UC students found game-changing sports communication company

Motiv-sample dashboard. Photo/Motiv

Recognizing the need to improve communications in youth sports, a couple of innovative University of Cincinnati students currently enrolled in the Venture Lab NEXT pre-accelerator joined forces to create Motiv. The platform streamlines communications for coaches, student-athletes and parents by integrating scheduling, statistics, tracking and management needs into one user-friendly hub.

Noelle Scheper, a marketing major at UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, and Jaden Walton, an entrepreneurship and marketing major at Lindner who's also pursuing finance, combined their unique skills and insights to maximize the Venture Lab NEXT experience.

"Motiv's customer discovery, prototyping and traction to date make the team a perfect fit for our Venture Lab NEXT accelerator," Josie Dalton, associate director of the UC Center for Entrepreneurship and co-director of the Venture Lab NEXT program, said.

As participants in the summer program, Motiv's co-founders received$10,000 in non-dilutive funding, empowering them to bring their innovations to life.

The students met last year during an innovation challenge hosted by UC's Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Engineering and Applied Science's student tribunal. The judges recognized the value of Motiv's technology, and the team took first place in the innovation challenge.

Exploring the team's passion for sports and technology, Motiv addresses real-world communication challenges in athletic programs and offers practical, user-centric solutions. Riding a wave of success, the team entered Motiv in subsequent competitions, where they also placed well and received additional funding.

Jaden Walton. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

Walton, a former youth sports player turned coach, understands firsthand the importance of clear communication and safety from both perspectives.

One of Motiv's standout features is its commitment to compliance, specifically with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA is the federal law that sets the standards for allowing parents to protect the privacy of student educational information and records, a crucial consideration for high school programs.

"Motiv is FERPA-compliant, and we even go beyond the criteria required for high schools," Walton said. "For example, when an athlete directly messages a coach, the parent is automatically looped in on the group chat - something that should be automatic but isn't. While it is not a compliance requirement, Motiv offers this feature as an integral safety mechanism that ensures transparency and keeps all parties informed, reflecting a forward-thinking approach to communication in educational settings."

Football players on the field. Photo/Alexander Schimmeck via Unsplash

After Motiv won its innovation challenges and about $30,000,the team recognized it had a viable technology to commercialize. They wanted to take the next steps but knew they needed help. Leveraging the resources at UC, they joined the Venture Lab NEXT summer program, a 12-week student pre-accelerator designed to offer tailored resources, mentors and guidance to student teams who've already gained traction for their startup endeavors.

Scheper said the program is exactly what the team needed. They used their summer vacation to gain entrepreneurial wisdom to help launch their startup idea.

"During one of our sessions, we talked about fundamental things like customer discovery, what your product is and how good it is," Scheper said. "Our mentor, Jason Harbor, has been incredible for us and has walked us through the next steps regarding Motiv."

As Motiv continues to evolve, it stands as an example of how student-driven innovation can address pressing challenges and lead to efficient, effective solutions in fields such as athletics. The next step now is to test their idea in the next couple of weeks in three Cincinnati high schools where they'll collect customer feedback.