The company is Rivalfish (rivalfish.com), what Ansell and Raspetello refer to as "an evolution in fan identity" and "a revolution in sports fan communication." The company feeds off sports fan rivalries and provides fans with the means to express their most heartfelt animosity for those on the other side. Whether that disfavor is articulated with a customized Rivalfish logo, in a RivalRoom forum or played out in a fantasy football league, Rivalfish looks to provide an outlet to hostile sports fans everywhere.
"Initially, Rivalfish was primarily going to be a merchandiser-its product would be the shirts, mugs, etc., with the fish logos. But that has kind of evolved into a much grander, and much cooler, as far as I'm concerned, concept of what our product will be," said Amherst student Joe Vladeck '06, who interned with Rivalfish this summer. "Really, the whole site, with all of the games, debate forums, information feeds, along with the shirts, will be one huge product."
"I think that the product fills a unique niche in the fantasy sports market, which has boomed in recent years, and thus has the chance to be very successful," said recent Amherst graduate Joe Katuska '03, who worked as a consultant for the project. "The branded merchandising should also be successful, so this company has a chance to have success in a number of different realms."
The history of two fish
The company's brief history centers on Ansell's original Rivalfish conception in January. "At first I was amused, and then it clicked. Big fish eating little fish: what if we applied this concept to the world of sports?" said Ansell.
"Red Sox fish eating Yankees fish, Auburn fish eating Alabama fish … the possibilities seemed endless." Shortly after coming up with the basic idea, Ansell telephoned Michael Raspetello, a friend from his Chicago high school, who was soon to graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in sports marketing and communication. The pair spent the next few days on the phone and in front of computers, brainstorming the idea's potential and considering its viability as a business. Seven days later they signed a partnership agreement and began the long process of taking the idea to market.
The big-fish-eating-small-fish logo was designed by Amherst sophomore Alexey Sokolin. Ansell, who was also a founder of "The Hamster," had come to rely on Sokolin's graphics for the satire rag. "When he wanted to really start with Rivalfish and he needed a logo, Jonah came to me," said Sokolin, who has also done the majority of the logos for the company and worked on the graphic aspects of the website.
Facing risk and taking charge
While many college seniors choose more secure paths after graduation, Ansell and Raspetello spent the remainder of their senior years preparing to become full-time entrepreneurs. During their senior spring, the partners refined their business plan, researched extensively and started looking for summer interns to help them get Rivalfish going. They also found their first investor, a family friend, who provided them with the start-up capital necessary to make a go of it. As soon as their school books closed, the two were ready to hit the ground running. "I graduated on the 25th [of May], and six days later we were in D.C. setting things up," said Ansell.
Ansell and Raspetello were well aware of the enormous risk they were taking. "I could never have imagined the opportunity to have such direct control over my own success or failure," said Raspetello.
Both are quite content, however, with the opportunity to make a business out of their passion. "Working every day on something I feel truly passionate about is an opportunity that most recent graduates don't have, as they are often forced to take entry-level jobs that may not fulfill their career aspirations," said Raspetello. "Also," he continued, "I spend my day talking shit about the Cubs to Ansell, which is pretty much exactly what I would be doing anyway, and it keeps me remembering how great of an idea Rivalfish truly is."
Ansell and Raspetello have not taken the responsibility of running a start-up lightly. "We don't get to go out that much," said Ansell who admits to working up to 17 hours on some days. "I'm sick of seeing the inside of this apartment," he added. Ansell and Raspetello are sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Washington D.C., that doubles as the Rivalfish headquarters.
Hard work brings promise
The two young entrepreneurs are not without assistance on the project. They took on several interns this summer, many of them Amherst College students and graduates, and currently have full-time staff working away in the loft/office.
"[This summer] a dozen 20-somethings passionately drumm[ed] away at keyboards and one another's fan identities," read a Rivalfish press release. "With young, eager, and dedicated people at their side, this living room vision is coming closer to reality."
According to Ansell, finding talented co-workers hasn't proved to be a problem. "In the school year we got 120 resumes, and this summer we got 75 more ... The talent was very good … I felt like we were the Oakland A's."
"I first heard about the Rivalfish idea on a van ride to a baseball game in Springfield," said Andrew Green '06, who played baseball with Ansell at the College and worked on developing the fantasy sports section of the Rivalfish website. "At that stage, Rivalfish was just an idea. Since that day, I have witnessed the idea develop into pre-game conversation into a functioning website. As soon as I heard about the format for Rivalfish, I wanted to help out in any way possible, partially to help out a friend, but also because I liked the idea and thought it would really fit in with the American obsession with sports, rivalries and the increasingly popular fantasy gaming industry."
The hard work seems to be paying off. The business plan, which is now over 100 pages long and in full color, has been well-received by industry experts. "We have been getting a lot of strong feedback on the concept and the plan," said Ansell.
"We are awaiting responses from over 40 companies, as we continue to make contact with additional potential partners," said Raspetello. "We are also headed to Chicago … to promote and distribute our first run of Rivalfish products: those depicting local high school rivalries in the Chicagoland area. We are also planning on heading north to the five-college area in the coming months to promote Rivalfish products bearing those intense and timeless rivalries."
The product has potential. In a survey that had over 800 respondents from over 20 schools around the country, three-quarters of those responding said that they would purchase Rivalfish apparel. Ansell also said that on-site product testing has proved promising. Taking prototypes to games at Syracuse University, Fenway Park and Camden Yards, Ansell found that fans at the games were highly receptive to the Rivalfish apparel.
The greatest challenge Rivalfish faces will be securing the licenses necessary to use NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, Nascar and NCAA logos. "Most businesses would be able to hit the ground running at the point that we're at, but because we need licensing agreements … to legally produce any merchandise, our hands are tied until we get sufficient backing to make our products (and those licenses) a reality," said Ansell.
In the meantime, Rivalfish is marketing merchandise to high schools and developing a side business called Politifish, which provides the fish-eat-fish merchandise to promote political rivalries. "There is an opportunity for everything," said Ansell.