Company Secures $2 Million Investment From Canaan Partners
and Recruits an All-Star Board
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 13 -Former CBS SportsLine.com, Sports.com and Ziff-Davis senior executive, Tom Jessiman, announced today the launch of PicksPal.com (http://www.pickspal.com). PicksPal.com is a free, weekly game providing sports fans with an opportunity to prove their superior sports IQ against friends and the rest of the nation. Each week PicksPal members begin with 1000 points, and have the chance to earn more points by picking "games not names" -- real sports events based on real odds. PicksPal works like a live stock picking contest, except this game is all based on the outcomes of real major sports events. The member at the end of the week with the most points wins, with players scrambling to hit the 1 Million point mark. Since no money is wagered, PicksPal gives members the "rush of Vegas without the risk," and the chance to earn the most important prize to any sports fan -- bragging rights.
Each player's success or failure is tracked like a stock or mutual fund's performance over time to determine those players with the greatest sports IQ. PicksPal will honor the greatest players with a Hall of Fame and specialty designations. In addition, the top players will be featured on the home page as Top O' The Food Chain, allowing every visitor to the site the opportunity read the Alpha Dogs' blogs and vie to take down "the best of the best."
PicksPal's founder and CEO, Tom Jessiman has successfully led two of the most renowned online sports companies, Sports.com and CBS SportsLine.com, as well as developing for Ziff Davis the leading social networking site for video game enthusiasts, 1UP.com. With more than 20 years of interactive media experience leading marketing, editorial, sales and technology development within the online sports media, portal and gaming industries, Mr. Jessiman is a leading expert in the online sports and social networking businesses.
"PicksPal offers its members a free, fun, interactive and easy-to-play game," explained Jessiman. "We're confident fans will use PicksPal to enhance the enjoyment of watching their favorite teams, as well as to create friendly rivalries with their friends and their friends' friends."
PicksPal is backed by a $2 million investment from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Canaan Partners. General Partner, Maha Ibrahim, has joined the PicksPal Board. "PicksPal has the three essential investment components that Canaan seeks: great upside market potential, fanatic customers, and experienced, passionate management," said Ibrahim. "PicksPal combines sports and games with a social networking component -- areas of huge and growing interest. It also has already created a tested marketplace with real customers for the world's best sports pickers to interact and transform information with other sports players. Finally, Pickspal has a seasoned CEO in Tom Jessiman with ideal domain experience. PicksPal will be a winner."
In addition to Ms. Ibrahim, online sports marketing guru Kenneth Dotson has joined the PicksPal Board of Directors. Mr. Dotson is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for TicketsNow.com, the world's largest and most secure marketplace for premium event seating and tickets, and is the former founding Vice President of Marketing for CBS SportsLine.com -- the publisher of CBSSportsLine.com and a network of other sports-related Web sites and media properties. Mr. Dotson wrote the original business plan for SportsLine and during his tenure, the company raised more than $40 million in private capital and successfully completed both initial and secondary public offerings on NASDAQ.
"Tom Jessiman's expertise is unparalled in what it takes to get fans fired up with such an innovative new game like PicksPal.com," said Dotson. "PicksPal has all the right ingredients to become a key component of sports fans' daily routines."
About Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners is an early-stage investor and creates next-generation companies in Internet infrastructure, communications, software and services, medical devices, biological sciences, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Founded in 1987, the firm has invested in more than 210 companies, completed 52 mergers and acquisitions, and taken 45 companies public. Canaan was an early investor in Dexcom (DXCM), DoubleClick (DCLK), CommerceOne (CMRC), Copper Mountain Networks (CMTN), Esperion (ESPR), Immunicon (IMMC), International Network Services (INSS), ONI Systems (ONIS), and Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, along with dozens of other market-leading companies.
About PicksPal
Based in Mountain View, California, and created by Internet sports pioneer, Tom Jessiman, PicksPal.com launched in September 2005. PicksPal received its initial funding from Canaan Partners and counts Canaan general partner Maha Ibrahim and online marketing expert Kenneth Dotson as Board Members. PicksPal members compete in the weekly game, playing and earning social points by picking real events based on real odds. PicksPal members have the opportunity to risk their points on any of their favorite sports, including football, basketball, baseball, golf, boxing, cycling, motor sports and soccer. At the end of the week -- the member accumulating the most points wins.
