Interview with Nate Policar about starting his business StatBroadcast Systems.
This is part seven of the ten part series. Follow the Starting a Business as a Young Entrepreneur interview series and don’t miss an interview!
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We are a spoiled society. There was a time when we had to wait for today’s newspaper to find out what happened yesterday. Now, something that happened several hours ago is already old news and has been blogged about, shared through Facebook updates, and featured in the trending section of Twitter.
From an early age, Nate Policar has been delivering information to end consumers as an entrepreneur. In the fourth grade, Nate got in trouble for creating and distributing a tabloid magazine. After conquering the gossip and exploits of elementary school, Nate now delivers sports statistics and data with his business StatBroadcast Systems.
Sports news is never ending. Fans want to know the instant a touchdown is scored, how their rival team is doing, and whether or not a player from their fantasy team is going to lead them to victory. In college athletics, StatBroadcast Systems is the premier provider of sports statistics technology for athletic programs and events. With products StatMonitr and StatBroadcast Live, the company provides software, support, and statistics to schools and their fans.
StatBroadcast Systems was launched in 2007 while Nate Policar was working at Arizona State University. Nate started the company at the age of 24. Within the first year, Nate was faced with the task of building a product not only good enough for Arizona State University, but for the Fiesta Bowl, which was the host of the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. The company now provides support for 15 conferences, NCAA championship events, over 10 NCAA football bowl games, and 80 NCAA athletic programs.
As in any sport, there’s a lot of competition in the industry as well. StatBroadcast remains one of the only providers of statistics for college athletic programs, but there are many options for fans wishing to find a sports score and research statistics on sites like Mizzou Football. When it comes to setting themselves apart, it’s all about serving the customer.
What sets StatBroadcast Systems apart from competitors?
– “Make it really easy for the school to setup.”
– “Make it really easy for the fans to use.”
– “Be as attentive to our customers’ needs as possible.”
Setting his products apart from the competition has been important, but it hasn’t been the biggest challenge so far. “The pullback in the economy really hurt schools, especially the higher education institutions. One of the places where they all cut their budget was in athletics.” Not even the recession could stop Nate from becoming a successful young entrepreneur while working on something he is passionate about. Through his experience as a young entrepreneur, Nate has attended NCAA Final Fours, NCAA College Football Championship Games, and his most rewarding experience – seeing fans inside the stadium use something that he built.
Don’t just look at the statistics, get the whole interview! Listen to the audio below.
Interview Highlights
– How Nate discovered a marketplace that there was no current solution for – and then filled that need.
– What’s the best way to protect your business? “Be aware of the business environment and the legal hurdles you might face.”
– Best piece of advice for people under 30: “Learn as many skills as you can in as many different aspects of business.”
– Do you think it’s an advantage or a disadvantage to start a business at a young age, and why? “For me it was an advantage. I’m at a point in my life where I was able to walk away from a full time job and start my own business without having to worry about the responsibilities of providing for a family.”
Listen to the full interview here:
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