Ocams: Next Steps

Vision
to supercharge tennis innovation
by creating a universal filming platform
that provides every tennis player with exceptionally easy access to video
and every innovator with a large user base and a wealth of data*,
which then allows a vibrant marketplace to emerge
where tennis players and innovators can continue to help each other thrive.
*shared AI training datasets would significantly reduce each innovator's development costs, so this is one important way in which a universal filming platform would economize tennis innovation.

Roadmap

Step 1
Become a ubiquitous and beloved presence within an influential tennis ecosystem.

This step focuses on the "providing every tennis player with exceptionally easy access to video" part of the vision above.

Why is this Step 1?
Because an ecosystem of influential and engaged users is a powerful leverage for attracting the best innovators as well as the rest of the tennis world (Step 2).

Year 1 market goals
  1. 2,000 new active users who receive and watch at least 1 video per month
  2. >50% of target users end up buying
  3. Revenue of >$20 per month per user, for a total of >$40,000 per month or $480,000 per year
  4. Up to 100 court installations
Insights for execution

Clubs are NOT the customers:

  • Many clubs see video as "extra work".
  • Many clubs are typically not in a position to figure out how to build a new video business on top of running the club. This is understandable because it is not trivial to find a winning formula. It requires time investment, creativity, experimentation, risk-taking, and new skill acquisition.
  • Many clubs see the potential revenue as insignificant.

I have rarely met an owner or club manager who badly wants video. They like to be able to offer the service, but they also see it as a source of headache. They say things like "the money is nothing" or worse, they see video as a cost center.

The good news is that I have met many tennis players and parents who are very excited about video. At one club in NYC where we offer video subscription, we see a retention rate of over 70% (excluding those who left the club) at $75/month. The oldest customers at this club have been subscribers for over 4 years and paying $105/month (!). This tells me that not only is there initial excitement, but that as long as getting the video is effortless, the habit of watching it sticks easily for a long time.

To spread video quickly, we need to:

  1. market and sell directly to tennis players,
  2. make it as painless as possible for clubs to "get out of the way"

To recruit clubs, we need to be a full service company:

  1. provide free equipment and installation,
  2. adapt our system to the club's existing tools and workflows 🐊,
  3. give clubs the option to buy into the video business once it's making money steadily; this provides the club with an attractive financial upside and us with a way to raise money (think nano-IPO).
Technology development
  1. Club integration tools
  2. AI to streamline video extraction
  3. Live streaming platform
  4. Internal analytics
Execution

Task 1: Identify a tennis ecosystem (e.g., Florida academies, Atlanta junior tournament circuit) that meets the following criteria:

  • consists of tennis players who "need to have video" as opposed to those for whom video is just "nice to have,"
  • enjoys cachet in the tennis world (so that success in this ecosystem translates to publicity),
  • has a high players-to-court ratio (so we can be as efficient as possible with camera deployment).

Task 2: Install at 10-15 tennis clubs and figure out monetization. Experiment with marketing (channels, copywriting, cadence), pricing, and product offering as methodically and creatively as possible. We must nail monetization because it:

  • justifies giving out free equipment and installation,
  • shows us how users exactly value video,
  • creates a franchise-style playbook,
  • reduces dependence on future fundraising.
Fundraising

Amount: $1 million for 12 months

Growth & operation

CEO
Growth lead
Customer happiness person
Data analyst
Operations manager

Technology development

CTO/Project Manager
Developers
Designers
QA

Equipment & installation costs

Hardware
Travel
Misc labor

Step 2
Attract the best in-category innovators by offering early exclusive access to our user base and video data. Prioritize innovations that improve video attractiveness the most for the greatest number of tennis players (e.g., automated match scoring). Work closely with innovators to build the best AI-oriented software development kit (SDK) possible to fuel future technology growth. 🐊

Why is this Step 2?
Step 2 will turn potential competitors into partners.
Ocams + innovation partners = better overall service for the users (easy video, infinitely upgradeable).

Pitch Deck