LINCOLN— Ryan Cooper knows how important it is to catch a moment.

As a platform, mobile is task-based and essentially kills the effectiveness of banner ads because of it. Cooper says brands can close a deal 14 times by offering a reward rather than just a banner ad on mobile, and engagement amplifies when brands tie it in with a special moment.

That’s what his first startup, GolfStatus, focused on—rewarding golfers for checking in to a course, sharing their scores on social media and more—as a way of advertising in the moment.

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But now Cooper’s second startup, Adolade, which aims to bring that idea to a multitude of verticals, is finishing out its time at Lincoln’s NMotion accelerator. During Tuesday’s Demo Day, he will show off his best example of that concept with Stupid FAST, a new mobile game by former Husker quarterback Taylor Martinez that is set for release Sept. 7.

Martinez will also be at Demo Day to show off the app with Cooper.

In the side-scrolling game, players tap your thumbs as quick as you can and jump over the pylons while avoiding a pursuing safety. Players can collect footballs for upgrades like stiff arms on the way to a touchdown. By earning high scores, sharing results and earning other achievements on the game, you can earn rewards from companies like HobbyTown, Sol Republic, Cutter Gloves, Shock Doctor Mouth Piece and Black Fly sunglasses.

“It’s creating a triple win in a sense,” Cooper told SPN. “Brands win because they reach consumers when they’re highly engaged, like when they get a high score on a game.  Users win because they’re acknowledged when they do something great in the app. Developers win when users are highly-engaged and having longer session times and higher retention.”

Adolade created the platform and code to make the “reward moments” happen and they do have a beginnings of the marketplace for brands and developers get together, but it’s up to the individual brands to send out the rewards, Cooper said.

He sees plenty of app verticals to enter, rewards for sports, health and fitness apps, productivity and education apps. Up next is funding and accelerating growth.

“There’s a huge opportunity to capitalize on mobile ads and not too many people, other than opendorse, are really going for it in the Midwest,” Cooper said. “One of the challenges is staying focused on what (verticals) you want to go after.”

As for how the Martinez deal came together? Networking.

Jay Guy, a NMotion partner and former defensive lineman who played with Martinez, put the pair in touch because of Martinez’s other mobile games. And it just so happened that Stupid FAST would be coming out around Demo Day.

“Nebraska football is king here, so there’s certainly an advantage to having a former player to work with, but it was never something we set out or intended to do,” Cooper said. “The timing just worked.”

Cooper’s biggest takeaways from NMotion

“Customer development is incredibly important. You have to learn about what problems you’re solving. That’s a constant process. How much time I did that with Golf Status… well I could’ve saved a lot of money and time. You have to make sure the customer truly wants what your offering and not just getting false positives.”

“Connections. The world is run on connections them. Without Jay Guy, I don’t get that Taylor Martinez relationship. So you have to be actively involved in your community and building relationships with people.”