Charlotte’s Chris Valada has worked in edtech for 20 years, but always envisioned himself launching a startup. His idea ultimately came to him when he was helping his son with elementary school homework and began using sports examples to help his son understand various topics.
“And that was the genesis of it,” Valada said. “I started thinking about different ways to help kids understand topics in school with sports examples.”
This thinking led to Sideline Education, a startup Valada founded in 2024.
The emerging company revolves around a platform called Sideline Math that integrates sports-themed math challenges into an interactive “grow-your-franchise” game. It uniquely features video messages from professional and Division 1 college athletes to motivate users to complete math challenges and advance their franchise.
Creating Sideline Math
Following initial inspiration and ideation, Chris worked with a development team to create a prototype. This prototype was tested on 100 kids from different sports leagues in the Charlotte area.
“The completion rate was four times the average for traditional edtech games, so I am ecstatic about that,” Valada said.
In Sideline Math 1.0, players begin by creating a custom sports franchise in baseball, basketball, football, or soccer. They must then complete educational challenges to earn tokens, which serve as the currency needed to level up and progress in the game. Tokens can be used to upgrade stadiums, draft players, hire coaches, and unlock new features, all in pursuit of creating a “championship-winning dynasty team.”
Valada has designed the platform to incorporate proven engagement strategies often seen in popular commercial games but overlooked in educational technology. These include early customization options, micro-rewards, messages from athletes, and monthly challenges—all of which are intended to keep students engaged and returning to the platform consistently.
Educational content is built directly into mini-games rather than presented as standalone material. For example, “Home Run Derby” rewards correct math answers with home runs; “RB1” teaches positive and negative numbers through the process of a football running back gaining or losing yards.
“[The challenges] are not just word problems about sports,” Valada said, “It’s actual things that a sports player or a coach would need to know in order to be successful in the game.”
This allows the games to feel more connected to the overall sports theme. Unlike traditional “gamified” learning tools, the platform takes a game-first approach where educational challenges drive progression, making success more rewarding. Valada’s goal is to create a game that seamlessly integrates learning rather than simply layering a game on top of lessons.
“People commonly use the word gamification, but I like to say we’re a game first,” Valada said. “It’s game first, with learning as the currency.”
Growing the game(s)
The current prototype focuses on basic math, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and positive and negative numbers. But the platform is designed to scale.
Future iterations will focus on expanding mini games to include more sports options and difficulty customization. In the first version, students scroll and pick a topic they want to work on for the day. In a possible second iteration, the platform will become more searchable, enabling students or teachers to filter by grade level, topic, and sport. For example, a third grader could select a four-digit addition in baseball, while a sixth grader might choose pre-algebra in hockey. Geometry challenges could involve multiple sports because different field sizes and shapes provide variety.
A potential third iteration may introduce AI-driven personalization. The system would adjust question difficulty based on a child’s performance and may include an interactive mascot that provides hints and guidance in real time.
Finally, once the user base grows, Valada is eyeing branded upgrades based on corporate partnerships.
Currently, six athletes are featured in the game, delivering inspiring video messages that emphasize perseverance and the value of math in sports. Valada is actively looking to engage with more college and professional athletes who want to use their likeness to encourage students to continue building their math skills.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Sideline Education
Founder: Chris Valada
Founded: 2024
Team size: 1 + Techlogy.co dev team
Location: Charlotte
Website: SidelineMath.com
Funding: Bootstrapped
The official product will take the form of a subscription services targeted at parents and local sports-centric groups (like teams). Valada aims to make Sideline Math accessible and plans to offer both a paid (at around $5/month), and ‘freemium’ service.
When asked what sets his product apart from competitors, Valada highlighted the game’s design and go-to-market strategy, which focuses on selling math to young athletes in a fun, engaging way by targeting sports parents and groups.
Valada is actively raising funds and aiming to rollout a debut version in the near future. He will be exhibiting at the Converge South conference in Winston-Salem this month.
“Kids have to do their homework,” Valada said, “so they might as well do it in a fun way.”
