It’s not often the top brass from a company that’s in talks with the NBA rocks up to meetings on a bicycle, but then Spalk’s Ben Reynolds is a big fan of doing things differently.

He and co-founder Michael Prendergast dreamt up their innovative software sitting in their Auckland flat.

“We started using an internet radio tool when we were watching super ruby matches and cricket matches, and commentated them ourselves, from the couch. Over the course of 60 games we had this audience in the thousands who were tuning into us every week, and we thought hey maybe there’s a business in this,” Ben said.

Spalk’s programme synchronises up podcasters and crowd sourced commentary with live broadcasts, and the programme can be viewed online anywhere in the world.

“What it means is that you can be watching your favourite sports game and pick a commentator other than the regular TV commentator. It could be somebody sitting in Mexico doing their commentary in Spanish or a comedian in their basement. It’s all about giving the power back to the viewer,” Ben said.

While at Vodafone xone the Spalk team took full advantage of working in the innovation lab, with its suite of connectivity and testing technologies to build products.

For Michael that was pivotal.

“Having the technical capacity and resources to actually do testing has been hugely beneficial to what we’re trying to achieve. But more than that, on a personal level you’re connected with other entrepreneurs who are going through the same struggles that you’re going through. That was so helpful in terms of making you feel less alone,” Michael said.

At the relatively tender age of 23, Ben and Michael have already notched up some significant milestones for their business.

A trial of their programme with Maori Television was a resounding win.

“We saw viewership increase really dramatically. Previously when they broadcast live content they’re having to pick between an English or Maori commentator, so with Spalk they could actually say let’s do both, and that means that viewer can actually pick an experience that’s much more catered to them,” Ben said.

Xone also brought Spalk global exposure with funding to one of the world’s biggest tech tradeshows in Las Vegas, CES.

CES has a quarter of a million attendees, with 10,000 exhibitors.

“We had a visit from the NBA, and some teams in the NBA, and we’re pursuing those leads hotly. It was pretty incredible to have the big names seeking us out,” Michael said.

For both it was also an eye-opening glimpse of the technological innovation’s heading our way.

“A personal highlight was a machine where you throw your t-shirt at it, and it spits out a folded t-shirt for you – so it automatically folds it. It was a fantastic demonstration of, if you can think about it, someone’s probably done it,” Ben laughs.

For Michael success for Spalk will come when everyone has the chance to be a sports broadcasting star.

“Why shouldn’t sports commentary be the same as YouTube stars and Instagram celebrities? Why couldn’t we allow everybody all around the world to have their say, and for those who are really good at it to rise to the top,” Michael added.

“I think for me success is when I get on the bus and see somebody using our app, consuming Spalk content, engaging with what we’ve built. When that happens on a daily basis that’s when I know we’ve made it,” Ben said.

With applications now open for 10 new Kiwi start-ups and established entrepreneurs to be part of Vodafone xone 2017, Michael and Ben are urging applicants to seize the opportunity.

“We’ve got out of it a lot more than we were expecting, it was an awesome buzz to be given the validation that what we’re working on is valuable to Vodafone, and the access to Vodafone’s resources in terms of technical help has been huge,” Michael added.

Vodafone Consumer Director Matt Williams is excited about the next group of innovators.

“This year we are particularly interested to see where clever Kiwis are looking to take things in quickly evolving areas such as health technology, IoT (Internet of Things), artificial intelligence or big data,” Matt added.

For more on Vodafone xone, head to https://vodafonexone.co.nz