INNOVATION IN SPORTS MAKES FUNDING EASIER
Innovation in sports is a must according to Michiel Wolters, CEO at Peakz. Especially for pro-athletes and upcoming talent. “Sports talent does not get equal opportunities on their way to the top and money isn’t divided fairly in sports”, Michiel states.
As a serious sportslover Michiel enjoys a challenge. He has high ambitions for his start-up: more equality in sports funding. Luckily he possesses quite some persistence and creativity. He learned his entrepreneurial skills at a young age, and in combination with his background as a product manager in innovative ICT solutions, it makes him the right man for the job.
WHY DID YOU START PEAKZ?
“I believe in fair chances. Certainly in sports it should all be about equal opportunities. But in reality we see that that is not the case. To have a serious chance to reach the top in tennis, talents have to pay tens of thousands of euros to improve their performance. This also counts for talented race-car drivers, and almost every other athlete in any sport. How should parents finance this? A couple of years ago I realized that money determines how far you can go in reaching the top in almost any sport. And I wanted to change that. Talent, drive, and ambition need to determine how far the athlete can get in his/her sport. Funding for athletes needs to be easier.”
WHY IS FUNDRAISING FOR ATHLETES SO DIFFICULT?
“NOC*NSF (the National Olympic Committee * National Sports Federation in The Netherlands), associations and sports clubs simply do not have enough money to support all talent. Ninety percent of all the technical directors of the associations in The Netherlands address that finance is the largest bottleneck in talent scouting and development. This means that quite some talent out there needs to make it on their own financial resources – and this is just the Netherlands. Countries all around the world face a similar situation.” “An athlete needs a lot of money to reach the top in sports. At the same time, athletes everywhere are putting out content for free on social media, just so they can get increased interest from fans and, if they’re lucky, sponsors. But the golden rule with social-media platforms is simple – if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product. Peakz now offers athletes a way to monetize the content they would normally put out for free. Through that monetization, they can increase their own funding or create a stable income so they worry less about paying the bills, and more about training to reach the top. Simon Hansen, Luis Tavares – just two big names in their sports that have a huge following on social media, but can’t make money out of the content they put up. That’s why they joined Peakz. In his first week, Simon already found 60 scouts that have greatly helped him achieve a more stable income.” “I just met and spoke to many talented race-car drivers over the past couple of weeks. They all tell me the same story: you can’t participate in races if you don’t bring tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros – even though you might be the most talented driver on the course. They are in a continuous search for sponsors to be able to take part in (inter)national competitions. Money is crucial in this sport. This needs to change. All talent needs to get a fair chance to reach the top, and by putting out unique content they can work to get there, without it taking a lot of time away from training.”
“The funding problem imposes more pressures on (pro)athletes”
“Also at the top something needs to change. Even when you reach the top it is very tough. Only in very few sports one can make enough money to be able to focus on a full-time athletic career. In athletics one can not earn a decent living, but did you also know that the kickboxers at the highest level can’t live from what they make? Only one percent of kickboxers at the top, can buy a nice house with their earnings. The rest live from fight to fight. Like Luis Tavares, who is on his way to become world champion at Glory.
Sanne Meijer, threefold world champion and fivefold European champion wakeboarding, also does exactly that. She chooses the tournaments with high prize-money. If she wins, she is able to get better training possibilities with that money and improve her performance. Hence, the funding problem imposes more pressure on athletes.” And this is not taking into account what Covid did to all athletes, where tournaments, fights, matches were canceled and athletes couldn’t earn anything.
“But honestly, in The Netherlands athletes are still well off in comparison to less developed countries. Let’s consider those places where sports is not a national ambition. A boxing trainer told me the other day that there are a lot of talented boxers in Africa. But due to the lack of facilities and no funding, they stand no chance against serious sports countries . There are no equal opportunities for these talents. But now, worldwide, every athlete can stand a chance to increase their income by putting out content that their fans will appreciate. From bag-routines to a ‘look behind the scenes’ or the first minutes in the locker room, right before a big match – it’s that imagery you cannot find anywhere else. And now they can exploit it in a way that benefits both their fans and themselves.”
HOW WILL PEAKZ MAKE FUNDING EASIER?
“Fans want to be more engaged with (pro) athletes, not clubs or leagues. They want to see and understand an athlete’s personality and connect with them. Younger fans don’t watch full games or matches – they look for highlights, tips and tricks, bloopers, preparation, post-match celebrations and more. They want to be a part of the journey. Up until now, there was no way for athletes to cater to that need. But that demand from fans, and the supply of great content from athletes – that’s what created Peakz.”
“Athletes don’t need to ask for money anymore”
On social media, athletes shouldn’t be the product. They are brands, and their content is the unique product they create. That’s why we’re providing them with a platform where athletes can earn from their content, the exclusive behind-the-scenes content, the tips and tricks, the heartfelt, raw emotional journey they go through.
And next to that, it’s so important to engage with truly-committed fans. Millennials and Gen Zers have changed the game in terms of content consumption, so it’s important to innovate and provide they want to continuously engage them..
Look at platforms like Twitch, Patreon or even OnlyFans. Fans / Followers want to see more than just the short, high-level content, and they definitely don’t like when it’s not authentic. Fans want an athlete’s every-day reality. They want to get to know the person behind the athlete, to appreciate the athlete and to understand what they’re going through. And above all, fans want to feel a sense of connection so deep, that it feels like it’s their own journey. That’s what Peakz is giving athletes and the fans. This is how everyone benefits from Peakz.”
HOW WAS THE IDEA BORN?
“My biggest passion is sport. Sport is about chasing your dreams. There is so much emotion in sports, so much passion amongst athletes and a great amount of involvement from fans. Sport unites. Sport touches everyone and is fun for all. So why can’t funding for athletes be more fun as well? That thought grabbed me and I immediately thought: I have to act upon this one! That was the start of Peakz”
WHEN CAN ATHLETES STOP BEING A PRODUCT AND BECOME THEIR OWN MONETIZABLE BRAND
“We tested the platform with about five different athletes, and we’re now ready to launch, which will happen in September 2021. We’re now building and refining a new website, together with an academy page so we can help athletes ramp up on Peakz quickly. We’re also continuously receiving and processing feedback from athletes and fans, so we’re sure that we’re creating something that they both want – not just something that’s in our heads.”
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