Revolutionizing Fan-Athlete Engagement
Backr was a social platform built for the next generation of sports fans—one that prioritized athletes over teams. With Gen Z increasingly consuming sports through social media and following players over franchises, Backr provided a personalized and interactive experience that redefined fan engagement.
What was Backr?
Backr allowed fans to curate a roster of their favorite athletes and receive a tailored feed of highlights, social content, and off-the-field updates—eliminating the fragmented experience of tracking players across multiple platforms. Fans could actively engage with their favorite athletes through interactions that were rewarded in a tiered ranking system, strengthening the direct connection between fans and players.
For athletes, Backr unlocked new monetization opportunities and insights by providing never-before-seen fan data. This enabled direct engagement, brand partnerships, and revenue channels such as merchandise sales, NFTs, exclusive content, and donations—all within one platform.
My Role
As Co-Founder and CEO, I led Backr across multiple key areas, including:
Go-To-Market Strategy: Positioned Backr as the premier fan-athlete engagement platform, securing brand partnerships with Fanatics, Vivid Seats, PrizePicks, and more.
User Acquisition & Retention: Leveraged analytics to grow Backr to thousands of active users, with a daily growth rate of 100+ users.
Investor Relations: Raised $500K in pre-seed funding and built relationships with key sports industry mentors and investors.
Product & Data Strategy: Developed a platform that not only delivered real-time engagement but also provided deep insights into fan behavior, enabling targeted monetization for athletes.
Full-Stack Development & Design: Led end-to-end product development, overseeing UI/UX, front-end and back-end architecture, and overall platform functionality to create a seamless user experience.
Why Backr Mattered
The sports industry is shifting—athletes are now brands, and fans are looking for deeper, more personal connections. Backr led the charge in this movement, creating a platform where both fans and athletes benefited from a more direct, engaging, and mutually rewarding experience.
