La Passe Vidéo: an app for amateur sports created by two Kedgers!

I joined Kedge right after I received my BAC, as part of the SUP'TG programme (class of 2014). After I obtained my Bachelor's, I sat the exams for the Tremplin 2 and joined the Grandes Ecoles programme at Kedge Bordeaux as an AP2! That is when I realised that a wonderful opportunity was before me: the ability to bring together my love for sports and my professional career! I then registered for as many classes as I could related to sports marketing, digital communication, project management... These skills enabled me to do my first six-month internship in a Belgian sports marketing agency, called Zelos, when I took a year off in September 2015. I followed that with a job as UEFA Media Operations Volunteer in June 2016 in the framework of the 2016 Euro Cup in Bordeaux.

 

I obtained my degree after doing an end-of-studies internship with a sports marketing agency in Bordeaux (back to my roots!)

 

As a matter of fact, my case is a little particular. I went directly from an internship to creating a business... Following my experience in a sports marketing agency, the knowledge I acquired during my schooling at Kedge and taking into account my passion for the sports industry, I took my chances and embarked on the startup adventure! 

I have been participating in regional sports club since I was a child. I started out with tennis, and now I have been playing football with the JSA for the past five years... Along with my teammates, season after season, we have noticed more and more people on the sidelines filming the games with their smartphones. Unfortunately, we rarely have access to these videos. That is where I got the idea: "It would be great to create a sort of video network for amateur sports, where anyone could upload videos of a game to the right place (sorted by club, level, category...)." This simple idea took on a whole new dimension after I shared my idea with my cousin, Franck Si-Hassen, also a Kedge graduate (class of 1988). He was really interested! After spending more than 20 years in Paris, and working as director of a subsidiary of Médiamétrie, he had recently returned to the Bordeaux region with the ambition of taking over another company...until we shared a drink! 

 

He was really interested in the idea, but we needed more in order to create a real concept. So, we put in place a system in which we would meet weekly, every Monday, until I finished my end-of-studies internship. After conducting field studies and brainstorming sessions, we are able to build a more specific assessment of the situation:

 

- There were no existing platforms dedicated to amateur sports videos

- The videos are often long and boring 

- Amateur clubs lack content to show on their websites and Facebook pages, which makes it difficult for them to create a community...and to find sponsors, whom were previously content to have an ad board on the side of the field. 

 

On March 20, 2017 my simple idea become a real concept. We had found the solution to respond to all of the problems we had identified: a mobile application that would enable users to capture and share key moments in a match. We even kept the draft from our brainstorming session on that day... 

 

 

Everything went very quickly after that. I started to talk about the project to my family and friends... A longtime friend of mine, François Alary, an engineer that had recently graduated, but was pursuing further studies in computer sciences, expressed his desire to join the team! He studied all the technical possibilities that were available, including a really innovative technology...a sort of time machine. At the same time, a fourth associate, André, a friend of Franck's, who has 25 years of experience in IT development and project management, also joined the team, by dedicated 1/2 day per week to the project. 

 

Everything was then in place, and on July 4, 2017, we officially launched the project. Together, we developed La Passe Vidéo, a solution that enables spectators of a sports match to capture the best moments of a game, to obtain an automating editing, and share their videos instantly. 

 

 

"Flasback effect"

With your camera's smartphone, when you want to record an action, you do a "signal" on the screen. The camera will "go back in time" to keep 10 to 15 seconds of video before the moment you identified and then capture the three seconds following the moment. At the end of the match, if you have recorded several moments, the application will automatically edit the videos, to create a wrap-up of the meet. The application therefore offers a double promise: it enables you to keep all of the best moment individually, and to create short and dynamic "wrap-up" videos. 

 

Additionally, we kept the idea of "network for amateur sports videos". All of the videos are sorted by sport, level, category, club... on our app (viewer part) and our website (www.lapassevideo.fr) both currently in beta version. Viral, La Passe Vidéo, was conceived so that videos can be shared on:

• the websites and social media accounts of clubs and federations,
• the social media accounts of users,
• La Passe Vidéo's communication tools.
  
  

It also enables users to like, comment, and elect the best goals, tries, baskets, stops... and grade the best "shooters".

 

 

 

 

 

Since our launch, we have been selected by various programmes specialised in supporting startups.

• Business Nursery: Kedge's incubator. They were impressed by our project and offered to support us through workshops, networking, and coaching…

• CCI Bordeaux: after participating in a speed test, our startup was selected to receive one year of support from the CCI, with the help of Caroline Taris, who is supporting us with fundraising. 

• 1kubator: in January, we were selected by Laurent Bourgitteau-Guiard and Guillaume Vasse to join 1kubator's 2018 cohort. The startup incubator is housed in the offices of the Sud Ouest group. In addition to providing office space and daily support from experts in entrepreneurship, the partnership with the Sud Ouest newspapers, with whom we have clear synergies, is also an excellent opportunity for La Passe Vidéo.

 

 

We are also receiving support from the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region to obtain a grant, which would enable us to hire an additional developer, notably to develop the iOS app. More recently, an article about our app was published in the Sud-Ouest newspaper. 

 

 

In addition to providing knowledge, Kedge's real value-add is its ability to prepare its students to become entrepreneurs. We learn how to brainstorm, work as part of a team, identify problems, find solutions, face difficulties... all the bagage you need to learn to manage a project from start to finish.

 

 

Additionally, I met wonderful people, with whom I often discuss my project, their projects, and we mutually support one another depending on our areas of expertise. A concrete example: just yesterday, I was speaking with another former Kedge student, Florent Thurin, who moved to Lisbon to launch his startup. He opened my eyes about several aspects of my business.

 

I don't want to seem like I am lecturing or sound cliché, but... "If you love something, or you believe in an idea or project, then don't hesitate, go for it!"

Anything to add? 

We are quickly going to start fundraising. Even if we are well supported in that area, if you know anyone, a Business Angel, a fund, that might be interested in supporting this type of project, don't hesitate to contact me of course!