My name is Andrew Briglia, and I am the founder and CEO of Sports Data Now. I am a Senior Industrial Engineering and Entrepreneurship student at Penn State University in State College, PA. In this blog post I want to talk to you about how I stumbled across my passion and how Sports Data Now is the next step in pursuing this passion.
4 years ago, I was a senior at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, PA. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do, who I would become, or how any of the experiences I had in high school would shape me for years to come. I was involved in a number of activities from World Affairs Club, STEM team, Robotics, and various honors societies. While I loved each of these clubs, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the experiences I was afforded.
I landed at Penn State the following fall because it was familiar. Penn State had everything I needed, and its wide range of opportunities would give me the best chance at finding my passion more than anything else. When I selected a major, I knew I wanted to leverage my technical engineering experiences from high school, but I also loved the business world. Industrial Engineering was the perfect combination of the two. And while I most likely won’t use much of my formal engineering education, the places that IE landed me were crucial to discovering my passion.
The Quest for Entrepreneurship
As a go-getter student and individual in high school, I had a knack for creating my own experiences and opportunities out of thin air. Little did I know, this is what Entrepreneurs do every day of their life; create opportunity out of thin air. In the second semester of freshmen year, a voice in my head spoke to me. It told me to take entrepreneurship classes. I needed to have fun and explore a very innovative side of the business world. I wasn’t satisfied with the current path, and it was time to create a new one. This is what Entrepreneurship became to me over the next 3 years. It became an opportunity to create my own path “out of thin air”.
I love Entrepreneurship for a lot of reasons, but the reason I love most is because it’s a challenge. It’s ambitious. You are EXPECTED to fail. And even when you get it all right and are successful, you find a way to fail in new ways! Entrepreneurship itself is an iterative process. It’s a feedback loop designed to not only address issues within a business, but to address issues with leadership in that business! Furthermore, often times these failures are deeply personal, mental, and can rattle you to your core. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about fixing your business. It’s about fixing yourself and tremendous personal growth can come of that which very well may lead to a successful business once mastered.
Why Sports Data Now
Sports Data Now is my opportunity to grow, both as an individual and an entrepreneur. Additionally, it is finally the idea that I have decided to be my first big venture into the startup world. Not only is it feasible, but it focuses in on data visualizations and model which has always interested me. As a result, this opportunity for me is a chance to explore new interests and passions.
The intent of Sports Data Now is to provide easy access to all major real-time and historical sports data in an easy to use, free, and exportable data dashboard. As a result, Sports Data Now allows you to get your sports data quickly. We allow you to focus on your prediction model, your fantasy football draft, or even just your hobby. Our why is to help you find your passion for sports data. We do this by making data easily accessible and free using our innovative and visually appealing platform.
Just as I found my passion for entrepreneurship here at Penn State, I want to be a resource to those individuals making the same life-changing decisions I’ve made the past 4 years of my life. My only advice for you…don’t settle.
Andrew Briglia
Founder & CEO