LinkSports is a unique social platform that connects fans to aspiring athletes, empowers them to elevate players’ profiles, make them visible to scouts, and supports them financially. Our recent launch in Brasilia (Brazil’s Federal Capital) proved that our process identifies talent consistently, allowing scouts anywhere to make reliable decisions about player performance using our mobile app. Users can also share and compare their skills to professional benchmarks, trade player NFTs, and convert points into credit for sporting goods and services.
Tell us about yourself?
I am an IT and Design innovator with products covering cryptocurrency, cyber security, automobile, loyalty and mobile payment systems.
With deep knowledge of FinTech and Startups, I act as a catalyst of entrepreneurial spirit in organizations. My goal is to inspire and bring people together to think outside the box, creating a common vision through innovation and design thinking. I am a proud Canadian, born in Brazil to Iranian-born parents.
I co-founded and served in many NGOs in Brazil, and before founding LINKSPORTS, I served as CEO and founder of three Fintech ventures. My expertise is in digital transformation and applying cutting-edge technologies to advance the many problems facing humanity in these challenging times.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself to launch the platform earlier.
What problem does your business solve?
Every sport sees aspiring athletes fail to reach their potential because of a lack of resources or visibility. Millions of talented young players go undiscovered, waiting for their lucky break, and fans are powerless to make a difference.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
My business is inspired by the millions of young players in multiple sports. I want them to succeed based on their talent and effort and not based on who they know.
What is your magic sauce?
Our first difference is the process of gathering data and the way of collecting information from the players through challenges. Players will create their own Scoring Card, exactly like in their video games or card games. Instead of forms, they will insert a photo, name, date of birth, height, weight and position they play, and the same customized Scoring Card will appear on the screen. Then, they’ll be asked to evaluate themselves in some athletic skill levels and categories such as endurance, speed, horizontal jump, dribbling, ball control and shot accuracy. Since a limited amount of score points can be used at this step, the aspiring player is forced to selectively prioritize which “performance characteristic” will receive the bulk of individual points that will form his total score.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We expect to reach 5,000,000 player App downloads in football in Brazil by 2027, launch operations in Basketball and Hockey in Canada and the U.S.A., and soccer in Japan.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Creating an ecosystem from scratch is hard. When you want to create a community in a social platform, you are not only onboarding different users. That is not hard. Facilitating their interdependence and use of the platform as a channel for relationships is the hard part, just like creating a zoo is easier than creating a jungle.
How can people get involved?
You can download our app at Goggle Play or Apple Store and create a profile. The platform will give you a free score if you submit video challenges. Or simply visit: www.linksports.com.