Priya Narasimhan, CEO & Founder, YinzCam

18 Feb Signal Boost: Priya Narasimhan, CEO & Founder, YinzCam

Posted at 11:29h in Meet The Team
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At Zoomph, we believe the most meaningful innovation is driven by people and their stories.

That’s why we’re excited to feature leaders and changemakers who are shaping the future of sports, technology, and culture. Our Signal Boost series highlights voices across the industry, offering thoughtful insights, personal experiences, and perspectives that inspire how we think about impact, creativity, and growth.

Get to know the leaders who are moving the industry forward—one conversation at a time.

Tell us a bit about your background leading up to the creation of YinzCam:

I grew up in India and in Zambia (Africa). I have a Master’s and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I am also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where I continue to advise and teach undergraduate/Master’s/doctoral students in the areas of distributed systems, reliability, and sports technology.  I started YinzCam 17 years ago in Pittsburgh.

Tell us about YinzCam:

I started YinzCam 17 years ago as a sports fan who loved solving hard problems. The company began in a research lab at Carnegie Mellon University, where a group of PhDs believed technology could fundamentally improve how fans connect with their teams.

We built some of the first mobile apps for professional sports teams when smartphones were still new — and we’ve been innovating in the digital fan experience ever since.

Outside of building one of the most successful mobile app companies in sports and entertainment, can you share a professional accomplishment that you are extremely proud of?

I am proud of our annual Global Sports Summits, gatherings that bring together the best minds in the industry for two full days of innovation, brainstorming, friendships, and sharing best practices. It’s a roomful of people I love, respect, admire, and am extremely thankful for.

What is your favorite part about working in your industry?

The people I get to work with, and the memories of what we have built together. People taking a chance on me, have been the defining arc of my life. There are clients who have had my back for more than a decade. Just genuinely good people who I love deeply, and who’ve hung in there with me, who fight for me, whose kindness and loyalty move me, and whom I don’t see as just clients, but as trusted advisors and friends who believed in me when I didn’t give them reason to.

There are my own people who have had my back for over a decade, and who have been with me through every high and every low. People who’ve poured over a decade of their life and their hearts into building YinzCam with me, who’ve fought so many battles by my side, and who continue to do incredible things for us beyond what they joined YinzCam for.

My favorite part is always all of my people—my clients and my YinzCam team. It has been the biggest privilege of my life to serve both of them.

 

What is a trend you are keeping an eye on in your industry? 

The idea of ensuring that human emotion, human creativity, and human ingenuity is not lost in the shuffle of “let’s AI this,” and “let’s AI that.” Ultimately, what makes us intensely human is what makes each of us unique, great, and special. I never want to forget that. An AI prompt can make you feel powerful as a creator, but it can’t make you feel the wealth of emotion that a human creator can express in their writing, art, humanity, and range of expression.
 
What advice would you share with young professionals?
 
Don’t fear AI. AI is not a threat. AI is a tool. Use it for what it’s good for, but not as a substitute for deep thinking and intuition.
 
What is one skill you wish you had learned earlier in your career, and why?
 
Sales. I came to it later in life.
 
What is your favorite product feature or specific use case of Zoomph?
 
The fact that you focus on impact, and not just the numbers.
 
Do you have a favorite experience or memory from your career? 
 
The first time our product went live on February 6, 2009. That gave me goosebumps, and still remains a powerful moment that reminds me of the kindness of people. Dave Soltesz, the Senior VP of Marketing and Sales at the Pittsburgh Penguins, took a shot on me, an unknown engineering professor out of Carnegie Mellon University. I have benefited from the generosity, kindness, and grace of countless individuals who have given me their time, their energy, and their assistance when I needed it the most.
 
YinzCamn team at Penguins game in 2008
The early days of YinzCam, working a Pittsburgh Penguins game in 2008

What is your favorite dessert?

Sticky toffee pudding. Genuine hot mess. Absolutely delicious.

Is there any brand that has caught your attention lately that you want to shout out?  

Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. And all of the food banks around the world. I love their tag line of “feeding people, feeding hope.” Food poverty is real, and I think the ability to put your efforts into feeding others, without needing/wanting anything back, is magnificent.

Besides your own, what is one city you think everyone should visit at least once, and why?

Athens. For centuries of history that you get to still walk on.
 
What was your favorite cartoon when you were in elementary school? 
 
Wile E. Coyote!

What is your favorite sports team? 

The Pittsburgh Penguins, I’ve been a fan since 2008.  My favorite sports experience to this day is also the opportunity the Penguins gave YinzCam in the early days of the company. 

To learn more about YinzCam and how they power the digital fan experience for sports organizations around the world, visit YinzCam.com. 

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