Technology visionary and alumnus Adonis Abdullah ’21, ’22 M.S. is forging ahead on his entrepreneurial journey as co-founder of the startup Hot Route Analytics.
With a master’s degree in data science and business analytics in hand from Spring Commencement, Abdullah has concluded a storied Charlotte tenure that included selection as a Belk and a Crown scholar, which provided merit-based financial support. While completing bachelor’s degrees in economics and data science, he was listed among Charlotte Inno’s Under 25 young tech leaders.
Abdullah, a second-generation UNC Charlotte graduate from Mooresville, North Carolina, continues to pursue his lifelong fascination with technology. Starting with a school-issued laptop in fourth grade, he hasn’t stepped away from computers. That passion for technology brought him to Charlotte, the state’s largest and most diverse computer science program, to pursue an education in the emerging field of data science and predictive analytics.
Early in his undergraduate studies, while playing sports video games with a friend, Abdullah noticed an increase in the game’s presentation of advanced analytics. The two started discussing how data and statistics benefit sports teams. They realized that not all professional and most college and youth sports programs lacked the resources for expansive scouting or coaching staffs to generate predictive data.
Hot Route Analytics was created with the goal of balancing the playing field for teams. Abdullah and his friend presented their idea at UNC Charlotte’s annual Ventureprise competition, where they won first place along with seed grant funding. A subsequent NC Idea microgrant added additional monies, providing the startup with valuable financial resources.
“One thing that I really appreciate about UNC Charlotte is the connectivity. I bumped into someone on campus who initially told me about Ventureprise, so I checked it out,” Abdullah said. “After I won the competition, I joined an organization that helped me network in the city and grow my idea. I don’t think that can happen at every college.”
Using proprietary databases and predictive analytics, Hot Route Analytics developed its Next Pitch program, which can successfully predict a baseball game’s upcoming sequence in real time with 85% accuracy. This program analyzes similar situations presented in previous games and allows coaches and players to better understand their opponents’ tendencies.
Abdullah will continue to pursue funding for Hot Route Analytics as he anticipates the release of its next platform this fall. While he is confident in the program’s success, he has built a solid backup plan and has the option to pursue advanced degrees in economics from Oxford, Cambridge or the London School of Economics.
No one can be certain what the future holds, but for Abdullah, Charlotte has provided this data scientist with the knowledge and skill set to help shape what’s next in the tech industry.