WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- Antonio Depina's path in the world of tech has not been traditional. You may recognize him from season one of the Netflix series known as The Circle -- but he's now the founder and CEO of Scoutz. "I say tech found me," he said. DC Council votes to finalize funding deal for Capital One Arena The Scoutz platform connects young basketball players to coaches and universities. "I got the idea from just my personal experience. You know, I played at a small college called Lincoln University very, very close to Philadelphia, HBCU out there. But recruiting sucked for me. You know, I couldn't find a college scholarship to save my life," he said. “I want to be the number one recruiting platform for basketball before we add other sports," he said. Last week, the platform gained even more support after judges named him the winner of a pitch competition at the Techsgiving summit. The company, which is self-funded, has raised a quarter of a million dollars this year. "Now we're going out to raise another $800,000," Depina said. The Scoutz app is launching in Jan. 2025.