BC Business
Shnarped aggregates news and statistics from the NHL and three minor leagues, Shnarped is one of the first platforms to digitize the fan experience, a major selling point for the Dragons' Den panel.
Shnarped aggregates news and statistics from the NHL and three minor leagues, Shnarped is one of the first platforms to digitize the fan experience, a major selling point for the Dragons’ Den panel.
Founders Dustin Sproat, Kyle Hagel and Kamil Sikorski – the team behind hockey app Shnarped – netted $250,000 in lieu of a one-third share from an avid panel on CBC’s Dragons’ Den last Wednesday. While the trio sought $10,000 in exchange for 10 per cent equity, the app drew applause from the uncharacteristically enthusiastic Dragons’ Den panel, securing Shnarped a month-long sponsorship with Boston Pizza-founder Jim Treivling.
Founders Sproat, Hagel and Sikorski launched a charity in 2009 that connected young fans with their hockey heroes. In June 2012 the trio partnered up to recreate that experience in an app, connecting the pros, amateurs and fans in a hockey-devoted social network. Named after a rummy-like card game played by pro-hockey players in the off-time during road trips, Shnarped’s features lets users send virtual fist-pumps, or “pounds” to their favourite players during NHL games, to which players can respond to later on. Add in statistics, news and aggregated information from the NHL and three minor leagues, Shnarped is one of the first platforms to digitize the fan experience, no small selling point for the Dragons’ Den panel. According to its maker, over 80 professional players – including the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallaher and the Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews.