Business Plan

You choose on UChoose

By: Anna-Christian McMullen, Jeff Ross, Sawyer Grow

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SPORTS FAN INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

STRUCTURE AND BACKGROUND

INDUSTRY TRENDS
SUCCESS FACTORS
COMPETITION
COMPETITION MAP:

6
6
8
8
9

MARKET OPPORTUNITY

10

SEGMENTATION
TARGET MARKET
CUSTOMER PROFILE
MARKET SIZE JUSTIFICATION
VALUE PROPOSITION

10
10
11
12
12

MARKETING PLAN

13

BRANDING AND POSITIONING

PRODUCT
PROMOTION
PRICE
PLACE

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13
16
17
20

OPERATIONS PLAN

21

YEARS 1-2: START UP PHASE

YEARS 3-5: STABILIZATION AND EXPANSION

21
23

FINANCIAL PLAN

26

REVENUE SUMMARY
COST STRUCTURE
FUNDING REQUEST
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

26
27
28
28

APPENDICES

29

INCOME STATEMENT
BALANCE SHEET
SALES PROJECTIONS

29
30
31

WORKS CITED

32

Executive Summary
No One Else
UChoose is an interactive sports fan app which breaks down the barriers in the relationships
between the fans, teams, and sponsors. Currently, there is no company that provides fans with a direct
way of interacting with teams and players.
Promising Industry
Mobile usage is an increasing trend in todays world, which is why we have chosen to create an
app. A fact we have to back this up is that in March of 2014, 43% of ESPN.coms audience came to them
exclusively through mobile devices.
The NBA has a revenue of $4,560,000,000 (ESPN.com, 2015). This means teams have the
ability to devote large sums of money to marketing, and enhancing their fans experience.
Three of the top ten most followed athletes on social media are from the NBA (the other seven
are European soccer players), so this proves that the league has a strong social media audience.
Fan Empowerment
Fans play a major role in teams and players decision making processes. The decisions that fans
help teams and individual NBA players make include any of the choices that these NBA organizations
wish to post on the UChoose app. Some examples of questions that teams may post are: Which logo
should we use for our new jerseys next year? Or, who would you like to see perform at halftime of Game
1 of this years NBA Finals? An example of a question that players might post is: Which design of shoes
should I wear for our next home game? Giving fans a role in the decision-making process provides them
with a sense of empowerment and connection with their favorite NBA teams and players. UChoose will
boost fan buzz that will jump starting ticket and merchandise sales, which, will increase team revenue.
The teams also gain direct access to an organized database of fan preferences (from the compilation of fan
votes). The sponsors benefit by gaining a new channel to associate their product with teams and players.
Business Love Triangle
Our Business Love Triangle is our business concept, brought through UChoose, which enhances
the relationships between the fan, team, and sponsor. The fan and team will be directly related through the
in-app activity. Teams will be posting their questions through the app, seeking fan feedback, and the fans
will get to directly vote for their favorite choice. The fan and the sponsors connection is through links
(located in the Links tab on the choice page) directly to the products or services shown in the choices.
This provides fans easy access to sponsors, and provides the sponsors with more business. The sponsors
and teams are linked through association. This means that the name brands will now be associated in the
fans mind to the teams or players; another way of endorsement.
How can you help us?
Our start up, the first two years, requires $2,500,000 in order to create the UChoose app, build
brand recognition, and pay operating expenses, advertising expenses, and development costs. In Year 1
we will sign two college teams, and in Year 2 we will sign two more college teams along with one NBA

team. This funding will be paid back within four years and by Year 3 we project to make a net profit of
$2,200,000.

Sports Fan Industry Analysis

Structure and Background
The sports fan industry is a rapidly growing industry that already has a strong base. 59%
of Americans describe themselves as sports fans (Jones, 2015). Sports are always changing and
evolving bringing in more money each year. Although the industry is already large, roughly
$4,560,000,000 in revenue for the NBA (National Basketball Association); the NBA has an area
that has dedicated fans, but has lots of room for improvement in the way fans engage in the
game(ESPN.com, 2015).
Due to the NBAs large revenue, they have the money to increase their fan base and
enhance the fan experience through interactivity. One of the worst teams in the NBA (recordwise), the Los Angeles Lakers, made a revenue of $295,000,000 in 2014 (PwC, 2015). There is a
lot of money in this industry that needs to be spent. It is clear that people are willing to spend
money on the NBA (average ticket prices are $52), so teams need to be reciprocating this (PwC
,2015).
With over 20,000,000 Facebook fans, the NBA is an expanding industry in which social
media interaction plays a large part in their growth. The fans need a more specialized forum to
turn to in order to really personally connect with the fans that go crazy for the players they love.

Industry Trends
Business Love Triangle
Sport sponsorship no longer means simply attaching a corporate name to a stadium.
Rather, it has become a triangle of association between the team, the sponsor, and the passionate
fan (Mooney, 2014). There is a trend in the desire for fans and teams to communicate directly,
but this is not happening because the media and social media are the middle men. This trend can
be taken advantage of by increasing the awareness of the importance of the fans in the business
model. Organizations need to take advantage of this new direct relationship trend by involving
the fans more into their business plans. There is a large market of fans, as mentioned above, but
teams are simply not writing the fans into their business models. From the article, Five Key
Trends That Are Driving Business Sports, Bullard asks, If you have two athletes really close in
talent, would you choose the one who has a bigger social following? The article goes on to
point out that having this question asked is suggesting that some in management are starting to
indicate the answer will be yes to the question, if social media is a factor in choosing players
for the team. This proves that fan interaction is, or soon will be, a factor in determining which
players are chosen to play for each team. Fan interaction is more important to teams already.
Fans also affect the player; the more fans that a player has, the more popular they become, which

results in them becoming more confident, which translates to playing and performing better on
the field. Therefore, it is also in the players best interest to increase fan connectedness.
Wealth of Data on NBA Players
In the NBA, there is a trend of gathering a vast amount of data about the sport and the
players. There is a lot of data that is not being taken advantage of. In the 2013-14 NBA season,
Ramirex said that This is the first year we have more data than we can analyze noting that
more data had been generated this season than in the leagues previous 67-year history. The data
is changing the way the game is played, shifting emphasis from how many total points a player
scores to measures of player efficiency, productivity per touch, and defensive effectiveness. The
way to gain competitive advantage in the future will be finding an analytical technique or
technology from another industry that can be applied to basketball in an innovative way
(Mooney, 2014). There is an opening in the market to use the wealth of player data that is not
being used. This data is on the individual players and not on the teams.
Increase in Mobile Usage
One trend that is currently occurring is the increase of mobile usage. Mark Craig of Cisco
Systems Sports & Entertainment Group said that 70% of fans bring a mobile device to the
stadium or arena and expect to use it during a game. People want to be connected and a large
percentage want to be connected through mobile devices. 43% of ESPN.coms audience came
to them exclusively through mobile devices the previous month (Mooney, 2014). Mobile usage
is a common trend in this era.
NBA Fan Interaction: Wanted
The Milwaukee Bucks, an NBA team, is trying to take the fan experience to a new
level. They have created an entirely separate stadium with entirely new jerseys to do this. The
new jersey has the slogan fear the deer in order to make the fans feel like a part of the game
(Rovell, 2015). They are also giving fans a new package for tickets in order to increase the level
of fan interactivity. The Bucks see the importance of fan interaction. This is a trend in the sports
fan industry that we are tapping into; there is a need and a want from marketing departments of
sports teams to involve their fans with their team. The marketing branch of sports teams want to
create buzz by making the fans feel important. The fan interaction model of marketing reveals a
trend in the growing importance of fans in the sports games.
Social Selling
Largely due to the advent of social media, prominent sports players have a new ability to
reach fans. In every sport, the superstars are sponsored by many companies. Essentially, just by
the players using the products, their fans will take notice and want to buy that product and use it,
too. However, the players are not just using the product, they are talking about it and promoting
it. In an article on Forbes.com, Mark Fidelman names what he believes to be the five things that

will change sports marketing forever. Number two on this list is: Social marketing will enable
influential people in sports to sell products directly to their fans (2014). This is in fact what is
happening. Take Steph Curry for example; he signed a contract with Under Armour and began
wearing, talking about, and promoting (mainly on social media), his shoes. Previously, Under
Armour was not a major player in the basketball shoe market; now they are number two in
basketball shoe sales only behind perennial powerhouse, Nike (Mirabella, 2014). Most of this
meteoric rise, can be attributed to the incredible sales of Steph Currys signature shoes. His
marketing ended up being what drove sales for his shoe, which is foreshadowing what the future
holds in store for marketing. The future of marketing is the direct connection between the
product and player.

Success Factors

In order to be a successful business in this industry a company needs:

Expertise and knowledge of the fan base
Ability to create a buzz by the fans
Increased transparency
Marketing to create a brand

One common trait of successful social media companies and sports teams, is that they are
able to create surges of interest, or buzz, from consumers by focusing on new trendy subjects
and ideas. An example is when the Harlem Shake was popular. Teams would post videos of
their players doing the dance on social media. This attracted viewership and, in turn, the
awareness of the social media sites and teams increased significantly.
Increased transparency is another trait that is key to being successful. The closer the fans
feel to the action, teams, and players the more they will use the product. Fans always want to feel
close to the players especially because the players are their idols.
To become a force in the sports fan industry, it is necessary that we devote a large portion
of our budget to marketing. Informing the fans about our product is what will sell our product. If
they do not know about our product and the associated benefits, they will not purchase it. This is
branding. We need to develop a brand that will be recognizable by all.

Competition
Currently, the sports fan industry is lacking in fan interactivity. All professional sports
teams have marketing teams right now, but it seems as though they are all missing one simple
idea. This idea is that the fans are craving to be a part of the organizations every move,
including business transactions. There is some indirect competition from Twitter, Instagram,
Vine, and Facebook. Our biggest direct competitor is ESPN. ESPN is valued at $50,000,000,000

(Badenhausen, 2014). They are the leaders in innovation for fan interactivity. However, they
mainly focused on statistics and live feeds.
The NBA and MLB are also beginning to get their feet wet in the market by partnering
with YouTube, giving them the rights to post recap and highlight videos (Mooney, 2014). These
partnerships between the professional sports leagues and YouTube will provide a relatively low
amount of competition in the market due to the fact that they only are able to work with short
video clips.
On the other hand, NASCAR is implementing a whole different system to increase fan
interaction. They are developing a digital cockpit that allows for the fans to listen to the driver
during the race and to also communicate with the driver through social media (Mooney, 2014).
Lastly, one of the best examples of how teams are trying to cater to the wants and needs
of fans, is the Sacramento Kings. They are building an arena (which will open in 2016), which
will incorporate apps for: check-in, ushering you to your seat, indicating shortest bathroom and
concession lines, seat upgrade options (much like what has been done in the airline industry),
and cashless commerce. In addition to this, the Kings are also going to provide in-seat wireless
charging (for mobile phones), drone parking surveillance, unique in-arena camera angles, and
personal knowledge technologies. One example is that the Kings will scan your ticket and see
that its your birthday and send you food and beverages to your seat (Mooney, 2014).

Competition Map:
This shows the us where the other competitors stand regarding their vision and their
money power.

Market Opportunity
Segmentation

Target Market
The NBA has a revenue of $4,560,000,000 from all of the teams combined. This means
that the NBA is a mature market that has a secure amount of loyal fans. With 20 million
Facebook followers, the NBA has a solid fan base that has room to grow (ESPN.com, 2015). If
the NBA were a product it would be in the early majority. This is because the NBA has a strong
foundation of trends in fan interactivity and fan support, but it also has some areas, such as team
transparency and player-fan personal connections, to improve upon in the future. There are more
improvements to be made in this market.
NBA fans are the most dedicated out of all of the Americans sports in the social media
arena. The top three most followed American sports players are NBA players (Responsive Inc.,
2015). This means that the NBA not only has a large fan base, but their fans are also incredibly
loyal. These fans care about the individual players as well as their team. NBA fans are willing to
spend a high percentage of their time and resources in order to follow the players and teams that
they are crazy about.
There is not a lot of competition in the fan interaction arena of the NBA. There is fantasy
basketball, a Facebook following, and a general ESPN app, but there is a lack of customization
and personal connection between the fans and the teams in these interactive competitors. Where
does the fan get to have the power of choice? Where does the fan get to feel like they are getting
personal connection with the individual players and teams they love? There is not a social media
site that does provides this connection. There is a need for a customized, mobile friendly,

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empowering product that will connect fans with the teams and players that they love.

Customer Profile
Consumer Behavior (Buying Process)
Out of all of the sports, the NBA has the highest amount of young fans and black fans.
45% of the the total fan base is under the age of 35; also, 45% of the fan base is black. Like most
sports, the fan base is mostly male at 70%.

(Thompson, 2014)
Problem Recognition
There is not a way for all fans to get a direct personal connection with the players and the
teams that they love. There is only one application that is aimed at enhancing the fan experience,
the ESPN app, and this application does not enhance the fans personal connection with players.
Information Search
Fans of the NBA almost exclusively get their information through the internet, via
streaming services and statistics bases, such as ESPN.
Alternative Evaluation
Fans are willing to pay if there are direct benefits to their purchase. However, they will
not pay excessive amounts for products or services that can be obtained for free.
Purchase Evaluation

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Consumers are looking for a quality product that brings them as close to the team,
players, and game, as possible. Quality product means that the fans can connect with players in a
personalized way. Quality from technology would mean minimum loading time, easy to
understand, and complimentary to the viewers priorities.
Post-Purchase Evaluation
The consumers in this market are almost exclusively repeat users of the product (eg.
ESPN stats and live streams).

Market Size Justification

The NBA has the most dedicated fans of any professional American sports league. On
Twitter, three of the top ten athletes (by following) are from the NBA (LeBron James, Kevin
Durant, and Shaquille ONeal; accounting for a combined 46.5 million followers), while the rest
are European soccer players. There are no athletes from any professional American sports league
besides the NBA in the top ten (Responsive Inc, 2015). This shows that although the NBA might
not have the overall largest fan attendance, the fans of the NBA are by far the most committed to
their athletes.
League

Number of Teams

Average Attendance

Total Attendance

NFL

32

68,331

17,304,523

MLB

30

30,458

73,739,622

MLS

19

19,148

6,184,804

NBA

30

17,826

21,926,548

NHL

30

17,502

21,528,172

(Wikipedia, 2015).

Value Proposition
For the Sports Fan Industry we offer the product that will give fans a whole new type of
interaction with the teams and players that will make them feel more connected, and make the
overall fan experience a more empowering and direct one.

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Marketing Plan
Branding and Positioning
UChoose has the brand promise of supplying empowerment and direct-connectivity between the
fans and their teams. UChoose is a unique product that directly connects sports fans to their teams and
empowers the fans by involving them in the teams decision-making processes. Sports teams benefit from
the sports fan empowerment and direct-connectivity because more buzz means more revenue. It means
teams will receive direct feedback from fans. Teams will know that the decisions they make are what their
fans want, and making fans happy will increase each teams revenue. The teams goal is to create buzz for
their team so that more people will buy tickets to the games and purchase more franchise products which
both increase revenue. UChoose will connect and empower the sports fans in order to increase each
teams buzz. This mobile app will be a voting app where teams and players will be able to post questions
or decisions that they would like
fans help on answering, and fans
would have free access to vote on
answers. This will make the fans
closer to their favorite team, as well
as provide teams with direct
feedback from the fan base.
There is currently no other
product like this on the market. As
you can see from the UChoose
Differentiation chart, video games
and fantasy sports give sports fans
empowerment, but they do not give
fans direct-connection to the players.
Fans might be able to make
decisions, but these decisions do not
actually affect the real teams that
they love. Social media sites like
Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
give the most direct-connection from the sports fans to teams and players, but they do not empower fans.
The fans are able to post on the Facebook and Twitter sites, but they cannot feel like a friend helping out a
fellow friend. Twitter and Facebook posts do not affect the players or the decisions that players and teams
have to make. Our UChoose app gives empowerment and direct-connectivity from the fans to their teams
by allowing the fans to vote directly on the platform that the players and teams have added their questions
on. There is no product out there in the market that gives as much power and direct connection from the
fans to their sports teams as UChoose.

Product

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UChoose offers a cutting edge, yet simple way for fans to interact directly with their favorite teams
and players. UChoose is an application for smartphones that will allow fans to follow, give feedback, and
interact with their favorite teams much like social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter.
However, instead of only having the ability to like or share a post by your favorite teams or players,
they will be able to play a role in teams and players decisions. Through UChoose, players and teams will
post choices that they are facing, and the app will compile these choices into a voting system directly
accessible to fans. Currently, there is no service that is solely dedicated to providing teams and players with
direct access to an organized base of fan preferences. Teams will see UChoose and say We need that!
Teams have never been given direct access to a database of fan feedback for pending decisions. The extra
knowledge that UChoose will provide teams will help ensure fan satisfaction and help to improve the overall
fan experience. This will benefit the teams because they will be getting direct feedback from the fans. They
will allow teams and players to access the information by simply looking at their posts and seeing the results
of the votes.
This will bring the fans, teams, and players closer, but to incorporate the final part of our
Business Love Triangle, we will have direct links to products and services of the sponsors. The fans
want to have what the teams have, and sponsors can give fans exactly that. UChoose creates a direct
connection to the sponsors by having a link to their website.
The fans can live out their dream of having the same products
as their role models. For example, if a player is posting a
question about which shoe he should wear, Nike or Adidas,
then there will be links to both the Nike and Adidas websites.
There will be a pay-per-click system for this. This is direct
advertising for the sponsors and will finalize our Business
Love Triangle system, which shows where we receive
revenue from (as shown).
UChoose directly connects the fans to the teams by
choices, the fans to the sponsors by links and the team to the
sponsor by association in an empowering and direct way, that is also personal and interactive. UChoose is
a revolutionary app that will change the way that the fans, sponsor and teams interact by allowing all
three to connect to each other.
UChoose will fall in the early adopters category. This is because companies such as Facebook are
beginning to see teams taking polls to make decisions and gauge fan preferences. UChoose is the first to
offer players and teams an organized database of fan preferences, offering a service that will give the teams
and players the direct contact they have both been seeking.
How it Works
We provide direct data to see exact fan preferences where they can see the fans choice. One of the
major issues in apps that have fan communication to teams is an unorganized voting system so that you
cant see the question or answer after ten minutes. Our app will solve this problem of unorganized apps.
We will fill the need by creating an organized app that will give the answers and questions in a

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straightforward way both for the teams and the fans that vote. The teams will find it easy to see which of
their choices won the vote, and fans will find it easy to vote and not be discouraged by the randomness that
other apps have issues organizing.
On the home page (shown on the left), UChoose will offer the user a chance to follow trending
teams and players, while also on the same page, the users favorites will be listed below. You can tap on
the player or teams icon to access
the choices they are posting.
Once the user is on the
choice page (shown on the right),
they will see the posted question,
and the possible choices.

Examples of questions that may

be posted on UChoose
1. Posted by Cleveland
Cavaliers: What type of
day should we have at
our next home game?
a.
Bobble-head Day
b.
Military Appreciation
Day
c.
Senior Citizen Appreciation Day
2. Posted by Steph Curry: Which shoes should I wear for our Christmas Day game?
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
.

3.
Posted by Marketing Manager of Miami Heat: Which concessions option should we start to offer
at our arenas that we dont currently have?
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3

Features
Organization:
Our product will have organized boxes with options for each question. This provides easy access
for fans to vote and a direct data approach for the teams and individual players to find the answers to their

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questions. Organization creates a successful atmosphere that enhances the connection and personal
interaction between fans and their teams/players.
Customization:
We will have specific page for each team. Dedicated sports fans are interested in one team that
they love. Why would we confuse them by having all of the questions for all of the teams in their app?
Our app will be specialized so that when our sports fans log on, they will have only the teams that they
want to follow in their app. This customization enhances communication and personal interaction.
We will also have a specific page for each player. If a sports fan wants to follow their favorite
players and participate in their UChoose questions, even though that player is not on their favorite team,
we can make that happen! Sports fans want to be more connected to their favorite players, and we make
that happen by linking this fan directly to the page where the individual player posts his questions. This
link enhances connectivity and personal interactions between the fans and the teams/players.
Sponsor Links:
In order to make money, UChoose has sponsors that correlate to the questions that the sports fans
are voting on. For example if the question is What jersey should the Nets wear in the next home game?
The sponsor for the jersey is Adidas. By seeing the sponsor link, fans will have the opportunity to buy any
of the options for the Nets jerseys . This completes our Business Love Triangle by connecting the
sponsor with the team, and then the fans to the sponsor because of the association to the team that they
love.

Promotion
Message
UChoose allows fans to be personally connected to their favorite teams and players. What are
friends for? To help you make decisions. You can be a friend to your team by giving them your advice
about choices they have to make.
UChoose will personally connect fans all year round to their teams and players. This is a big deal!
Not only are we connecting fans to their favorite teams and players during the NBA season, but we are
also connecting them during the off season as the NBA still needs to make choices even when the teams
are not playing basketball games on the court. There are still NBA practices and decisions that teams and
players need to make. During, before, and after a game, fans can get on this app and help make decisions
about their team: What logos should the new t-shirts have? How should the new seats be painted? Every
decision that NBA wants a second opinion on goes on this app, and the fans become a part of the NBA
decision making process. The fans will instantly connect with their team. Not only will the teams get the
fans input in a direct and organized manner with no intermediary, but the fans will be personally
connected with the teams they are so passionate about. Our empowerment and direct connection between
the fans, teams, and sponsors will create a large buzz and excitement about the NBA teams and sponsors.
This will create a larger and more dedicated NBA fan base that will increase the revenue of the NBA
teams and the sponsors.
Promotion Channels
Television Advertisements

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Television ads will be a key factor in the prosperity of our business. In attempts to obtain the
largest amount of our target market we will produce television commercials that incorporate the theme of
the fans being in control. For example, we will have commercials where the fans will be in the
executives office making team decisions. Another example would be having a fan sitting down with a
famous NBA player and giving him advice on what shoes to wear. In these ads, the sports fans will
understand that when they create an account on UChoose they have access to direct communication with
the players that they are crazy about. Fans will be able to personally be part of decisions that their teams
and favorite players are facing.
Smart-phone/Internet Advertisements
Visibility is going to be a key part of our online advertising strategy. We are going to position our
advertisements on popular applications and sites such as: ESPN, YouTube, and Pandora. These ads will
focus on spreading the awareness of our applications features. We will do this by having commercials
where we have organization executives and players talking about how fans are now able to make choices
for them.
Word of Mouth
Fans do not go to the game alone. Sports games are social events as well as entertainment. Fans
talk to other fans, they make friends, and they share ideas. Dedicated fans are going to be talking about
our app. They are going to invite their friends to download UChoose because it will be the exciting new
thing, and a great new way to connect with the teams and players that they love! Fans will love the
interaction and personal connection they feel on UChoose. Instinctively they will share the good news of
the creation of our app with their friends and other NBA fans that they connect with.
Signage at Stadiums and Arenas
We will pay to have our ad put up in the stadiums of the teams.
When NBA fans come to see their teams play at the stadiums they will
see our advertisements and download the free app. This will create word
of mouth and that will increase the downloads of our app UChoose.
Example Advertisement
This is a sample advertisement that shows how you can choose
for your favorite professional athletes, like Kevin Durant.

Price
The UChoose app is free for sports fans. We will have three streams of revenue -- monthly
subscription fees with a pay-per-vote system (for once we exceed a certain promised amount of votes)
from the NBA teams that we sign, pay-per-click on sponsor links on answers/questions, and pay-per-click
for in-app advertisements.
For the monthly subscriptions, the teams that want our service will pay us $25,000 per month to
post their questions as many times as they want during that month. Along with unlimited posts, the team
organizations will be allowed to activate any player, coach, or manager on the team to post questions.

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So, in order for players to post, they will need to be activated by their respective teams. For example, if
the Cleveland Cavaliers decide to use our service, they will purchase monthly subscriptions. After they
purchase, they can activate anybody under the organization, like LeBron James (player), David Blatt
(Head Coach), or Nate Forbes (Managing Partner).
The NBA fan base that we are targeting is about 811 million people. We believe we can capture
25 percent of the market.
Total revenue from each source:
Revenue Place

Revenue Amount (in dollars)

Revenue from Teams: Cost per Vote

$107,457,500

Revenue Base per Year after Signing all 30 Teams

$90,000,000

Total Sponsor Revenue

$2,068,050

Total Advertisement Revenue

$2,068,050

Total Revenue per Year

$201,593,600

Revenue per Team (if we averaged all revenue that we would get for signing one team)

$6,719,787

Revenue per Team per Month

$560,000

For the pay-per-vote portion of our revenue, we will charge $0.53 (pay per click google average
divided by 2) per vote once votes exceed a certain amount of votes. With a statistic of 25% of the
811,000,000 fan base, or 202,750,000 people downloading the app, we hope to achieve a revenue of
$0.53 per vote as we expect every person who downloads to vote at least once a month, or $90,000,000 in
revenue from teams in the voting area of revenue. We will be making $116,457,500 per year when we
have signed all 30 NBA teams.
Teams:

Consumer Market

811,000,000*

Base Amount of Fans (Expected)

(25% of consumer market)

202,750,000

Base Amount of Votes we Promise the Teams

250,000

Base Amount of Votes we think we will take in revenue at one vote per fan that
downloads the app

202,750,000

Amount Charged per Vote

$0.53

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Revenue from Teams Cost per Vote

$107,457,500

Revenue Base per Month

$25,000

Revenue base per year per team

$300,000

Number of Teams

30

Revenue Base per Year After Signing all 30 Teams

$90,000,000

Total Revenue from Teams per Year with 30 NBA Teams Signed

$116,457,500

* Overall, the NBA now has more than 811 million likes and followers combined across all league, team
and player social platforms. (NBA, 2015)
The in-app advertisements will pay us an amount to have their advertisements in our UChoose
app, and also they will pay per click by users. We are predicting an audience of 202,750,000 as this was
25 percent of the audience calculated through social media fan bases. The average Pay-per-click cost is
$1.02 for 2014 with a click through rate of almost 1% (AdWords). This means that at least 1% will see
the sign and download the app: 2,027,500 people. These 2,027,500 people will bring us $1.02 for each for
a revenue of $2,068,050.
Advertisements:
Fan Base Amount

202,750,000

Click Through Rate of %

2,027,500

Charge per Click Through

$1.02

Total Advertisement Revenue

$2,068,050

For the pay-per-click on sponsor links on answers/questions portion of our revenue, we will have
direct links to sponsor website in the questions and/or answers that are posted and will get click revenue
from these sponsors. For example, if a question like this is asked: Which T-shirt design should we sell in
our team shop? Possible Answers: a) Nike b) Adidas c) Under Armour , we will have direct links
to the websites of Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. With a click-through rate of 1 percent and a cost of
$1.02 per click (from ADWords) we hope to get a pay per click revenue of $2,068,050 from the sponsors.
Sponsors:

Fan Base Amount

202,750,000

Click Through Rate of 1 Percent

2,027,500

19

Charge Per Click Through

$1.02

Total Sponsor Revenue

$2,068,050

Place
Our app will be sold in the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play Store. Fans will be
able to download the app for free. Teams will be able to download it for free as well, but will not be able
to post their questions until they sign up for monthly subscriptions. UChoose will be used both in-season
and off-season because teams and players always need decisions to be made. This gives UChoose a
competitive advantage over other products that only create buzz during the season. UChoose
differentiates itself by increasing the empowerment, direct connection, and general fan base all year long!

20

Operations Plan
Our supply chain for the sports fan industry is as follows:

Teams and players will supply the content (choices), while fans will supply the feedback.
UChoose will coordinate the content and feedback into an organized system that will be simple and
legible. The Google play and the App Store are the distributors of the app. UChoose is the customer
contact and we handle the marketing side of the business. We are not a physical store, but our job is to
create sports demand and buzz with our app for NBA teams who pay for the fan service.

Years 1-2: Start Up Phase

Our goal is to prove out our business model by signing a contract and having 100,000 fans (which
we calculated by taking 5% of the Golden State Warriors Instagram following), with at least one
partnership with an NBA team in the first year. Our key competencies are to build an app, sign one NBA
team, and have loyal customers. Having a contract will prove that we have a strong business model
because it will show that we provide value to NBA teams. Fulfilling the contract for at least six months
will prove that we can deliver on our promises and develops loyal fans and followers. We need to get our
foot in the door and establish credibility. We will do this by having one NBA team sign with us, and by
hiring reliable, credible employees on both the marketing and technology sides of our business. This will
prove that our approach to getting sports fan buzz is an effective one. To achieve this goal we will create
an app in six months. In order to establish credibility with the NBA, in the next six months of Year 1 will
be be testing our product through providing the NCAA with our UChoose app. In Year 2, we will use our
NCAA experience in order to prove that we have a successful business foundation and model.
Key Activities:
Create App
Patent/Trademark
Test App with NCAA Teams
Hiring
Selling One Key Customer
Marketing

21

We need a patent on our unique UChoose idea and a trademark for our logo. This will stop
competitors from copying our idea and approach. We estimate that it will take six months to create the
app and another 6 months to test the idea on a small scale. We will approach the NBA teams with
evidence that our UChoose app can create buzz and that UChoose is an effective app for fan interaction.
Our next step is to go to sign at least one NBA team by the end of the Year 2. To do this we will
need one persistent salesperson. This person would be experienced in the sports industry. This might be
an agent of a player. This person will help in our pitches to the angel investors and to the one NBA team
that we want to target. Adding this person to our team gives us credibility.
In order to sign one NBA team, we need to hire a core team to get our app off the ground. We
will hire five employees. We will have two tech savvy employees who are somewhat passionate about the
NBA, one finance manager, at least one sales person, and one marketing manager.
In the next six months we will focus on gaining a fanbase by having a marketing process. In our
marketing pursuits we will have a key message to get to the fanbase that will be directed towards NBA
fans. This message will be delivered through the medium of posters at the game, and in-app
advertisements. As people do not go to their sporting games alone, we will rely on word of mouth for a
large percentage of our marketing plan for the first two years. Word of mouth is a free way to gain a
greater fan base.
Through our collaboration with our partner (NCAA teams), we will prove out our pricing
strategy. We will show that our service will provide the team with measurable benefits that far outweigh
the subscription cost. Also, in our working with NCAA teams, we will be able to establish ourselves as a
household name for quality service in the NCAA. Our partnership will build brand recognition,
confidence and credibility, and will assuage other NCAA teams fear of partnering with a new company.
Key Partners
Angel investors
App Store/Google Play Store
NBA teams
NCAA teams
Players
We will need Angel investors, like Mark Cuban, investor and current owner of the Dallas
Mavericks, and Keith Rabois. Rabois is listed as a sports angel investor that has contributed to over 80
different investments (Sports Angel Investors, 2015). We will partner with the App Store, and Android
store in order to sell our App through these distributors. Our partners will also include the NBA teams
that we sign, and players that get free access to UChoose after their team signs a contract with us. We will
have a relationship where we work on focus marketing and social media campaigns that work to improve
the app. This direct relationship helps create buzz and viral growth of the app and brand.
Key Resources
Live cheaply
Hire employees
o 2 programmers
o 1 finance manager
o 1 salesperson
o 1 marketing manager
Server/Computers

22

We can start out as simple as living at one of our homes, like Jeffs home, which is 25 minutes
outside of New York City and relatively close to many NBA teams. We will need computers and servers
in order to create the app.
We will also hire one or two employees to build and maintain the app so that the app is
professional and multifunctional. We will need one person to handle the finances, and one person in
marketing to help create the app. The marketing person will talk directly to the sports fans and teams in
order to get a sense of the most effective, consumer friendly features and programs for the app. They will
also conduct the marketing tests for the NCAA in order to give an in-depth analysis on what should be
changed in order to affirm our business model.
Challenges and Risks
Risk: One risk that UChoose might experience would include losing valuable money and time if we
cannot get the NBA to sign.
Solution: We will find other teams to sign with us. We will run another sample UChoose project that is
on a larger scale than just the few college basketball teams that we used to prove our credibility.
Risk: Not getting a big enough fan base for our app.
Solution: We will add costs to our marketing department in order to draw in the attentions of the fan base
that has been proven from the Facebook and Twitter followings.
Risk: We cannot get enough funds from angel investors.
Solution: We would get money from another source. We could borrow money from the bank. We can
also increase credibility through market tests and providing our service to more college basketball teams
first to prove our model, and then go back and ask angel investors for money.

Years 3-5: Stabilization and Expansion

Our goal for Year 3 is to sustain and scale our proven business model. Already having one NBA
team that we have signed, we need to scale our business model up to five NBA teams. We have our foot
in the door, and now we need to swing that door open and expand. We will partner with five NBA teams
by showcasing the first team as an example that we are a driving force in sports marketing.
Key Activities
Sign Three NBA Teams
Goal of 500,000 Users
Updating/Improving App
More Hiring
Our goal is to expand by establishing contracts with four NBA teams during Years 3-5. During
this time, the goal is to have 500,000 downloads of the free UChoose voting app. The app will need to be
consistently updated as we continue to gain information from our users. The improvements will be made
in order to make the UChoose experience more personal, exciting, and direct in its application of the
Business Love Triangle. Included in the improvements, we will apply changes to the design of the app
based upon feedback and targeted surveys. As time progresses, our app will begin to incorporate more
personalized and interactive features.
To meet our goal of reaching 500,000 users, we must network. Specifically, we will target big
name athletes. Jeff already is acquainted with an NBA player, and also knows an agent, so we will use
these unique connections to get our foot in the door. We are targeting big name athletes because they have
monster amounts of followers who are extremely loyal to them. An example is LeBron James, who has

23

approximately 25 million followers on Twitter. If we capture a measly 1% of his Twitter following we

will be halfway to our 500,000 user goal, solely from one player. This is why shooting for big name
athletes will make UChoose score big time.
In addition to the marketing strategy of acquiring big name athletes, we will go crazy with our
advertising. We will make sure to become a household name in the fan industry by having our
advertisements featured on basketball related YouTube videos, billboards or jumbotrons at NBA games,
other sports apps (such as ESPN), and on ESPNs actual television channel. We will make sure all sports
fans have at least seen or heard of UChoose.
Key Partners
NBA Teams and players
NCAA Teams/players
App Store/Google Play Store
Advertising firms
Our key partners include the NBA and NCAA teams that we have signed. We plan on breaking
even around Year 4. We will need an increased amount from angel investors in Year 3 to expand to the
NBA teams. We will still need the App Store in order to distribute our app.
At this stage in our company, we will need to be making some major marketing financial
commitments, such as creating TV commercials, internet ads, in-app advertisements. We will need to
partner with an advertising firm to produce ads and marketing campaigns.
Key Resources
Scalable Server From Amazons Server Service
Acquire a Business Space
Hire More
o Per NBA Team
Legal Manager
Social Media Head
Social Media Assistant
Account Manager
P/R Person
Software Programmer (2)
Sales Manager
o Per NCAA Team
Social Media Head
Account Manager
Software Programmer
We will rent a small building where we will have the three of us, and the eight employees per
NBA team, and three employees per NCAA team. As we are expanding, we will need to expand the
number of employees that we pay. We will need a two to three advertising/marketing, sales people to
maintain the accounts that we have with the current NBA teams, and more tech people to maintain the
system. We will hire an account manager that directly interacts with the NBA teams so that we can stay
fresh and up to date on needs that the NBA teams have from the UChoose app.
We are going to be using Amazons web services which is an average of $1.50 per hour for the
larger servers that we need. We choose Amazon as our service provider because they have
credibility.This will cost about 22,000 per year on server costs.
Challenges and Risks

24

Risk 1: We cannot sign more NBA teams.

Solution 1: We will continue to improve the UChoose app for the one team that we have signed in order
to increase our credibility with the NBA. Over time when the other NBA teams see the results in the
increased fan base and increased fan support, the other NBA teams will want to sign.
Risk 2: We make a team look bad and have to deal with a bad reputation
Solution 2: We will turn the negative into a positive, by embracing the extra publicity and using the buzz
to attract more users. We will also make extreme changes to the area that gave us a bad reputation.
Risk 3: Having the teams or fans dislike our new updates to the app.
Solution 3: After each update, we can send out optional surveys to teams and users to gather information
about what is positive and negative with the update. We can then use this information in creating the next
update.
Risk 4: Other companies may copy our idea.
Solution 4: We can resolve this by having a patent and trademark for our ideas. We can also make the
app unique enough so that our customers, the teams we have signed, are loyal to only us. The faster we
grow our brand, the more prominent we will be in the fans mind.

25

Financial Plan
Revenue Summary
We will have three streams of revenue: teams, sponsors and advertisements. We will have losses
in the first three years. Through the first three years we will have losses of $1,131,600, $1,705,525, and
$3,888,400 respectively. Year 1 is the development phase when we create the app, and begin recruiting
NCAA teams to participate in and test out UChoose. In Year 2 we will expand on the number of NCAA
teams that we sell our app to, as well as close one sale to an NBA team. We add one to two teams per year
so that our sales will turn a profit during Year 4. We add an average of one NBA team every year, and an
average of two NCAA teams per year. Our revenue includes about $280,000 for the first month that we
sign an NBA team, and this number increases as the popularity of our app grows. This means that when
we get more people on the app, we increase the number of votes that the teams pay us for. The greater
number of people that we have using our app, the more the sponsors and separate advertisers will pay us
for the traffic that we bring to their sites. This means that by Year 5 our app will have taken off and we
will be making $5,400,000 in profit after taxes.
NBA Teams Revenue:
Consumer market

811,000,000*

Base amount of fans we hope to get

(25 percent of market customers)

202,750,000

Base amount of votes we promise the NBA

250,000

Base amount of votes we think we will take in revenue at one vote per fan that
downloads the app

202,750,000

Amount we charge per vote

$0.53

Revenue from teams cost per vote

$107,457,500

Revenue base per month

$25,000

Revenue base per year per team

$300,000

Number of teams

30

Revenue base per year after signing all 30 teams

$90,000,000

Total revenue from teams per year with 30 NBA teams signed

$116,457,500

* Overall, the NBA now has more than 811 million likes and followers combined across all league, team
and player social platforms. (NBA, 2015)
Advertisements:

Fan base amount

202,750,000

Click through rate of 1%

2,027,500

26

Charge per click through

$1.02

Total Advertisement Revenue

$2,068,050

Sponsors:
Fan base amount

202,750,000

Click through rate of 1%

2,027,500

Charge per click through

$1.02

Total Sponsor Revenue

$2,068,050

Combined Revenue:
Revenue place

Revenue amount (in dollars)

Revenue from teams cost per vote

$107,457,500

Revenue base per year after signing all 30 teams

$90,000,000

Total NBA Sponsor Revenue

$2,068,050

Total NBA Advertisement Revenue

$2,068,050

Total NBA Revenue per year (all 30 teams)

$201,593,600

Total Revenue per NBA team per year

$6,719,787

Total Revenue per NCAA team per year

$569,400

Total Revenue for 2 NCAA team and 1 NBA team per year

$7,858,587

Cost Structure
Our costs are comprised of a variety of things; however, our most significant costs are from:
salaries, advertising, and development of the application. We will have a high degree of operational
leverage, which will be shown once we surpass our break-even point (estimated to happen in Year 4). Our
profit will increase rapidly in both Years 4 and 5, as our profits will go from $-3,888,400 (Year 3) to
$354,175 (Year 4), and then will increase to $5,399,900 (Year 5).
Payroll Costs

27

Our payroll costs will be a large proportion of our total costs. This is due to that we will be hiring
a team of 8 people for each NBA team and 3 people for each NCAA team. Once we have acquired all of
our targeted teams, we will not need to hire any more employees dedicated to managing NBA or NCAA
teams.
Advertising
As described previously, we will be increasing our advertising expenditure as we are transitioning
from the growth to maturity stage. We will be establishing brand recognition through advertisements: on
the television, in other apps, and in NBA stadiums. These advertising expenditures will reach their peak
in Year 3 when we will devote $6,000,000 to our advertising budget.
Development of Application
Our application will cost $1,000,000 to build, and will require approximately $100,000 each year
to keep it up to date. The initial build will be costly due to that it will set up our whole UChoose system,
which will be the foundation on which we build upon. The $100,000 maintenance cost will be used to add
features and conform to consumer demands and requests.

Funding Request
We are asking for a sum of $2,500,000 from private investors and angel investors, and a $500,000
bank loan to finance our business. We will use this mainly to fund the development of our app, take care
of our advertising expenditures, and to handle other operating expenses. In our second round of funding
we will require $3,600,000 to finance our salaries of the UChoose task force assigned to every NBA team,
8 employees and every NCAA team, and 3 employees. We will be able to pay back the funds after year
five when the net income after taxes is $5,400,000.

Organizational Structure
At UChoose, we will be devoting a team of eight employees to each NBA team we assign,
dedicated to making sure that the team is content with our service. Also, each we will assign a team of
three employees to each NCAA team we sign. The teams will be devoted to making sure that the teams
are well represented on our app. Outside of those teams of employees dedicated to NBA and NCAA
teams, we will have our own base of employees at our headquarters who will be more focused on
facilitating the interactions that both fans and sponsors will be having on our app.
UChoose will be considered a limited partnership in the first two years when we are in the start
up phase because we are only asking for private funding. Later on, in Year 3, we will transition into an SCorporation because we will be going public and will issuing stock.

28

Appendices
Income Statement

Income Statement
Total Sales
Growth Rate
Cost of Sales (COSS)
COSS %
Gross Profit
Gross profit %
Payroll Expenses
salaries
taxes
benefits
Total Payroll Costs

Yr 1
$

Yr 2
$

144000
0.6
96000
$

Administrative Expenses
leasing
advertising
insurance
utilities
supplies/misc
depreciation
Total Admin Expenses
Total Operating Costs
IBIT
Interest expense
Income before taxes
Taxes (45%)
Net Income (loss)
Net income %

240,000

-$

0.40

Yr. 3
3,163,500 $
1218%
1739925
0.55
1423575
0.45

500,000.00 $
50000
100000
650000

805,000.00 $
80500
161000
1046500

0
500000
7000
10000
15000
5600
537600
1187600

0
2000000
12000
10000
15000
5600
2042600
3089100

1,091,600.00 -$
40,000
(1,131,600)
0
-1131600
-4.715

1,665,525.00 -$
40,000
-1705525
0
-1705525
-0.539125968

29

Yr. 4
Yr. 5
9,183,900 $
17,740,500 $
190%
93%
4591950
7983225
0.5
0.45
4591950
9757275
0.5

1,807,500.00 $
180750
361500
2349750

30000
6000000
23000
12000
20000
5600
6090600
8440350
3,848,400.00 $
40,000
-3888400
0
-3888400
-0.423393112

0.55

3,275,000.00 $
327500
655000
4257500

30000
5000000
30000
15000
25000
5600
5105600
9363100
394,175.00 $
40,000
354175
0
354175
0.019964206

25,770,000
45%
10308000
0.4
15462000
0.6

4,155,000.00
415500
831000
5401500

30000
4500000
40000
15000
30000
5600
4620600
10022100
5,439,900.00
40,000
5399900
0
5399900
0.209542103

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet
Startup
Assets
Current Assets

Cash
Accounts Receivable
Other Current Assets
Total Current Assets Inventory

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

2,472,000
-

1,471,960
7,200
-

34,073
94,905
-

110,238
275,517
-

644,718
532,215
-

2,472,000

1,479,160

128,978

385,755

1,176,933

5,000
23,000
28,000
28,000
2,500,000

5,000
23,000
28,000
5,600
22,400
1,501,560

5,000
23,000
28,000
11,200
16,800
145,778

30,000
28,750
250,000
308,750
16,800
291,950
677,705

30,000
28,750
250,000
308,750
22,400
286,350
1,463,283

500,000
500,000

68,160
65,000
133,160
500,000
633,160

378,253
104,650
482,903
500,000
982,903

1,068,255
234,975
1,303,230
500,000
1,803,230

1,308,883
425,750
1,734,633
500,000
2,234,633

2,000,000
2,000,000

2,000,000
(1,131,600)
868,400

5,600,000
(6,725,525)
(1,125,525)

5,600,000
(6,371,350)
(771,350)

2,500,000

1,501,560

Long Term Assets

Total Assets

Property & Equipment

Furniture & Fixtures
Equipment
Land
Buildings
Total Fixed Assets
Accumulated Deprec
Net Prop & Equip

Liabilities & Equity

Current Liab
Total Current Liab
Long term Liab
Total Liabilities

Accounts Payable
Other Accrued Expenses
Notes Payable

Equity

Total Equity
Total Liabilities & Equity

Common Stock
Private Investment
Retained Earnings

30

2,000,000
(2,837,125)
(837,125)
145,778

677,705

1,463,283

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

981,000.00

528,000.00

202,200.00

Year 4

Year 5
COMBINED
Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

2,006,600.00

1,183,200.00

626,100.00

52,800.00

361,600.00

98,100.00

Year 3

52,800.00

Year 2

1,655,000.00

1,028,000.00

538,000.00

$
548,000.00

1,665,000.00

1,075,000.00

mo. 3
$

$
560,000.00

1,680,000.00

1,085,000.00

mo. 4
$

$
560,000.00

1,680,000.00

1,095,000.00

mo. 5
$

$
560,000.00

1,680,000.00

1,120,000.00

mo. 6
$

560,000.00

280,000.00

1,960,000.00

1,400,000.00

mo. 7
$

560,000.00

330,000.00

2,007,000.00

1,447,000.00

mo. 8
$

560,000.00

377,000.00

2,054,000.00

1,494,000.00

mo. 9
$

2,101,000.00

1,541,000.00

840,000.00

424,000.00

mo. 10
$

2,148,000.00

1,588,000.00

887,000.00

471,000.00

mo. 11
$

2,240,000.00

1,635,000.00

934,000.00

518,000.00

mo. 12
$

2,023,700.00

1,235,900.00

640,800.00

53,800.00

368,700.00

207,900.00

102,800.00

53,800.00

2,038,400.00

1,288,600.00

655,500.00

54,800.00

373,400.00

213,600.00

107,500.00

54,800.00

2,058,100.00

1,304,800.00

668,500.00

56,000.00

378,100.00

219,800.00

108,500.00

56,000.00

2,034,800.00

1,319,000.00

669,500.00

56,000.00

354,800.00

224,000.00

109,500.00

56,000.00

2,054,500.00

1,354,000.00

672,000.00

56,000.00

374,500.00

234,000.00

112,000.00

56,000.00

2,349,600.00

1,671,400.00

700,000.00

336,000.00

28,000.00

389,600.00

271,400.00

140,000.00

56,000.00

28,000.00

2,411,700.00

1,732,500.00

704,700.00

386,000.00

33,000.00

404,700.00

285,500.00

144,700.00

56,000.00

33,000.00

2,473,800.00

1,793,600.00

709,400.00

433,000.00

37,700.00

419,800.00

299,600.00

149,400.00

56,000.00

37,700.00

2,536,400.00

1,854,700.00

1,022,100.00

508,000.00

42,400.00

435,400.00

313,700.00

182,100.00

84,000.00

42,400.00

2,586,400.00

1,908,400.00

1,078,800.00

559,700.00

47,100.00

438,400.00

320,400.00

191,800.00

88,700.00

47,100.00

$ $ 2,400,000.00
$ 7,635,000.00
$ 15,489,000.00
$ 22,515,000.00
$ 32,550,000.00

total

1,135,200.00

611,400.00

51,800.00

$ 240,000.00
$ 3,163,500.00
$ 9,183,900.00
1,966,600.00 $ 17,740,500.00
2,681,400.00 $ 25,770,000.00

201,200.00

93,400.00

51,800.00

$ 240,000.00
$ 763,500.00
$ 1,548,900.00
331,600.00 $ 2,251,500.00
441,400.00 $ 3,255,000.00

$ 2,567,000.00 $ 2,614,000.00 $ 2,661,000.00 $ 2,708,000.00 $ 2,755,000.00 $ 2,765,000.00 $ 2,775,000.00 $ 2,785,000.00 $ 2,800,000.00 $ 2,800,000.00 $ 2,800,000.00

mo. 2
$

Year 6 NOT ON STATEMENTS $ 2,520,000.00

NCAA
Year 1
$
-

1,645,000.00

mo. 1
$

Sales Projections - Revenue

NBA
Year 1

Sales Projections

31

Works Cited
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