Rivalry Wear Changing the Model

"We wanted to create a new business model whereby online consumers are exposed to new content on a continuous basis, one that provides a financial incentive for sharing that content with their extended social network."

-Rivalry Wear CEO Dan Hershberg

As sports fans we love to cheer on our favorite team and celebrate victories along with our fellow hometown fans, but there is one thing we love more than anything. We love to hate. There is nothing better than having a heated rival come to town and bring a bunch of traveling fans only to later watch them leave early because of the beating your team just handed them.

Rivalries are what make sports so exhilarating. Fans love to represent their city and prove their mettle. Now, two Cornell alumni, Jorge Lee and Dan Hershberg, have come together to create Rivalry Wear, an apparel company built on sports rivalries. Rivalry Wear serves these fans through a one of a kind e-commerce model that combines crowd-sourcing discounts, intercity competition, and social media integration.

It all starts when the "Deal" goes live. This stage features one limited design item that is live for a set period. Each featured item starts at a set price, but has the ability to drop in price as more customers agree to purchase the item. For every 10 people who buy, the price falls $1 for everyone.

This creates the incentive for those who agree to purchase the item to immediately begin sharing it on any and every social media outlet they can imagine. The more they spread the word and promote the product, the more they save. By utilizing the power of social media, Rivalry Wear lets customers do the marketing.

Whether re-tweeting on Twitter to all their followers, posting on Facebook for all their friends to see, or even posting a picture on Instagram, customers are educating others about the site and exposing them to an exclusive product all while helping themselves pay a lower price.

Getting your name out and displaying successful products are crucial aspects for any new business, but especially an e-commerce site. There is no better way of doing that than marketing through social media sites and Rivalry Wear has created the motivation for its customers to do that marketing for them.

At the end of the live period for the current "Deal", all purchasers receive the item at the final, lowest price. Along with sharing the "Deal" to control the final purchase price, Rivalry Wear customers accumulate points for their city with every purchase. Their website offers real-time standings that allows fans to see where their city stands compared to their rivals.

Another innovative aspect of the business model is "Rivalry Weeks", in which two cities are set against each other and gives the fans a chance to show their city's strength by earning the lowest price on a "Deal". Once the scores of the Rivalry Week are calculated they are placed into the standings.

The fans of the city atop the standings at years end are rewarded with prize offerings. Lee and Hershberg started out focusing mostly on a few core markets including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Recently, they have added a "National" section to capitalize on other potential markets and fan bases (such as Kevin Durant supporters).

Cornell alumni Jorge Lee and Dan Hershberg have established an exciting, competitive, reward-based business model in which fans can do what they love most; beat their bitter rivals. By separating themselves from other sports merchandisers, Rivalry Wear is well positioned to make an impact in the marketplace.