Leave Zoom Burnout Behind, VRTL Seeks to Revitalize Fun in Virtual Events for Fans.

Courtney Jeffries, the founder of VRTL, describes herself as a "recovering sports executive." According to her own words, she left a nearly 20-year career in marketing and sales with teams like the Oakland Raiders and the New York Rangers to pursue her startup dreams. After playing softball at the University of Washington, she focused on fan retention initiatives at Madison Square Garden, where she noticed a significant opportunity in the market. Jeffries realized that while her work centered on maximizing fan value, there was a lack of attention to those not in the sports venue. "Most fans are outside a stadium... and there is no platform that scales in-person experiences that foster their loyalty," she said.

In 2022, she decided to found VRTL, a business platform aimed at entertainment companies, including sports teams and record labels, to leverage virtual fan experiences. "It's a very versatile platform that combines live video, video chat, and our patented suite of fan engagement experiences to strengthen those loyalties," Jeffries explained.

What sets VRTL apart, which she showcased on stage as part of the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, is its ability to provide valuable data to its clients, in addition to its proprietary tools for engaging fans. One of the most popular features allows celebrities to sign autographs virtually. For example, a football player can customize a .gif of an iconic play for each fan. From a management perspective, organizing a virtual meet-up is significantly more cost-effective than an in-person event, which involves venue rental, security, and staff, and can only engage local fans.

"Why can't we do this on Zoom?" Jeffries questioned. "Sure, you can do it, but Zoom is optimized for office work. It’s not designed for fans." She stated that when organizations have conducted pilot events on VRTL, they have achieved a 60% conversion rate to paying customers. One of those clients is the NFL team Atlanta Falcons, which uses VRTL to organize meet-and-greet events for season ticket holders with former team players.

"They have created a monthly experience where, if you have a birthday that month, you get an exclusive event with former players, who share anecdotes for about 25 minutes before signing autographs," Jeffries commented. "Sometimes they sing 'Happy Birthday,' and it’s the simplest thing to see. But all the fans love it because it’s for them."

VRTL offers annual contracts to its clients, with tiered pricing based on the types of events they want to organize. Clients have unlimited access to the platform and the option to include sponsors. Notable clients of VRTL include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Twins, ESPN, and Atlanta United FC. In the case of the Jaguars, the platform helped the team build a fan base in London, where they have played four games in the past two years.

Despite the fact that the entertainment and sports industries have followed the same approaches for so long, Jeffries is not worried about the acceptance of new ideas like remote fan engagement. She has witnessed how these giants have changed in the past. "When I worked for the Raiders, I was there the day Twitter launched. Everyone was saying, 'What the hell, no one is going to communicate in 140 characters?'" she recalled. "Now it’s unthinkable for a team or league to launch without a social media manager... this has happened within my professional life."