GameOn Technology
GameOn Technology CEO Alex Beckman
- GameOn Technology is a startup aiming to use Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and other chat platforms to allow brands like the NBA and NHL convert interested audiences into devout fans.
- After selling his last startup Evtlive to Yahoo in 2013, GameOn CEO Alex Beckman realized there was an opportunity that he missed building into the livestreaming app, and decided to base his next startup on it.
- GameOn pioneered a chatbot, allowing fans in the middle of a heated online discussion to ask what their favorite NBA athlete's stats are or watch game highlights, without the hassle of switching over to Google Search or YouTube.
- The company, which already has a star-studded list of investors like former NFL star Joe Montana, raised $10.5 million in convertible note financing at the end of last year, allowing for investors to convert their loans to equity at a later date.
- Here's the pitchdeck that convinced investors to back it.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The sheer number of people that frequent chat platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp everyday is creating a powerful opportunity for brands that typically resorted to cable TV to garner a passionate fanbase, according to GameOn Technology CEO Alex Beckman.
The company has pioneered an AI-powered chatbot that can operate across messaging apps, allowing it to provide scores, live updates and game highlights for its brand partners.
"The ideal user for us is on Facebook messenger or on Skype or Kik or Telegram, and they'd be able to start chatting, and say hi to the bot," Beckman told Business Insider. "So if you want to know what are Steph Curry's stats or when Klay Thompson is coming back, or how LeBron James is doing on the Lakers, you just ask."
Although chatbots get a bad rap for spamming, GameOn's chatbot is built to remain unobstrusive. In fact, Beckman wants to recreate a specific ambience for watching games, like going to the stadium to watch the game with a couple of friends or watching one on the couch with your roommates - that requires the chatbot only speak when spoken to.
"The idea was that people go, and they've got two tickets or four tickets or they have a sofa at their house or they had a sofa in college ,and they want to stay connected to their favorite friends, Beckman explained. "It's just me and a couple of my buddies chatting about the Warriors, and now adding in that live opportunity to watch what we call 'snackable content'," he added, referring to the 8-12 second clips that the chatbot can compile for audiences at the end of the game.
So far, brands including the NFL, the NHL, the PGA Tour and video game developer Riot Games have all partnered with the startup.
And its pitch, which has already won over a star-studded list of investors like former NFL star Joe Montana and Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, helped it raise $10.5 million in convertible note financing at the end of last year (allowing for investors to convert their loans to equity at a later date). Beckman said the company plans to use that capital to grow beyond sports, beginning with providing the chatbot's services to e-sports and e-commerce.
Origins
Beckman co-founded GameOn Technology with Kalin Stanojev and Nate Simmons in 2014, just a year after Yahoo acquired his old startup, a music livestreaming service called Evntlive.
In fact, GameOn's origins lie in a missed opportunity in Evntlive, after Beckman noticed that users would leave the app to chat about it elsewhere. Beckman said he knew that his next startup would be focused on chat.
A brief trip to Shanghai around that time, where his friends had begun discarding wallets in favor of using the Chinese superapp WeChat, sold him on the power of messaging apps.
"WeChat was a big part of the inspiration for this," Beckman said, noting that it proved to him that messaging apps were the future, allowing for payment, shopping, and day-to-day tasks. From there, he went on to ask a question that would become the future of GameOn - could they bring entertainment to messaging apps?
More important than ever
GameOn has found itself especially busy over the past couple of weeks, as major sporting events have been cancelled in an effort to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.
"My cofounder spent a couple of late nights last week making sure that all of our clients had responses to what's going on right now," Beckman said. "Like, if somebody asks for highlights of a game, we don't just want to say there are none."
And as people begin to forgo dinner parties and events about town, in favor of social distancing, Beckman says his team's work is more important than ever.
"I think we're seeing fan engagement and retention take on a new meaning right now- our clients can't even let their fans into the stadium," he said."It's an interesting opportunity and obviously a problem that we want to be helpful in solving."
Here's the pitchdeck that Beckman and his team used to win over investors in its latest round: