1.) The opportunity that exists is a need for a transparent platform for communication among athletes and sports agents, managers and representatives. This website will serve as a liaison between these individuals and will allow for athletes and agents to better market themselves.
2.) The who: Sports agents and athletes
The what: There is no universal platform for the sports agent industry, where athletes and representatives can interact.
The why: This will make the process a lot easier when it comes to recruiting athletes to agencies and athletes trying to get their name out there in the sports world.
3.) Testing the who: It seems as though only athletes in "major sports" (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, etc.) are receiving agents. What about sports such as horseback riding? There are certain sports where individuals aren't represented by agents at all. This could be an area to improve on, and by having this platform these smaller sports may be able to start pitching to agents why they deserve to be represented.
Testing the what: Why does this idea matter to athletes and agents? How will this positively promote athletes to enable them to more easily acquire agents to represent them? Should agents really care about competing on a universally used platform instead of using their local resources as a competitive advantage?
Testing the why: How will this impact the athlete representation market? Would this actually benefit athletes being underrepresented and are having trouble reaching out to agencies? Do these agencies need this platform to recruit athletes, or it is useless for them?
4.) After conducting 5 different interviews with varying people in the sports industry, I stand behind my idea of a universal platform to connect athletes with agents. Based on the feedback I received, there is a clear need for this product, due to the inconsistencies in the market. The individuals interviewed agreed that there is also are completely untapped markets, such as esports and horse racing, that can use representatives to run athlete's and rider's campaigns and to help increase sponsorship interest. Even though the big money is being made in sports such as football and basketball, there is still plenty of profit to be made in different sports industries that attract hundreds of thousands of viewers. Based on the "who" aspect of the interview, it was revealed to me that I should be targeting teenagers who plan to go to college for athletics. These kids are the future of American sports and are the most capable of utilizing this technologically advanced platform. All 5 interviewers agreed that the most important and useful aspect of this potential website would be to help underrepresented athletes trying to play college sports and eventually get drafted by their respective professional league. One of the interviewers that I communicated with, a well-respected sports agent in the South Florida area, told me that he wasn't sure if the larger agencies would be on board with this. The larger agencies controlling the majority of the bigger name athletes and subsequently, most of the profits in the industry most likely don't need this platform to recruit their players. They already have advanced social media accounts, scouts in different areas across the country and the world, and have vast amounts of players reaching out to try and catch their attention. Unfortunately, I did not consider this factor at the time and this is a setback in the process, but means that the website would need to first need to recruit smaller name athletes and small agencies needing to get their name out there. Based on the "what" aspect of the interview, I learned that this platform will take lots of time to advance and attract large agencies and big-name athletes coming out of high school and college. Once the website and platform are established, however, it should still have a sizable impact on underrepresented athletes. This will give them an opportunity to upload stats, videos and any highlights that they feel are important to show to potentially interested agencies. It will give players from less talented areas a chance to prove why they stand out and can play at the next level. Based on the interviews I gave, it seems as though this platform would be more beneficial for the players and not the agents, but some smaller agencies will still be able to get started due to this platform. Based on the "why" factor, it is clear that athletes are in more need of this concept and would benefit more from it as a result.
5.) Based on the interviews and research conducted on this topic, I had recognized certain flaws in the platform and see the avenues to attack to successfully market to athletes and agencies. Large agencies and athletes won't need the website to promote themselves, but by reaching out to "middle of the pack" agencies and athletes, I can hopefully convince them that this platform can be incredibly helpful to their careers. I can also try and advertise this platform to other sports in an attempt to increase sponsorships in their sports.
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