Tally

TraceMe was established in 2017 by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who served as the Founder and Executive Chairman. His vision was to forge a more direct and deeper connection with his most ardent supporters, moving beyond the limitations of traditional social media platforms. The company was co-founded by CEO Jason LeeKeenan, a former executive at Hulu and Zulily, who was instrumental in building the platform. The venture launched out of the Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs and quickly garnered significant financial backing.

In September 2017, TraceMe secured a $9 million Series A funding round led by Madrona Venture Group. The investment round attracted a high-profile syndicate of investors, including Jeff Bezos's personal investment firm Bezos Expeditions, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai. The company's initial product was a mobile application designed to give superfans exclusive, behind-the-scenes content and a closer look into the lives of celebrities, with Wilson being the first personality featured.

By late 2018, the company underwent a strategic pivot, recognizing challenges in differentiating itself from major social media giants. This shift resulted in the creation of Tally, a new service operating under the TraceMe corporate umbrella. Tally was a B2B predictive gaming platform aimed at sports teams, broadcasters, and venues. Its purpose was to enhance fan engagement during live sporting events through real-time prediction games, with partners including teams like the L.A. Rams and Portland Trail Blazers. The platform provided a game authoring tool, a mobile app for fans, and an analytics portal for its partners.

In October 2019, Nike Inc. acquired TraceMe. The acquisition was primarily focused on TraceMe's underlying technology and talented team, rather than the Tally brand itself, to supplement Nike's own digital content strategy on its platforms. Following the acquisition, the TraceMe team of fewer than 15 employees, including CEO Jason LeeKeenan, was integrated into a new "Nike Seattle" office to help build out Nike's digital product and engineering capabilities.

Keywords: Russell Wilson, fan engagement, celebrity content, sports technology, mobile application, sports prediction games, B2B platform, sports media, fan interaction, Jason LeeKeenan, Pioneer Square Labs, Madrona Venture Group, Bezos Expeditions, Nike acquisition, digital content strategy, Tally, interactive mobile game, live sports events, broadcast engagement