KANARA SPORT, the app for sailors and water sports athletes
In today’s world, technology has allowed the creation of innovative platforms that facilitate the monitoring and analysis of sports activities. One of these initiatives is the KANARA Sport mobile application, designed especially for boaters and water sports athletes.
The KANARA Sport mobile app helps boaters and water sports athletes track, analyse and share their sessions and data with other users who share their interests and passion. With the help of gamification and social tools, users can also practice, play or compete against each other from anywhere in the world through segmented leaderboards, one-on-one challenges and sponsored group events.
KANARA is an early stage startup project, founded in Valencia, Spain. Since we developed and launched our Minimum Viable Product (MVP), we have grown organically to reach more than 3,000 amateur and professional athletes in more than 50 countries around the world. We are designing and developing the platform with the feedback and support of top athletes, coaches, federations and clubs. We also have a deal with a big brand for a digitized sponsored event that we’re looking to launch once development is complete.
Interview with Gabriella Hernández (CEO Kanara Sportech)
Interview carried out by Seed&Click
What is your business model?
We will monetize the platform in three ways:
- Freemium app: Sailors and watersports athletes can subscribe for a low monthly or annual fee to access all the data and features, such as insights and advanced data features.
- Sponsored campaigns and events: We can create promotional challenges and custom sponsored campaigns to help brands and other industry players directly engage and connect with their target audience.
- Personalized digital solutions: This includes complementary web tools for coaches, clubs and teams that help simplify athlete and activity management.
What is your competitive advantage or innovation compared to the competition?
- Our competitors often offer specialized hardware or software solutions that are often expensive or difficult to use. Our integrated platform and proprietary algorithms allow us to collect and analyse data from multiple sources (such as the user’s smartphone, Garmin, Suunto, or Apple Watch) to provide users with unified, relevant, and reliable information about their performance and activities. We are also developing 2D and 3D event playback and tracking tools to bring the action on the water online, helping to increase the visibility and accessibility of sailing and watersports in an increasingly digitized world.
In terms of impact, what Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and Socially Responsible Investment Criteria (CISR) do you carry out to frame KANARA within the blue economy?
As an early-stage startup, we cannot say that we are fully focused on this aspect anymore, but we believe that, with the right partners, we can develop the platform and the business sustainably. However, as people who spend a lot of time in, on and around water, we are working to ensure that our platform delivers positive impacts for the blue economy.
We have partnered with Ocean Co to ensure that a portion of future revenue from the platform is reinvested in funding the removal of plastic waste heading into the oceans, as well as ensuring low-income coastal communities have access right to the social and economic support they so badly need. Relevant Sustainable Development Goals: 1, 3, 8, 13 and 14.
As we develop as a company, we look forward to collaborating with other partners to ensure our platform creates a positive impact.
What needs do you currently have? Are you looking for investment?
We are currently looking for investors and team members who share our same values and help us develop and promote the platform. For that reason, we are raising a partial round of financing of 100,000 in exchange of equity participation.
What is your expansion plan?
We focus on taking strategic steps to scale and effectively penetrate the market.
- First, we will prioritize customer acquisition and retention by delivering a compelling value proposition and exceptional user experience. We will invest in marketing and sales efforts to target our ideal customer segments and increase our brand awareness.
- Also, we will continuously improve our product based on user feedback and market demands to stay competitive. Collaborating with strategic partners and seeking integration opportunities will also be crucial to expanding our reach.
- And finally, we will explore new geographic and vertical markets to diversify our customer base and increase revenue growth. Overall, our expansion plan focuses on a customer-centric approach, continuous product improvement, strategic alliances, and thoughtful market expansion.
Finally, what is your vision regarding the blue economy?
The sailing and water sports industry is a major contributor to the blue economy, creating connections between people, boosting tourism, fostering recreation, and fostering a connection to the marine environment. However, we recognize that the industry also contributes to negative impacts, such as pollution, habitat disturbance, and resource depletion.
That’s why, as our platform grows, our goal is to support a community of boaters, watersports athletes, and industry organizations that can connect and collaborate on initiatives that help ensure current and future generations can continue to enjoy and taking advantage of the benefits that our waters offer us.
CONCLUSION:
KANARA as the sector’s commitment to a more connected nautical industry
The KANARA Sport mobile app has proven to be a promising solution for the worldwide community of boaters and water sports athletes. With its focus on integrated technology and accessibility to data from various sources, the platform provides users with valuable insights into their performance and activities, outperforming many of its competitors that offer more expensive and specialized solutions. As KANARA continues to grow, its vision of contributing to the blue economy becomes more and more tangible, by partnering with organizations dedicated to eliminating plastic waste or supporting disadvantaged coastal communities.
Furthermore, its expansion plan focuses on continuous product improvement, strengthening strategic relationships and exploring new markets, which suggests that KANARA is well positioned for a prosperous future.
With investors and partners who share its values and vision, KANARA has the potential to become a leader in the industry, creating a positive impact in both the sporting world and the marine environment.
