So I came across an interesting article on Runner's World about Gameface Media.
http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/race-photographers-say-they-havent-been-paid
They are a company that shoots photographs for road races. Historically, photo companies have shot photos and charged participants for them. This company decided to shoot them and give them away for free (but they have the name of the race and sponsor's on them).
Apparently, they haven't been paying their photographers on time.
That's not what interests me. What stunned me was the following.
The article claims they got $7.5 million in VC. How in the world is that possible? Why would anyone think this would be a company worth more than $10+ million dollars. If there are millions to be made in road race photos, one would think the races would just do it themselves. How hard is it to take thousands of photos, get photo software to recognize the bib numbers and sort them?
So can anyone find a) proof that they did get that VC
and if they did
b) explain to me why an investor would think this is worth tens of millions?
It seems to me that it's hard to make tens of millions when you are giving stuff away for free. What am I missing about the business model?
Lastly, any race directors on here? How much do they charge for their service and do they then get a sponsor for the photos on their own or do you make them use the race's sponsors?