Tunch Akkaya
BASc in Software Engineering / Engineering Management and Entrepreneurship Option
M. Eng Engineering Management
Co-Founder and CEO, GameStrat
GameStrat is a software company based out of Ottawa that specializes in real-time analytics, specifically for the sports market. It provides solutions for a number of different sports, including football, basketball, hockey and volleyball. Its area of expertise is giving coaches access to instant video replay during games through wireless networks. GameStrat provides the necessary tools for coaches to win more games. “Being a student-athlete playing football who was studying software engineering at the University of Ottawa is what lead to me getting started with GameStrat. In the summer of 2014, I was looking for an idea for my capstone project and, luckily, that was also the year when Ontario University Athletics had just allowed for sideline technology to be used. At first, I was excited that I could potentially build something that would help my own team and give us a competitive advantage. However, I later realized that every other team in the country had the same problem. We did a lot of market research, received some initial funding and then we were off.
One of the most defining moments for me as an entrepreneur was when I took the course Entrepreneurial Mind, taught by Stephen Daze, in the summer of 2014. This course taught me the true fundamentals of what is required to build a business — things such as conducting market research, validation, and everything else required to run a company. Many people have cool ideas, but it all comes down to ‘Can this be turned into a business?’
We were lucky to receive grants through the University of Ottawa. We were able to take advantage of pitch competitions and internships, which has helped us greatly. As any struggling student knows, budgets are tight and being able to get financial assistance helped us get to where we are today.
