Where are you from originally?
Miami, Florida
What university did you go to?
Georgetown University. Hoya Saxa!
What is the idea behind your company?
The idea behind Togga is that soccer is the most
popular and exciting sport in the world, yet there does not exist a leading
draft style fantasy platform that lets fans connect, engage and enjoy with
their friends and the worldwide soccer community.
What need does it fulfill?
Our platform fulfills the following needs:
- A
draft style format - The draft is the best part of playing fantasy sports
and we have finally made it possible for soccer fans.
- Enhanced
Scoring – We are the first fantasy soccer platform to reward valuable
player stats that have not been recorded in other fantasy sites. These include stats such as shots on
target, successful dribbles and crosses, chances created and
interceptions. Now a 0-0 or 1-0
game will still be exciting for the average fan.
- A
keen focus on the user experience – We have a mission to build a platform
that clearly establishes Togga as setting the bar in terms of always
thinking in a user first mentality.
- Community – The online soccer community is vast and we will create an environment where our users can play and engage with soccer fans across the world.
What exactly does it do?
Togga allows users to set up a league and invite
friends to compete in a season long fantasy competition. It also allows single users to find other
soccer fans to form a league. In time,
Togga will offer varying styles of weekly games so users can have access to
even more action.
Who is it for?
Initially, our platform is for the 1.5 billion
fans who watch the biggest league in the world, the English Premier League
(EPL). After rolling out to the EPL, we
will create games for other soccer leagues around the world, beginning with
Major League Soccer.
What was the most challenging aspect of growing
your business?
Building a fantasy platform from scratch is not
a small undertaking as it requires a ton of engineering and product
time/expertise (combined with navigating the plethora of league distinctions
that make the EPL so exciting). The most
challenging part was establishing the prioritization of the product roadmap and
then forming the team and roles to constantly improve the communication and
velocity with enhancing the platform.
What is the next step for you and your business?
The next step is to continually enhance the
product, while at the same time, acquiring users to engage with the game. We have been seeing weekly double digit user
growth with several emails a day from users expressing their excitement about
the platform. We are actively seeking
seed investment to increase both engineering and marketing efforts.
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Move forward each day! The amount of items to do will always seem
endless, but the key is to accept this as natural and then prioritize, focus
and continually make progress. The speed
at which this happens is dependent on finding the best team and then delegating
to their area of expertise.
What is your motto in business?
Demand the best, get it done, build awesome
What resource have you found to be the most
helpful and why?
Wow, there have been a ton.
A phrase that sticks with me is:
See
it, forget it
Read
it, learn it
Do
it, understand it
It’s a combination of jumping in head first in order to
provide a framework and then looking to people you respect in both your network
and online to substantiate and better understand how to approach the aspect of
the business you are focused on. My top
online thought leaders that I always to go to are Brad
Feld, Fred Wilson, Jeff Weiner, Rand Fishkin and Dharmesh Shah.
