(Photo courtesy David Embree)
The Oregonian reports today that yet another arm of Portland’s local bike economy is alive and well: Athletepath, a software startup that launched this past February, has received $300,000 from investors.
The company was founded by Portland resident and bike racer David Embree as a tool to offer race participants more — and more interesting — ways to interact with their results. Athletepath’s first race results partner was the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association and their first event customer was the Portland Triathlon.
Embree told me this morning that they’re also negotiating a deal to work with Cycle Oregon this year.
Beyond just seeing how you stacked up against other racers, Athletepath brings the benefits of social networking to race and event results. The software enables its users to, “see everything they’ve completed, how they’ve improved, and to keep track of fellow competitors, training partners, even their most intense rivals,” says Embree.
In an email, Embree told us he and his team are excited about the financial boost from investors: “These funds will fuel some pretty exciting new features next year.
Embree says the $300,000 of investment stemmed entirely from Oregon-based entrepreneurs, investors and advisors. “Our team has worked closely with the cycling and startup communities over the past year to get to this point, and we couldn’t be happier to continue building this product and company in Portland.”
The Athletepath website offers a slick interface that breaks down events and individuals with pie charts and analysis tools. Without even needing a login, I just typed in “Jonathan Maus,” hit search, and got a listing of all the races I’ve entered since 2006. You can also follow other people to stay abreast of how friends are doing and compare results.
With big growth in racing (thanks in large part to cyclocross) and recreational cycling events in general (like Gran Fondos), the future looks very bright for Athletepath.
Stay tuned for more coverage of this great local company. Congrats David!