Gipper raises $8.6 million to enable sports programs to offer games on social media.

Recent changes to the NCAA rules regarding name and image similarity have opened the floodgates for student-athletes to receive compensation for the first time. Athletes and sports programs are now more focused on building monetizable brands, and social media is a key distribution channel for this growth. The wave of interest is not focused solely on college track and field, but youth and high school sports as both athletes and programs are poised to increase brand awareness to drive future recruitment efforts. There is also growing interest in Gipper is a graphics creation platform for sports organizations to build their social presence with professional looking images. At its core, it is a user-friendly, no-expertise design tool that creates robust graphics in seconds with motion graphics tailored for engagement on social platforms, and also handles posts. Gipper is mobile optimized so social media coordinators can post timely updates during live events. The company offers a number of tiers sold on an annual basis that cater to both athletes themselves and schools.

back alley cReconciliation with Gipper’s Founder and CEO Matthew Glick To learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, the latest funding round bringing the total raised to $12.1 million, and more…

Who are your investors and how much did you raise?

Raised $8.6 million in Series A. The round was led by Telescope Partners, with additional investment from TIA Ventures.

What products or services does Gipper offer?

Gipper is a content creation platform that enables sub-professional sports organizations to create professional-looking sports graphics for use on social media, websites and signage. Our platform enables sports organizations to connect with their communities in a way that increases engagement, increases brand affinity, drives recruitment efforts, and facilitates sponsorship opportunities.

What inspired you to start Gipper?

While playing soccer at Colgate University, he realized there was an opportunity for amateur sports organizations to use social media to more effectively promote their programs and athletes. We have also seen first hand that the majority of these organizations lack sufficient time and design/marketing resources. I knew there was a huge opportunity to build software that would allow me to create social media content like a pro, even if I had no design or marketing experience.

How is it different from the gipper?

Designed for non-designers, Gipper revolutionizes content creation with a streamlined editing experience that lets you create and post in seconds faster than any other design tool on the market.

What is Gipper’s target market and how big is it?

Gipper targets sub-professional sports organizations such as club/youth sports, K-12 (K-12), and college track and field. Youth sports alone is a $19 billion growing market.

what is your business model?

SaaS (annual subscription).

How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?

We have always been a capital efficient business and have never had a ‘grow at all costs’ mentality, so given the macroeconomic environment, our approach to building a business at Gipper There was no complete transformation in method. Of course, we keep an eye on expenses and continue to align our teams around revenue. Most of our business operates in a recession-tolerant sector (education). Schools typically do not go out of business and have fixed budgets. Of course, budgets could tighten, but we have shown very strong retention even during times like the height of COVID when school budgets were impacted and sports were not being played. Therefore, despite the realities of the larger economic environment, we are very excited about our position: building an industry-defining business.

What was the fundraising process like?

Raising capital in today’s environment is not easy, but we’ve done a great job of building relationships with our investors and keeping Gipper up to date on its growth. So there were a lot of prospective investors who were already well educated about the team and the business. This made fundraising easier. Our traction in the market has also helped generate a significant amount of positive interest, including from Telescope Partners, who approached us a year before closing the round. It gave me time to build relationships and trust.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in raising capital?

Identify the perfect partner. We have a great relationship with the people at the cap table, especially with TIA Ventures (who led the seed round funding), who is a great early stage investor/partner. When raising A, he had to optimize not only the capital, but importantly the people who would join his Gipper as long-term partners. Raising capital is a lot like getting married, so it takes diligence on our part to move forward with people who are philosophically a good fit for what we’re building here. It was a challenge to make sure that we did.

What factors in your business are driving investors to write you checks?

Teams, Traction and Greater Market Opportunities. We have consistently demonstrated that we are a group that performs at a high standard.

What milestones do you plan to achieve in the next six months?

We have some exciting milestones around customer/revenue growth and new product initiatives.

What advice can you give to New York companies that haven’t injected fresh capital into their banks?

Traction cures everything. Focus on finding ways to generate revenue through paying customers. Especially in today’s environment, we cannot rely on external funding. So the best (and most rewarding) way is to fund your business through your customers’ money. And the more you do it, the more attractive it will be to potential investors (and the less dependent you will be on them!).

Traction cures everything. Focus on finding ways to generate revenue through paying customers. Especially in today’s environment, we cannot rely on external funding. So the best (and most rewarding) way is to fund your business through your customers’ money. And the more you do it, the more attractive it will be to potential investors (and the less dependent you will be on them!).

Where do you see the company going now in the near future?

We will continue to focus on serving our customers and ensuring that we provide a world-class customer experience.

What is your favorite restaurant in the city?

Impossible question! ! ! But dare I say it, it’s Missiritzi right now. Their pasta is amazing.

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