Former Fremantle Dockers captain Matthew Pavlich, in partnership with former Adelaide Crow and St Kilda Saint James Begley, are firing up investor interest, raising $1m for their sports star and celebrity booking app PickStar.
PickStar promises to disrupt the athlete booking and marketing process, which traditionally relies on clubs and agents to arrange activities.
The app permits users to bid for access to any player through the app, with deals on the platform ranging from as little as $200 to six figure endorsement deals. The startup collects a 25% connection fee from the total budget on standard, finalised deals.
PickStar is free for the public to sign-up and lodge requests, and the app has also recruited a staggering list of 900 registered athletes and sporting personalities.
Pavlich and Begley have amassed an impressive cohort, with the app boasting stars such as AFL Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin, Women’s Soccer pioneer Sam Kerr, NRL legend Sam Thaiday and even rugby union legend and Bachelor star Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins.
PickStar has managed to attract big-names through partnerships with professional sporting bodies including the AFL Players’ Association,
Professional Footballers Australia, Australian Basketballers’ Association and the Australian Netball Players’ Association.
Interest in the app continues to accelerate as more high-profile players conduct marketing deals and join the disruptive platform.
Our own experiences as professional AFL players prompted Matthew [Pavlich] and I to set up PickStar and it’s quickly grown. It’s an exciting time for PickStar and our investors, as well as the sports stars, fans and brands that will benefit from the anticipated growth of the platform,” CEO and co-founder of PickStar, James Begley said.
Matthew Pavlich added:
“PickStar is an absolute game changer for athletes, fans and brands and I’m excited about our platform’s future. Traditionally access to sports stars has only been possible through clubs, agents or personal networks, but this technology breaks down barriers and allows anyone to connect with stars directly and easily.”