It's as easy as OneTwoSee
Fast-growing Philly startup sits at intersection of sports, digital media, technology.
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CHRIS REYNOLDS, 39, of Devon, is co-founder and CEO of OneTwoSee, a startup on Arch Street near 16th in Center City that develops real-time apps to supplement sports telecasts. The firm leverages the interactivity of connected TVs with traditional broadcast video that marries the best of "lean-back" TV viewing with "lean-forward" Internet consumption.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for OneTwoSee?
A: We built a prototype designed around interacting with what you watch on TV through your mobile phone or tablet. We started soft-selling it and ran trials with some local bloggers. That led us to Comcast SportsNet, and they asked if we could deliver a similar experience for them around Major League Baseball in markets they support.
Q: What does OneTwoSee do?
A: We license our software platform to sports media on a seasonal basis to support interactivity. Depending on the sport, it does different things. In baseball, we provide all of the real-time pitcher-batter matchups on a pitch-by-pitch basis. It gives you a deeper dive into the game . . . across all platforms: mobile, tablet, PC and eventually set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Q: What's the value proposition for OneTwoSee?
A: Our customers own the media rights to the TV broadcasts of games. They spend a lot of money for that and want to do all they can to promote viewership and drive advertising sales.
Q: And the biz model?
A: We license the platform to NBC Sports, Fox Sports, sports networks in Canada and others so they can support their viewers with a real-time, engaging multiscreen fan experience.
Q: What does it cost?
A: It's based on audience size and number of teams the customer wants to support. The product is free to the fan.
Q: How big a business?
A: In 2013, we grew from three to 20 customers, and we have . . . 10 [employees]. We expect to double revenue and our [employee] count this year.
Q: So how are you going to fund this projected growth?
A: We're in the process of closing our first real equity round. The money we've taken in to date - about $2 million - has primarily come through high-net-worth private investors and local venture-capital funds.
Q: Who's your competition, and what differentiates you?
A: We are a white-label solution. We license the platform, and the customer can call it whatever he wants. Most of the competition is professional ad agencies that build one product for one sport for one season, whereas we have taken a more holistic approach where we've built a platform with multiple applications for multiple sports.
Online: ph.ly/YourBusiness