Gamers, unite. Networking platform POGR (Play of the Game Rating) has honed an analytics system capable of consolidating all of your gaming and social media data into a single-player profile. It’s never been this easy to connect, collect, and compare: once you’re set up on POGR, you’ll never need to upload stats again.
POGR is run by CEO Connor Ellison, CTO Randolph Aarseth and CPO Juno Kim, a trio of friends who originally connected through the gaming communication platform Discord. The three founders realized they lacked a platform to compare stats while gaming, and they invented POGR to solve the issue for themselves and the larger gaming community.
POGR collects everyone’s gaming data: yours, your friends’, and your favorite professionals.’ During casual play, you can compare your results with the people you know, and in competitive training, you can analyze your performance by comparing it to the world’s best. In the process, you might even combine the two, understanding the international individuals behind their usernames. The app also boasts other features, such as the ability to duel friends and participate in tournaments with global competitors. It also verifies users through their ‘identifi’ process, which protects gamertags and limits impersonation.
Development was no walk in the park: the founders revealed that it took a lot of work to raise their first round of start-up funding. Instead of giving up as most would, they conquered every challenge with the conviction that they were building something great, something their past selves would have appreciated.
Having a remote team of ten people spread across various states and countries helped them learn how to communicate in the modern age. At first, the aim was to provide data services for triple A studios, but it was quickly understood that indie studios could benefit more from their system. By connecting players and studios with POGR, indie studios could utilize high-powered analytics and services for creation without paying the heavy cost of investment. POGR provides a more direct line to grassroots gaming communities while giving indie studios the infrastructure and services normally reserved for Triple A studios. There are even some indie games launching through the player profile network, including survival thriller Last of Humanity. Downloading the game will give players early access to the player profile system.
CEO Connor Ellison explains that the journey is the destination in disguise. “Even though the road is bumpy when starting, it’s important to enjoy the little things,” he says. “Everything won’t go as planned, and you may face financial hardships along the way. Many people may discourage you because they can’t understand your vision, but remember: this is your vision, not theirs. The only thing that matters is whether you genuinely enjoy the process. If you do, plus you have a great team around you, no one can stop you from achieving your dream.”
POGR has seen some notable highlights during its development and growth phase. The founders raised $2.25 million from Venturerock in seed funding, and the app was also among the LA Techweek Hackathon’s top 10. In the booming tech, gaming, and venture capital industries, POGR is making waves by breaking the mold of traditional analytics.
The team at POGR is set to raise series A towards the end of 2023. Their goal is to become one of the foundational pillars of the metaverse, and with their current trajectory, they’re well on their way.
