Who is Danny Harris?
As someone born and raised in the Bay Area I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit. mix that with a Bay Area sports fanaticism and here we are. Growing up I wanted to be a professional baseball player. As I started to realize that that was not going to happen I started focusing on how I can remain in the sports world through the business side of sports. In college I spent some time in the sports Information department. That carried into my first year out of college in a similar role at a bigger school. After that year, I decided to see what the startup world was all about. For the next 20 years I got a taste for many of the important aspects in building successful companies. And here we are, taking a crack at starting my own company and for the last 3 years I’ve had priceless experience after priceless experience in the pursuit of building GMDY into a successful company.
What’s the story behind GMDY?
Have you ever watched a golf tournament and wondered what driver your favorite golfer used? Maybe you’re a tennis fan and was curious about the brand of sneakers on your favorite athlete’s feet? This is how GMDY (think Gameday) started. I, like many sports fans, was fascinated to learn more about what it was that made my favorite athletes who they are. I wondered what the sneakers I see on an NBA court. I wanted to learn more about the driver that the US Open Champion used. GMDY is a real time fan discovery and consumer engine that allows fans to connect with their favorite athletes and in real time discover what they use and be connected with the retailers to purchase.
While the focus for sports fans remains the same, the more I connected with professionals on the business side of sports, it became very clear that GMDY has a massive opportunity to give athletes the power to build and monetize their brand, and truly measure their brand influence like they’ve never had before. Athletes, especially under-represented athletes don’t have unlimited resources that the top 1% do. Therefore, GMDY supports all athletes to help them maximize their value and be empowered to drive all future business conversations forward.
What was the most difficult part of your experience in the early beginnings?
Being an entrepreneur is lonely. While many startups have multiple co-founders, when you’re a solo entrepreneur you don’t have the business support that help you navigate the important aspects needed during the early stages of a startup. It’s crucial that you lean on your family and friends to be that support, but I can say looking back now, how valuable having multiple people in the trenches with you can be.
What are you most proud of regarding your business?
I think the piece that I’m most proud of is what I’ve been able to accomplish with such little support. I’ve always been proud of my ability to get stuff done and being the founder of a startup certainly requires getting stuff done.
What is your vision for the future of GMDY?
GMDY will be the engine that powers all discovery in sports commerce wherever fans are. Through this discovery and commerce, true athlete value will be realized and negotiating power will be returned to the athletes.
What’s your advice for the businesses that are trying to adapt to this economic climate?
I think the advice I would give any business is to be willing to be flexible and nimble. If you’re too rigid or not willing to make concessions, It’s going to be very difficult for you to navigate so many of these uncertain times. If nothing else, your willingness to be flexible with people will be your number one challenge.
Please name a few technologies which have the greatest impact on your business.
We rely heavily on many of the social platforms. We also rely heavily on the success of the established e-commerce retailers that people trust.
What books do you have on your nightstand?
That’s actually a funny question. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it’s been quite a while since I last read a book. I’m very much into podcasts especially This American Life, Serial and How I built This.
Because of the current economic climate our publication has started a series of discussions with professional individuals meant to engage our readers with relevant companies and their representatives in order to discuss their involvement, what challenges they have had in the past and what they are looking forward to in the future. This sequence aims to present a series of experiences, recent developments, changes and downsides in terms of their business areas, as well as their goals, values, career history, the high-impact success outcomes and achievements.
