COMM Alumnus Bryant Joseph develops “Stadium Runner” App

Any seasoned sports fan knows the art of navigating a stadium. Perhaps rule #1… avoid the concession stand during halftime, unless you’re a fan of long lines.

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Bryant Joseph

Bryant Joseph, recent Communication alumnus, is here to fix your need for snacks and distaste for long lines. Enter: Stadium Runner. The app uses your smartphone to play the middleman between sports fans and the concession stand.

Bryant Joseph and his co-partner Connor Grady tested the app last spring during Florida State baseball games with great success. Since then, the app was advertised via word-of-mouth and offered at the Citadel, Clemson and Wake Forest games this season. The app’s biggest test to date was the sold-out Notre Dame game. Although cell service is an ongoing issue for high volume venues, it is one that venues are actively working to solve. In the Doak, few customers have reported problems. “We had our largest number of orders at a single game at Notre Dame,” said Joseph. “We had orders from customers on Verizon, AT&T, & T-Mobile; and saw increased traffic of people viewing the menu.”

The two students were backed by InkBridge LLC, a partnership of entrepreneurs J.T. Burnette and Kim Rivers. The duo first met the student entrepreneurs at FSU’s InNOLEvation Center at the business plan competition. The app is free for iPhones and Android and offers a streamlined ordering process, customers enter their seat number and their food order. Check out with their credit card, similar to an Amazon check-out process, and their food appears in 10-15 minutes. Stadium Runner works with concession stands, equipping them with iPads that handle orders and print receipts for runners. Inside Doak Campbell, 20 of the 34 concession stands are outfitted to handle Stadium Runner orders.

“There’s a team of people that have made very important contributions to this project,” shared Joseph. It’s a special accomplishment for the Seminole grad who graduated in Spring 2014. “One of the biggest benefits of FSU is the incredible value,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing that isn’t apparent until you actually pause and reflect on all the opportunities available.”

The success of the app is a harbinger of great things to come for Bryant. “Our goal now is to continue to getting out the word about this enhancement to the game-day fan experience.”