An Ottawa software company is putting its product in the heat of the moment, helping football coaches and coordinators make smarter plays from the sidelines.
GameStrat specializes in real-time game analytics in the sports market, and says its instant replay software can help coaches win more games. The company originally began with football analytics, but will soon offer solutions for basketball, hockey and volleyball.
Tunch Akkaya, GameStrat’s co-founder and CEO, played for four years as a defensive back with the University of Ottawa, and began designing the software as a class project.
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For Ginger Bertrand, some of her earliest childhood memories in Ottawa are centred around healthcare. “I grew up across the street from what was originally the General Hospital,” she explains,
“I was thinking, ‘This is going to be sweet, this will benefit my team, we’re going to have a competitive advantage.’ But after the season ended, I realized every other team had the same problem and I realized there was more potential for this and did some more market research,” says Akkaya.
The GameStrat solution allows teams to record the action, share that video across multiple devices, and replay footage within two seconds of a play finishing. Additional features allow coaches to tag plays and penalties, fast forward and zoom through the replay, and highlight specifics by drawing live on the video. The product includes a mobile router, providing Internet-free functionality.
GameStrat offers a yearly subscription fee, with prices ranging from $500 to $5,000. There are three different tiers, with distinct features and capabilities.
“All teams would love to have this but it’s a matter of, Will it be useful? Do they have the equipment? We want the lowest tier teams to take advantage of it, while catering to the professional teams’ needs as well,” says Akkaya.
Its primary market is in competitive-level sports and Canadian universities, with partnerships including University of Ottawa, McMaster and York Universities. Football Canada rules currently prohibit the use of video analysis during games. However, Akkaya says GameStrat is in talks to partner with the CFL.
The company’s goal is to capture the entire Canadian football market over the next year by increasing its visibility through attending several conventions and fully integrating itself in other sports markets.
The company is also projecting six-figure revenues in the next year.
GameStrat has yet to bring its solution to the U.S., in fear of spreading itself too thin, as the company has a team of five employees and is still growing. Akkaya knows he will have to assemble a strong marketing effort if he wants to penetrate the staunch defensive line of the American football market.
