numberFire
Company typePrivate
Founded2010
FounderNik Bonaddio
Headquarters
New York, NY
,
USA
Key people
Keith Goldner
Michael Worthington
Adam Kaplan
Websitenumberfire.com

numberFire is a privately held company that offers statistical analysis of data around sporting events and sports fans, targeting fantasy sports players, digital media, writers, teams, and leagues.[1] The site boasts over 700,000 subscribers and partnerships with ESPN, NFL, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and SB Nation.[2]

History

The company was founded in 2010 by Nik Bonaddio, who launched the initial version of the product following a successful appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire; the winnings from that show were used to found the company.[3] Later that year, Bonaddio successfully pitched the company at the DisruptNYC conference held by TechCrunch in New York City, gaining an initial PR buzz and investor interest.

The team quickly expanded in February 2011 with the hiring of Keith Goldner as chief analyst. Goldner has worked in the sports analytics industry with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, and ESPN among others.[4]

In late 2011, the company announced venture capital financing from RRE Ventures, New York University, and several other investors.[5]

numberFire was acquired by FanDuel in August 2015. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[6]

Methodology

Unlike traditional media analysis, the company aims to use statistical modeling and data mining to help consumers and businesses make smarter decisions in the fantasy sports, handicapping, and digital media markets.[7] This is done through the generation of specific, proprietary formulas that analyze statistics in an unconventional, scientific manner.[8] The company has received notable press coverage for correctly picking the winner of Super Bowl XLV[9] and successfully outpredicting ESPN, Yahoo!, and CBS in the fantasy markets.[2]

References

  1. ^ "NumberFire Turning Fantasy Numbers Into Real Wins". The Big Lead. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b Popper, Ben (4 January 2012). "Numberfire, Data Science for Fantasy Sports, Raises $650 K. Seed Round From RRE, David Tisch, Eliot Durbin". BetaBeat. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. ^ Empson, Rip (20 September 2011). "NumberFire Raising Seed Round To Build The Last Fantasy Football Tool You'll Ever Need". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  4. ^ "numberFire Team". numberFire. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  5. ^ Empson, Rip (5 January 2012). "NumberFire Pockets $750K To Help You Rule Your Fantasy Sports Leagues". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  6. ^ "FanDuel Acquires Leading Sports Analytics Company, numberFire". Business Wire. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  7. ^ Rao, Leena (9 September 2010). "NumberFire Gets Scientific About Fantasy Football Picks". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  8. ^ Bennett, Dashiell (8 September 2011). "NumberFire Is The Tool That Will Help You Dominate Your Fantasy League This Year". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  9. ^ Boyd Meyers, Courtney (3 February 2011). "NumberFire predicts the Super Bowl winner". TheNextWeb. Retrieved 3 February 2012.

External links

Fantasy sports
Categories