Soccer was first played in 1147, in the Middle Ages, when it was often filled with hay.
It's hard to imagine how anyone could revolutionize the practice these days, even more so with simple cards. But that's exactly what the founders of start-up Sorare have managed to do, to such an extent that in a short space of time, the entity has become a unicorn - an innovative start-up valued at over a billion dollars.
How did it all begin, what was the journey, to arrive at such a resounding victory? That's what we find out today.
The idea that changed everything
One passion can change everything in a lifetime. And Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort certainly wouldn't disagree. Both are entrepreneurs working in the world of blockchain. This first point in common might be enough to bring them together, but they also share a passion for soccer.
Together, they discovered the world of NFTs and the opportunity to create rare digital objects that could be sold. The idea of creating a start-up based on soccer and soccer clubs was born: Sorare, a sports simulation game.
Players can buy digital player cards (a kind of virtual Panini card - limited, non-duplicable, non-editable and non-deletable), represented by NFTs (non-fungible tokens on Ethereum), sell or even trade them, to manage a totally virtual team.
The value of the latter is based on the reality of the footballing world and is therefore constantly changing (matches, player injuries, transfers...) and follows a quotation made by a soccer statistics company (Opta).
Some cards can be worth more than $280,000, and come in "common" (free to test and adopt Sorare), "rare", "super-rare" and "unique" versions.
The two entrepreneurs know that the potential is great, because soccer is a globally recognized and appreciated sport (4 billion people claim to be absolute fans), and that even if you're not a fan of a particular soccer team, you can still enjoy watching a good match, collecting football-related items, or enjoying fantasy sports. What's more, people are increasingly fond of new technologies.
The project was barely off the ground when, the following month, they signed an agreement with a major Belgian soccer team.
The development and consecration of Sorare
Xavier Niel, the founder of Free, is a business angel with a nose for business. He has helped finance several start-ups that have become French unicorns over the years. Niel has made no mistake, investing 550,000 euros in Sorare.
This gave the start-up an initial boost, and in 2020, just two years after its creation, it set its sights on raising its first round of funding to the tune of $4 million. That same year, Sorare established a partnership with an iconic club: PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). The aim, of course, is to be able to use club logos, as well as player images.
Serie A allows for a new fund-raising round in 2021 of 40 million euros. 2021 is a banner year for the company, which creates a historic NFT (unique card) for C. Ronaldo, one of the world's best-known players. A few months later, an agreement is signed with French national teams, as well as the Equipe de France.
In the same year, a partnership with the Spanish league marked the company's international expansion. September seems to be a real lucky month for Sorare, which raises a further 580 million euros in capital. This is a record in the world of French Tech. At the time, the start-up was valued at 4.3 billion dollars.
Another partnership will be established with the Bundesliga at the end of 2021. In all, more than 180 clubs have signed agreements (the company is aiming for 400), as well as partnerships with 20 of the world's biggest soccer leagues.
In August 2022, 4 years after its creation, Sorare boasts two million users worldwide, as well as a presence in 170 countries.
Sorare: key information
Sorare creation date
The start-up is fairly recent, having come into being in September 2018. The project is so promising that the company quickly seals (less than a month later) a first agreement with the first division of the Belgian championship (the Jupiler League).
Number of employees to date
The company currently employs around 30 people, but the opening of an office in the United States, in particular, means that the number of employees is set to rise to 200 before long.
Sales in 2022
Sorare has clearly defined ambitions, with the aim of becoming the world leader in sports-based entertainment.
By the end of 2021, Sorare had sales of €325 million and card sales of €190 million.
A possible IPO?
It's not on the agenda yet, although last year, in 2021, Nicolas Julia envisaged it in a few years' time. To be continued.
Sorare's development objectives
Soccer seems to have been the first step in the creators' development and ambition. Other sports, including US sports, are now being targeted, such as basketball (NBA), but also baseball (partnership signed in May 2022); in the knowledge that player cards in this field have already had their moment of glory with adults and children alike.
However, the designers are not abandoning their first love. Since November 9, Lionel Messi has become their ambassador, following in the footsteps of other internationally renowned players such as Kylian Mbappé and Zinédine Zidane.
Fluctuating cryptocurrency markets are a problem for Sorare, whose ambition is to switch to a stable, dollar-indexed dematerialized currency (stablecoin). The company has therefore not finished attracting managers (players' names) who are already part of the game and own cards.
Scalability
Excellent. The company could be content with what it has, but there's a real desire to break out of its comfort zone and venture into new territory (no pun intended) with the arrival of new sports, for example.
The cards can also be used outside the Sorare ecosystem, with Ubisoft in particular.
The start-up's most striking maxim or quote
"Becoming the leader in sports entertainment (...) beyond domestic borders" seems to be the hallmark of Sorare, which after soccer is making a remarkable foray into sports such as baseball and basketball, while at the same time betting on the development of the use of blockchain.
