust and 

innovative sports technology products and service lines 

for the following lines of business: 

• Division I Sports Teams 

• K-12 Physical Education 

• Health Club & Fitness 

• LEM Chip Sensor Development for Equipment 

Manufacturer 

POLAR inventors’ and their passion for innovation, hard 

work, as well as, the company’s ecosystem is contributing 

to building innovative and robust sports technology product 

and service lines with a strategic focus on innovations in 

data, metrics and analytics. 

IMPACT GOALS 

CHALLENGES 

The fitness and sports tech journey at POLAR has been 

incredible but there are many milestones to achieve as 

the company progresses to position itself “as a sports 

technology company grounded in running, cycling, triathlete, 

and traditional fitness,” said Stan Brajer, SVP of 

Sales & Marketing, POLAR. Brajer acknowledges a few 

key challenges: 

• Closing the loop in the customer life-cycle 

• Improving ROI by optimizing the customer retention 

programs 

• Better customer experience 

• Enhance customer delight 

• Reduction in customer churn 

In this overall strategic endeavor to offer differentiated 

value for elite athletes and consumers, Brajer wishes to 

keep us abreast of POLAR’s new brand story as a sports 

technology company who leverages analytics especially 

to define ‘running power’. “Running is ninety-plus percent 

of the sports POLAR is involved with, and from a client 

perspective…running drives our business. “We’re trying 

to be at the industry leadership position defining running 

power,” said Brajer. 



SPONSOR INTERVIEW 

FANTHREESIXTY’S CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, DENNIS CUNNINGHAM 

FanThreeSixty was born out of MLS 

club, Sporting Kansas City, in 2011. 

When we first purchased the Wizards 

and subsequently rebranded to 

Sporting KC, we had numerous software 

applications that we relied on 

to run the club. These applications 

all contained data about fans, but 

due to their limitations, they did not 

communicate with each other. As a 

result, although we had lots of raw 

fan data, we had no single source that 

could tell a full story about how and 

when a fan engaged with us, leaving 

no real understanding of who our fans 

were or how to engage with them. 

We started building software 

specifically for our industry that would 

consolidate all of this information into 

a single location, giving us a clear 

picture of the entire fanbase - who they 

were, their demographics, behaviors, 

and preferences to inform activation 

strategies. Upon the success of the 

fan engagement model within Sporting 

KC, we now work with clients around 

the world to help them address similar 

challenges and increase the value of 

their fanbases. 

Where is the Fan Engagement industry going? 

Fans have so many things competing for their attention! 

The trick going forward will be for teams to provide highly 

personalized, high quality content and experiences, and 

deliver it to each fan’s platform of choice, in venue and out. 

It’s not easy. The only way teams will be able to provide 

these elevated experiences is to have a rich understanding 

of every fan at the individual level and stop treating 

all fans the same. 

What does the growth of the industry look like? 

Every company is looking for a slice of the “fan engagement” 

pie. I believe this is going to require organizations 

to re-think the way they approach fan engagement. It will 

require departments coming together to look at the complete 

end-to-end fan experience, beyond a CRM or the latest 

social media trends. 

What are some of the challenges you’re 

hearing from clients? 

More and more organizations are starting to realize that they 

are going to have to make some serious adjustments. The 

problem is they don’t know where to start. They need a guide. 

Most teams agree that having more data on fans is a 

good thing. But many are still asking themselves, “Where 

do I get the data? How do I make sense of it? What strategies 

do I use to maximize the value of each fan once I 

have it? How do I use this data in my interactions with 

sponsors?” If an organization takes those four simple 

questions and tries to solve them individually, they could 

easily end up exasperating the problem by deploying four 

different solutions. 

What are 3 trends you’re following and why? 

There’s a lot of exciting stuff happening in the “fan engagement” 

realm from esports to broadcast. In a really 

competitive vendor landscape, the three things that we 

are paying close attention to are: 

Focus on the fan – We are seeing a lot of teams evolve 

from traditional ownership models to a more fan-centric 

approach. How do we make it less about our brand and 

put the fans front and center? This approach will be critical 

for attracting a younger demographic that has so many 

brands and experiences competing for their attention - 

“what’s in it for me and how does this enrich my life?” 

Predictive analytics – Leveraging machine learning and 

other advanced analytics techniques to understand your 

entire fanbase, group fans into logical audiences, predict 

future fan behaviors, and build activation plans around 

those. These business intelligence capabilities are becoming 

commonplace in other industries and have a huge potential 

within sports to help teams gain a competitive advantage. 

Ticketing –Teams are thinking a lot about digital ticketing 

and ticket accessibility. We are starting to see an evolution 

around how tickets are sold and accessed. Some teams 

are already starting to test subscription-type models, and 

I envision it won’t be long before fans might be able to 

purchase tickets on Amazon or with an Airbnb booking. 



THE LINE UP 

In a world of many options competing for attention and 

time, Direct Interface says thank you to the following 

presenters for making our event a powerful experience. 

MOUNIR ZOK, 

Director of Technology and 

Innovation, United States 

Olympic Committee 

DAVYEON ROSS, 

Co-Founder, COO, 

ShotTracker 

DIANE BLOODWORTH, 

Chief Executive Officer, 

Competitive Sports Analysis 

GEOFF ULRICH, 

VP, Consumer Strategy, 

Speedway MotorSports, Inc 

DR. DANIEL CHAO, 

Chief Executive Officer, 

Halo Neuro 

STAN BRAJER JR, 

SVP, Sales and Marketing, 

POLAR 

TOM MASTERMAN, 

Founder & Owner, 

Top of Mind LLC 

DENNIS CUNNINGHAM, 

Chief Revenue Officer, 

FanThreeSixty 


THANK YOU 

TO OUR HOST! 

Georgia Institute of Technology 

www.Direct-Interface.com

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