[Dallas, TX] VoteOnPlay is a real-time social gaming platform that allows pro sports fans to vote on the outcome of every play and compete against friends or other fans for points and rewards. At Dallas Startup Weekend in November, Chris Walters of Bootstrap Dallas pitched the idea for a mobile app that allowed baseball fans to compete with other fans by guessing the outcome of each at-bat. Fifty-four hours later, the idea had been brought to life and his newfound partner Allan Crawford and he walked away as the winner of startup weekend. Within a week, the two hired Josiah Platt to handle graphics and front-end development, and were on their way to building a company. Although the app will eventually incorporate all sports, the team has decided to focus on baseball in the beginning. “People that go to baseball games: 1) Don’t typically pay attention to the whole game, and 2) if their team is losing, they typically get up and leave. Knowing that many fans are on their smartphones during the game anyway, we sought out to provide them a mechanism to have that mobile interaction with the game that’s going on in front of them,” said Allan. Through the app, users will be able to vote on the outcome of each at-bat during baseball games, competing against other participants to receive rewards for food and merchandise at the stadium. In doing so, the app hopes to increase game engagement and enhance the sporting experience for fans. Moving forward, VoteOnPlay just accepted an invitation to participate in Tech Wildcatters accelerator program – where they’ll receive seed funding and mentorship over the next 12 weeks. According to Allan, “[Tech Wildcatters] gives us the next level of momentum to communicate, network, and build relationships with thought leaders and those in the sporting industry. We hope to capitalize on that and get our app adopted by sporting franchises.” Beyond that, they will be working to further develop the app’s functionality for other sports such as football, hockey, and basketball. VoteOnPlay will remain in Beta through spring training, but will launch in full on MLB’s opening day, April 6th, with an iPhone and Web app. For more information, visit their website or connect with Allan directly.
