Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CEO’ operating in the Sports space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Ken Martin
CEO & Co-Founder of GreenPark Sports
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About GreenPark Sports: GreenPark Sports is a social sports gaming developer designed to create a virtual sports environment for sports and eSports fans.
Edward W. Stack
Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Dick’s Sporting Goods
Edward W. Stack has served as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1984 when the founder and Edward Stack’s father, Richard “Dick” Stack, retired from our then two store chain. Mr. Edward Stack has served us full time since 1977 in a variety of positions, including President, Store Manager and Merchandise Manager.
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About Dick’s Sporting Goods: Dick’s Sporting Goods is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment
James Yoder
CEO & Founder of Chat Sports
James Yoder is CEO of Chat Sports and founder of Chat Sports Studios. Prior to co-founding Chat Sports, he worked for Verizon Wireless as a Mobile Product Manager. Focusing on Verizon’s Android and iOS products, James has vast experience at the forefront of mobile industry technology. Prior to Verizon, he worked for the college sports giant, Rivals.com. James graduated with a degree in Business Management from the University of Toledo. As an angel investor, James has 4 portfolio exits. All investments to date have been consumer focused.
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About Chat Sports: Chat Sports is a live sports news network for digital platforms
Chris Bevilacqua
Co-Founder & CEO of Simplebet
Chris is the Co-Founder of Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures and is a sports, media, and tech investor with investments in companies such as StubHub, ActionX, Viagogo, Lyft, Airbnb, SpaceX, Unscriptd, and ThePostGame. He was previously the Chairman & CEO of CAA Sports Media Ventures, a joint venture between CAA and Evolution Media Capital. Prior to that, he was the Founder of CSTV, which was acquired by CBS in 2006 and is now CBS Sports Network.
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About Simplebet: Simplebet turns every moment of every sporting event into a betting opportunity.
Mike Wadhera
Founder & CEO of Sports Feed
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About Skip Scooters, Sports Feed: Next-generation sports app – fast, friendly & personalized
Blake Lawrence
CEO and Co-Founder of Opendorse
Blake Lawrence is the CEO and co-founder of Opendorse, the athlete endorsement company. More than 75,000 athletes use Opendorse to understand, build, and monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) value. Prior to Opendorse, Blake co-founded Hurrdat, a social media agency, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over four years, Hurrdat grew from two to twenty-five employees, and was acquired in July 2014 by B2 Interactive. Prior to his journey as an entrepreneur, Blake was a member of the Nebraska football team. Lawrence was a highly recruited linebacker, who started at Linebacker in 2008 and 2009, before his career was cut short due to recurring concussions. Off the football field, Blake earned his marketing degree in just 2.5 years, and received his MBA from Nebraska in 2011.
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About Opendorse: Opendorse operates the leading SaaS-enabled Marketplace in the athlete endorsement industry.
Nicola Munarini
CEO and Co-Founder of PKRS.AI
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About PKRS.AI: The future of personal coaching. AI powered, human enhanced.
Dan Porter
CEO and Co-Founder of Overtime
Dan Porter is CEO of Overtime. Previously, Dan was Head of Digital at WME | IMG; CEO of the social games company OMGPOP; and SVP Corporate Development managing investments for Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Dan started out working with bands at RCA Records, was a public school teacher and President of the Teach For America program and President of Ticketweb which he sold to IAC. He has an AB from Princeton University and an MA from New York University and has studied at Berkelee College of Music as well as at INSEAD.
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About Inside Startups, Overtime, VentureCrushFG: Overtime is a sports network that produces several sports-focused series and short-form content for the next generation of sports fans.
Numaan Akram
Founder & CEO of Rally
Numaan is the founder and CEO of Rally Bus, a New Haven startup which combines crowdsourcing and event travel.
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About Rally: Rally is Mass Mobility as a Service: technology and model innovations for the business of buses.
Brad Griffith
Chief Executive Officer of Gametime
Brad Griffith After nearly missing a San Francisco Giants NLCS game because he didn’t have access to print his tickets, Brad Griffith reimagined a simpler process for buying tickets on the go. Focusing completely on the mobile experience, Brad wrote v1.0 of the Gametime iOS application in 2012 and now leads a passionate team focused on mobilizing the ticket buying process for fans. He’s fascinated with fan experience – answering the question: How can we make it faster and easier to attend games? Brad is a Santa Cruz native and huge S.F. Giants, Golden State Warriors and 49ers fan. After earning an Engineering degree from Stanford, he followed his dreams to work in sports by helping the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox (2005 World Series Champs!) build statistical infrastructure to analyze player value. In 2010, he helped launch Zappedy, which delivered customer analytics for local businesses (sold to Groupon in 2011). At Gametime, he’s able to combine his love of sports and analytics to help fans attend more games and connect with their communities.
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About Gametime: Gametime sells last-minute tickets to the most popular events in sports, music, and theater.
Erika Nardini
Chief Executive Officer of Barstool Sports
Erika Nardini, the first-ever CEO of media magnate Barstool Sports, is a digital innovator, disruptor and seasoned executive on the cutting edge of content creation, distribution and monetization of premier and culturally relevant content. As an early adopter of internet culture, Nardini has always been interested in what’s next, driving digital entrepreneurship and large-scale revenue growth within companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL. Nardini serves on the board of the WWE, Torchy’s Tacos and the Premier Lacrosse League. Since joining Barstool Sports in 2016, Nardini has spearheaded the company’s growth, transforming the organization from a regional blog to a multi-industry juggernaut, encompassing sports betting, merchandising and licensing, audio, video and social content and brand development. In just five years, Nardini has led a 3,900% increase in overall revenue, boosted social follower counts by 5,700% and was instrumental in Barstool Sports’ strategic partnership with casino operator Penn National Gaming, valuing the company at $650 million and building Barstool Sportsbook, one of the most prominent online gaming companies in the nation as a top-three brand in every state it is live in. During her tenure, Barstool has launched more than 60 brands across categories, including the world’s #1 sports podcast (Pardon My Take), #1 golf podcast (Fore Play) and the #1 hockey podcast (Spittin’ Chiclets), which in turn produces the #1 selling flavored vodka in North America and Canada. In addition to these brands, Erika has identified and cultivated numerous successful talent ventures, including Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper and PlanBri with Brianna Chickenfry as well as recruiting Hall of Famer Deion Sanders to work across multiple Barstool platforms. Nardini has been named Forbes’ Most Powerful Women in the U.S. in Sports, recipient of Crain’s Notable Women in Sports, AdWeek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports, Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media and a top player in the U.S. Betting Space and Podcasting by Business Insider. Before joining Barstool, Nardini held several senior roles at influential media and technology organizations. As Chief Marketing Officer for AOL, Vice President of Branding at Yahoo and Senior Director of MSN Branded Experiences for Microsoft, Nardini honed her marketing and branding capabilities. During this time, she worked integrating newly bought brands, implementing video content and overseeing advertising portfolios. She also played a major role as the SVP of Sales and Marketing for creator community platform, Demand Media, leading their go to market efforts, opening the organization’s first-ever NYC location and creating immense value by supporting their IPO process. Nardini got her start in financial services with Fidelity, quickly becoming an influential voice in the early digital advertising age as she spurred the company to build out brand identity around internet domains she purchased on their behalf, such as insurance.com. She then took her talents to Arnold, where she managed more than $400-$600 Million in business, including the launch of the iconic Volkswagen Cabriolet. She has also been involved with several startup organizations, most recently as President and Chief Revenue Officer for Bkstg, a platform for music creators to capitalize on their IP, where she oversaw product and monetization. She also co-founded Modelinia, a media brand that showcased the lives and work of Supermodels in the fashion industry. Erika Nardini was raised by two public school educators in New Hampshire, where she spent more time stacking wood, reading books and playing sports than consuming media and pop culture. She then attended Colby College, where she majored in Sociology and Philosophy and played varsity field hockey and lacrosse. She currently resides with her family outside of New York City.
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About Barstool Sports: Barstool Sports is a digital sports, entertainment and media brand that delivers content across multiple platforms.
Jon Mayfield
CEO and VP, Product R&D of Zwift
Zwift Co-Founder and Vice President of Product at Zwift. He is a games industry veteran, having worked at Applied Minds and High Impact Games before his hobby project of Zwift turned pro.
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About Zwift: Zwift operates an online fitness platform used to transform monotonous solo indoor cycling into dynamic and social adventures.
Jesse Zhang
CEO and Founder of Lowkey
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About Camelot.ai, Lowkey, Lowkey: The home for watching and creating short gaming videos
Robert Bowman
CEO & President of MLB Advanced Media
Bob Bowman was appointed President, Business & Media of Major League Baseball by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. on December 4, 2014. He directs revenue-generating and media rights activities across all MLB entities while continuing to oversee MLB Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM) and MLB Network. Bowman has been President & Chief Executive Officer of MLBAM, the league’s world-class technology company, since its inception in 2000. Bowman joined MLBAM in 2000 following two years of work in the Internet space. He took on oversight of MLB Network in 2014. MLBAM was created in January 2000, when the owners of the 30 Major League Clubs voted to follow the recommendation of Commissioner Selig and centralize all of Baseball’s Internet and Interactive Media operations under one roof. MLBAM operates the official League site, MLB.com, as well as each of the 30 individual team sites. It also develops, deploys and distributes the highest grossing iOS app, At Bat, as well as manages live video content for dozens of clients. In 2014, MLBAM captured, encoded and distributed 30,000 live video events. MLB.com is an award-winning multimedia business at the forefront of the digital revolution. Prior to joining MLBAM, Mr. Bowman was President and Chief Operating Officer of ITT Corporation, one of the world’s largest and preeminent conglomerates. He joined ITT in 1991 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ITT Sheraton, the Boston-based global hotel network. In 1992, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the parent company before being named President and Chief Operating Officer in 1995. Following the trivestiture of the Company’s business divisions in 1995, Mr. Bowman successfully oversaw the growth and operations of the $8 billion conglomerate until its merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 1998. During his tenure, Mr. Bowman and the senior management team at ITT created more than $25 billion of value for the company’s shareholders. Before joining ITT, Bowman served as Treasurer for the State of Michigan from 1983-1991. The youngest State Treasurer in the nation at the time of his appointment, during his eight-year term, the State’s pension system grew from $6 billion to $19 billion in asset value, and improved the State’s credit rating from BBB to AA. Immediately prior to his appointment in Michigan, Bowman also worked as a municipal finance investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Company, and from 1979 to 1981 he served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Domestic Finance. In that role, he worked on both the New York City Loan Guarantee Act and the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act. A native of Milwaukee, Bowman graduated from Harvard College in 1977, and received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School in 1979. Bowman serves as President of the Michigan Education Trust and is a member of the Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Corp., and ViaSat, Inc.
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About MLB Advanced Media, Openwave Systems: MLB.TV is a website that offers news, schedules, standings, and statistics related to baseball.
Lee Rubin
Founder & CEO of Confetti
Lee Rubin is the Founder & CEO at Confetti
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About Confetti: Discover unique workplace activities & corporate events that fit your company’s culture, goals & budget.
Ari Emanuel
CEO of Endeavor
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About Endeavor, WME: ENDEAVOR is a global media company in the fields of sports, events, media and fashion.
Gary Knudson
Founder / CEO of AdSport
Founder and CEO of AdSport, a sponsorship consultancy that harnesses the avidity of collegiate and professional sports for its clients. As CEO, Knudson oversees AdSport’s consulting, activation and promotional business, as well as its centralized agency resources, which include evaluations and analytics, strategy, creative, business development, and operations. A veteran sports marketing executive with proven track record of negotiating and activating successful, high-profile, integrated sports sponsorships that deliver equity, volume & share gains for clients, Gary brings a wealth of experience in marketing and promotions honed while working with some of the best brands in the world. Gary has negotiated hundreds of sponsorship agreements and provided counsel to such clients as Chevron, State Farm, Visa, Alltel, Dodge, America West Airlines, Chevrolet and True Value. Gary holds a BS in Organization Communications from Arizona State University where he attended on an athletic scholarship prior to a short stint with the Los Angeles Rams (’89, ’90). Gary resides in Phoenix with his wife, two daughters and son.
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About AdSport: Brand side sport, event & entertainment consultancy. We Evaluate, Negotiate, Activate & Measure.
Jon Carr-Harris
CEO of CRED Investments
Jon is a leading innovator in technology. As the founder of Swish Labs he’s built the largest distributed ecosystem spanning 30+ countries. Jon’s consulted with many of the top fortune 500 on innovative product opportunities and strategy. Jon has advised top startups including Airbnb, Kik and Khan Academy. Jon studied at McGill & Stanford university and has a deep background in product, economics and psychology.
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About CRED Investments, Swish: CRED uses artificial intelligence to invest in the future of talent. Helping realize the commercial & financial potential of talent.
Ron Schneidermann
CEO of AllTrails
Ron Schneidermann is the Founder and CEO of AllTrails.
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About AllTrails: AllTrails is a community of 10 million hikers, campers and mountain bikers who share a passion about the outdoors.
Ryan Dotters
Chief Executive Officer of Full Swing Golf
Ryan Dotters has spent the majority of his career in the golf industry and joined Full Swing Golf in September 2013 as a Business Development Consultant to oversee new corporate partnerships and establish a new ownership group. In January 2015, Ryan took over as CEO while simultaneously signing a partnership deal with Tiger Woods. Ryan led the acquisition of Virtual Green in March of 2015 and has successfully led significant growth of Full Swing Golf. Previous to Full Swing, Ryan held key positions at Graphite Design(SVP Sales and Marketing), Taylor Made / Adidas Golf (Sales), Adams Golf (Regional Sales Manager – North East), and Callaway Golf (Corporate Sales). Ryan has been able to balance his passion for golf with his love for business.
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About Full Swing Golf: Full Swing Golf is the Worldwide Leader in Golf Simulation.
Andy Rebele
Founder & CEO of Pure Watercraft
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About GrokHome, Pure Watercraft: Pure Watercraft is building battery electric propulsion systems for boats.
Kevin April
CEO of SportsCastr
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About PANDA Interactive, SportsCastr: SportsCastr is a live video platform for sports that includes real-time score-bugs, broadcast quality motion graphics and augmented reality.
Will Ahmed
Founder & CEO of WHOOP
Will Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of WHOOP, which has developed next generation wearable technology for optimizing human performance and health. WHOOP members range from professional athletes and fortune 500 CEOs to fitness enthusiasts and executives to military personnel and healthcare workers. Ahmed has raised more than $200 million from top investors and has an active advisory board that consists of some of the world’s most notable cardiologists, technologists, marketers, and designers. Ahmed wrote “The Feedback Tool: Measuring Fitness, Intensity, and Recovery,” which sparked the underlying physiology and engineering for his work today. Ahmed was recently named to the 2021 Sports Business Journal 40 under 40 list as well as 2020 Fortune 40 Under 40 Healthcare list and previously named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40. In 2020, WHOOP was named Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company for Wellness. Before founding WHOOP, Ahmed was named a 2011 Harvard College Scholar for finishing in the top 10% of his class and a CSA Scholar Athlete; he captained the Harvard Men’s Varsity Squash Team.
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About WHOOP: WHOOP is a performance optimization system that tracks athlete recovery, training, and sleeping hours to help boost performance.
Adam Rymer
Chief Executive Officer of Envy Gaming
Adam Rymer is the Chief Executive Officer of Envy Gaming. He was the President of Nerdist Industries before that. Before joining Nerdist in March 2014, Rymer was COO/CFO of Lava Bear Films and executive produced the feature film The Rover releasing in 2014. Prior to Lava Bear, he spent eight years at Universal Studios Motion Picture Group, most recently as Senior Vice President, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms, where he spearheaded the studio’s distribution and new business initiatives through emerging channels including mobile, broadband, interactive and digital cinema.
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About Envy Gaming, Omnislash: Envy Gaming is an Esports entertainment organization that competes, streams, and produces content across multiple online games.
Christian Ferri
CEO of Geer™
Former PwC technology executive and expert in DLT and digital currencies, focusing on the intersection of gaming, brands and blockchain. Speaker at 60+ events and conferences across the world, including the World Economic Forum, the S&P 500 Global Platts and the Blockchain Economic Forum. DLT expert guest on CNBC, Al Jazeera, RT, Forbes, BBC, Millionaire and Coin Telegraph. Cross-vertical advisor to several companies including Atari, Lottery.com and Swarm Fund. Venice born. Palo Alto based.
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About Geer™, NFTPRO™: Premier NFTs platform for blue-chip brands
Sohrob Farudi
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Fan Controlled Football
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About Fan Controlled Football, FCFL, Jealous Devil: Fan Controlled Football is the first fan-run professional sports league.
Jacques Etienne
CEO of Cloud9
Jack Etienne is the co-founder and CEO of esports organization Cloud9. Prior to founding Cloud9 in 2013, Etienne worked as the general manager and vice president of sales at Team SoloMid, one of the world’s largest and most popular esports organizations. He has also worked at media website Crunchyroll.
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About Cloud9: Cloud9 is a professional multi-game esports organization that is based in the Los Angeles, California area.
Joe Chin
Co-Founder & CEO of Sparrow Vision
Joe is a serial entrepreneur and CEO, having successfully founded Internet companies over the past 15 years. Joe is the founding CEO of SourcePad. Prior to SourcePad, Joe was the founding CEO of Searchandise (originally Guidester), which was acquired by RichRelevance in 2011. Prior, Joe was the Managing Director of REOL, founder/President of Diadem (a multi-player game company), founder/principal of JEV (an import/export company). Joe started his career as an engineer, designing multi-million dollar satellites for Hughes Aircraft. Joe earned a MS from UC Berkeley and a BS from Columbia University.
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About SourcePad, Sparrow Vision: Sparrow provides personalized feedback on golf swing using its advanced AI technology.
Jim Bankoff
Chairman & CEO of Vox Media
Jim Bankoff is the Chairman and CEO of Vox Media, the pioneering media company known for building modern media properties and the platforms that enable them. Vox Media’s editorial networks and businesses include SB Nation, Eater, The Verge, Vox, Curbed, Recode & Code Conferences, Polygon, Vox Creative, Concert, Chorus, Vox Entertainment, and the Vox Media Podcast Network. A veteran of the digital industry, he also developed and led dozens of the most notable digital brands including AOL, Mapquest, Moviefone, AOL Music and Engadget as an EVP at AOL. Bankoff co-founded TMZ.com, won an Emmy award for his production of the Live8 Concerts, and oversaw AOL’s industry-leading applications including AIM, ICQ, and Netscape. Bankoff has been named to Adweek’s Power List; The Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media; The Washingtonian’s Tech Titans; Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100; and The Guardian’s 100 Most Powerful People in Media.
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About The Verge, Vox Media: Vox Media is an operator of an online media publishing agency created to influence editorial properties and premium advertising.
Michael Rabil
Co-Founder & CEO of Premier Lacrosse League
Mike Rabil is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded in October 2018, PLL just completed its inaugural season where the league traveled to thirteen major North American cities during a 14-week regular season. Bringing 160 of the world’s best lacrosse players and an exclusive media rights agreement with NBC Sports Group – a first for the sport, PLL has brought the game closer to millions of fans across the country. In his role, Mike is responsible for the long-term vision of the company as well as oversee all day-to-day operations of the league. This past year, Mike has successfully used his lengthy entrepreneur background in silicon valley with his keen sports knowledge to spearhead the launch of PLL. Previously, as the VP of Sales and Partnerships, Mike led revenue and built Funding Circle’s US sales and BD teams from scratch. Mike was on the founding team at Endurance Lending Network, which was acquired by Funding Circle in 2013. In 2012, Mike co-founded Endurance Companies, an investment holding company based in San Francisco, and served as CEO and co-founder of Turnstyle Cycle, now Boston’s largest boutique indoor cycling company. Mike first dipped his toes in entrepreneurial waters in 2010 when he co-founded Endurance Fitness 247, which he manages with David to this day. Mike began his career in consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s largest real estate services company. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Government, where he was captain of the football team. Mike enjoys hiking in Marin County. More than just hiking, he enjoys wrestling the whereabouts of some of Marin’s most prized secret trailheads out of the locals :). When he’s not hiking, you can find Mike at a variety of group exercise classes and practicing his down-dog at Love Story Yoga. He, on occasion, has been known to wield his guitar at Dave Matthews Band sing-a-longs.
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About Premier Lacrosse League, Rabil Ventures: Premier Lacrosse League is a proposed professional lacrosse league.
Jason Trost
CEO & Founder of Smarkets
Jason is the founder and CEO of London-headquartered Smarkets, one of the world’s largest betting exchanges. As a trading platform, Smarkets simplifies peer-to-peer betting on hundreds of markets daily, with a mission to provide the the lowest commission and therefore fairest odds in the world. In a few short years, Jason has engineered Smarkets into one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe that sees more than 200,000 customers trade billions of pounds annually. Prior to co-founding Smarkets, Jason worked in the Global Asset Management division at UBS designing and implementing proprietary software to assist in one of the world’s largest fund of hedge fund trading operations. Jason graduated from Northwestern University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.
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About Smarkets: Smarkets simplifies peer-to-peer trading on sporting and political events.
Brandon Stakenborg
Founder & CEO of Underdog Sports
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About Underdog Sports: Fantasy sports for real money
Alex Beckman
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of GameOn Technology
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About Elastic Holdings, GameOn Technology: Our technology powers intelligent chat applications across multiple platforms for some of the world’s largest brands.
Jay Peterson
Founder and CEO of Matador
Jay Peterson founded Matador in 2013 and in the past two years has produced a wide range of programming, from Lip Sync Battle on Spike and Nail’d It on Oxygen to the HBO documentary Banksy Does New York and A&E’s Country Buck$. Prior to starting Matador, Jay served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Production and Development at Original Media, an Endemol Company. During his tenure at Original, Jay developed and produced several hit television series, including History’s Swamp People, Spike’s Inkmaster, AMC’s Comic Book Men and Discovery’s Dual Survival. He expanded Original’s portfolio into new categories such as sports (MMA Uncensored Live), talk (The Gayle King Show), music (Unplugged) and live television (Nokia’s Rihanna Live for MTV, VH1 and Palladia), and strengthened the franchises and economics of existing shows such as Storm Chasers, LA Ink and The Rachel Zoe Project. Before joining Original, Jay was the President of K2 Pictures, where he served as Executive Producer on numerous projects, including the Showtime feature documentary Same Sex America, the daily ESPN series Classic Now and the Kennedy Center’s 9/11 memorial special, Concert for America (NBC).
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About Matador: Matador is a full-service content production company with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Don Vaccaro
CEO, Co-Founder of TicketNetwork
Don Vaccaro is the founder and Chairman of the Board of TicketNetwork®, Inc., one of the leading online ticket exchanges in the country. Vaccaro has more than 30 years of experience in the secondary ticket market, including 10 years in industry-related software development, pioneering the creation of the company’s signature software – TicketNetwork® Point-of-Sale. Vaccaro is also the founder of Ticket Galaxy, one of the largest ticket brokerage firms in the country. He is a founding member and former president of the Connecticut Ticket Brokers Association, and was also founder and first president of the Massachusetts Ticket Brokers Association.
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About Connecticut Biotech, TicketNetwork: TicketNetwork is a provider of ticketing services for sports, concerts, theater etc.
Andrew Miller
Founder & CEO of NRG eSports
Andy Miller is the Founder & CEO at NRG Esports.
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About 1Energy Systems, Internet Real Estate Group, NRG eSports, NRG eSports, NRG eSports, Sacramento Kings, Sacramento Kings: NRG eSports is looking to set precedence in the industry of eSports.
Johannes Waldstein
Founder & CEO of FanAI
Johannes Waldstein is the Founder & CEO at FanAI Inc.
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About FanAI: FanAI is an AI-driven Audience Monetization platform focusing first on esports.
Stephen Smith
Co-Founder & CEO of Kitman Labs
Stephen is co founder of Kitman Labs, the worlds most advanced athlete management platform. Stephen holds a Higher Diploma in Human Physiology and Health Science, a BSc (Hons) in Sports & Exercise Rehabilitation and an MSc in Football Rehabilitation. He worked with Leinster Rugby as a Sports Injury Rehabilitation Coach within the Strength & Conditioning Department between 2008-2014. Stephen founded Kitman Labs in 2012 and now lives in Palo Alto, CA where he focuses on expanding Kitman Labs in elite US sports. His areas of expertise include injury prevention, rehabilitation and analytics and he has a strong interest in the use of technology and emerging trends in sport science to further enhance sport science and medicine.
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About Kitman Labs: Kitman Labs is a sports analytics platform that generates insights to help professional athletes perform better.
Ishveen Anand
Founder & CEO of OpenSponsorship
Ishveen Anand is the founder and CEO OpenSponsorship. The startup was born out of her experience as a successful sports agent in India and the UK. OpenSponsorship now has over 2000 athletes, teams and events being managed to brands globally looking for sports marketing opportunities. Ishveen was included in the Forbes 30under30 sports list in 2015 and OpenSponsorship was named a finalist in the 2015 Sports Technology Awards, category of best technology facilitating commercial returns. She graduated from Oxford University. She is of Indian-British origin, now living in New York where OpenSponsorship is based.
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About Nimbus Communications, OpenSponsorship: OpenSponsorship is online platform solely focused on allowing brands to Search, Connect and Sponsor opportunities within professional sports
Seth Waugh
CEO, PGA of America of PGA.com
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About PGA.com: PGA.com is a company which makes app for iPhone for the 94th PGA championshi
Warren Packard
Co-Founder & CEO of Thuuz Sports
Warren Packard is the Founder and CEO of Thuuz Sports, a B2B business that has built a real-time artificial intelligence platform that drives greater tune-in, monetization, and overall entertainment value for the sports and media industries. Among the services that Thuuz enables are real-time, personalized clips, highlights, and shows, as well as personalized excitement ratings, dynamic headlines, and real-time tune-in alerts for live events. The power of one-to-one personalization yields significant lift in engagement and powers multiple business models that produce significantly more revenue than traditional broadcast and “post and pray” models. Prior to starting Thuuz, Warren was a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson where he led the firm’s investments in over two dozen companies, leading to seventeen acquisitions and three IPOs, including SeaMicro (NASDAQ: AMD), Ooma (NYSE: OOMA), CastTV (NYSE: NLSN), Feedburner (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Xfire (NASDAQ: VIA), Digital Impact (NASDAQ: ACXM), and Fogdog Sports (NASDAQ: EBAY). Prior to joining DFJ, Warren co-founded Angara Database Systems, a main memory relational database company, which was acquired by Personify. Prior to co-founding Angara, he was an Associate at Institutional Venture Partners, investing in early-stage technology companies. Before IVP, Warren was a Senior Principal Engineer at Baxter International. Warren is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering: Smart Product Design. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
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About Draper Athena, Threshold, Thuuz Sports: Thuuz sells a revolutionary Personalized Sports Entertainment platform enabling the Ultimate Sports Guide and Automated Highlight Reels
Sumit Gupta
Co-Founder & CEO of Boom.tv
Sumit Gupta is an Advisor at Boom Fantasy and Founder & CEO at Boom.tv. He is a 3x Entrepreneur (multiple exits), Angel Investor and Mentor. Founded 3 companies. Invested in 50+ startups including Discord, G2 eSports, BlockChain Capital, Blockstream, Blockcypher, Filecoin, Wag, Classpass, OpenDoor, HoneyBook, Managed-by-Q, Dishcraft Robotics. Mr. Gupta also runs Piazza eSports Ventures with pa articular focus on investments and incubating startups Infusing tech into eSports and Game Streaming. Investments include Discord, Vulcun/StreamLabs, BitKraft, G2 Esports. Startup Portfolio includes DrDisRespect stream team, Boom.tv, Rolocule Games, Boom Fantasy Previously, He served as a Founder & CEO of Bash Gaming, took the mobile gaming company to annual revenue of $75M, profitable and sold it to GSN for $170M. Previously as founder CEO of BitRhymes Apps, top 10 app developers in social space. Before that, I was part of founding team at Business Signatures that was sold to Entrust for $55M
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About afkVR, Boom.tv: BoomTV is an Esports entertainment platform that provides tools to automate score tracking, streaming, and generating event hubs.
Michael Horvath
Co-Founder & CEO of Strava
Michael Horvath is the Co-Founder and CEO of Strava. He earned his degree at Harvard University.
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About Strava: Strava is an online network where runners and cyclists can record their activities, compare performance, and compete with their community.
Earvin Johnson
Founder & CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises
Earvin “Magic” Johnson has become the most powerful African-American businessman in the world. He is a Major League Baseball owner, an NBA Legend, a 2-Time Hall of Famer, an Entrepreneur, a Philanthropist and a Motivational Speaker. The business mogul has successfully parlayed his skills and tenacity on the court into the business world, propelling his company to the status of #1 Brand in Urban America. He is Chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE), which provides high quality products and services that focus primarily on ethnically diverse and underserved urban communities through strategic alliances, investments, consulting and endorsements. The conglomerate is comprised of multiple business entities and partnerships that include Canyon Johnson, a $1 billion dollar real estate fund, Yucaipa Johnson, a $500 million dollar private equity fund, ASPIRE, a new African-American television network, SodexoMAGIC, Magic Airport Holdings, Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academies, and Vibe Holdings, LLC – Johnson is the Chairman of the multi-cultural media company that houses the Vibe, Uptown, and Soul Train brands. Most noted for his unprecedented Starbucks partnership, which served as the catalyst for redevelopment in urban communities and is literally the blueprint for Corporate America’s engagement and success with urban consumers. In 2010, the savvy businessman divested his Starbucks and Los Angeles Lakers shares in excess $100 million dollars. However, he will continue to assist Starbucks with their community development initiatives and will remain Vice President of the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson has also teamed up with Tim Leiweke of AEG in an effort to build a new stadium and bring an NFL team back to Los Angeles as well as thousands of jobs to the city. The story of Johnson and Larry Bird’s inspiring friendship and rivalry was presented in a theater adaptation of Magic & Bird on Broadway in April 2012. Johnson also serves as Chairman and Founder of the Magic Johnson Foundation, where his unwavering commitment to transform Urban America continues through HIV/AIDS Awareness & Prevention Programs, Community Empowerment Centers, and the Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program. Celebrating over 20 years of success, the Magic Johnson Foundation has become one of the most recognizable philanthropic organizations around the world.
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About JLC Infrastructure, Magic Johnson Enterprises, Magic Johnson Foundation: Magic Johnson Enterprises is a company owned by retired NBA Hall of Fame legend Magic Johnson.
Bo Han
CEO of Buzzer
Bo led Twitter’s efforts in Global Live Sports Content Partnerships, and was responsible for driving partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and PGA as well as with broadcasters – Disney/ESPN, FOX, NBC and Turner. Prior to joining Twitter in 2012, Bo started in the industry as a Global Account Director at Microsoft Corporation in New York, working with key and strategic global partners. Bo received his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and earned his MBA at Columbia Business School in New York, New York.
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About Buzzer: Buzzer is a notification-driven mobile platform for live sports personalized for fans.
Ross Levinsohn
CEO of Sports Illustrated
Ross Levinsohn has always pushed for growth and innovation in the technology and media spaces. After getting his first taste of digital media at CBS Sportsline, he went on to become one of the most sought-after leaders in the industry. In his time as the President of Fox Interactive Media, he focused on digital engagement with the company’s web properties. As the interim CEO of Yahoo, he oversaw the internet company’s $20 billion market cap. As CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media, he managed Billboard Magazine, the Hollywood Reporter, and AdWeek. After serving as the CEO of the LA Times and the digital arm of Tribune Publishing, he’s been a first-hand witness to changing trends in media consumption. He has experience on both sides of the camera, having served as an on-air contributor for CNBC. This executive is currently the CEO of The Arena Group (formerly Maven) and Sports Illustrated Media. This organization is expected to further empower some of the most famous brands in the world and bringing in a leader like Levinsohn, who has the versatility and experience to handle this demanding job, was an easy decision to make. In addition to being CEO of The Arena Group, he remains an active investor in the digital space. He supports more than 30 enterprises in both early- and growth-stages. He’s also a strategic advisor and consultant. He works with well-known media companies to help staff align their content and boost viewership. Whether it’s a small private business or a huge public conglomerate, Levinsohn understands how companies can adjust their operations to meet an audience’s expectations. Ross Levinsohn earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications from American University.
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About Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated, The Arena Group, The Boston Consulting Group, Whisper Advisors: Sports Illustrated provides breaking news, conversation and original reporting/insights on all sports.
Ann Hand
CEO of Super League Gaming
Ann Hand is one of a handful of women who have risen to the top ranks of the energy industry. Hailing from Indiana, Ann has spent a significant amount of her career overseas and holds a BA in Economics from DePauw University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In her career at BP, she most recently served as SVP of Global Brand, Marketing and Innovation, where she played a key role in making things “a little better” by developing new and compelling ways for consumers to engage with the BP brand, overseeing $300 million annually in marketing initiatives worldwide. Prior to that, Ann held the position of chief executive of the multi-billion dollar Global Liquefied Petroleum Gas business unit where she had full P&L accountability across 15 countries, oversaw 3,000 employees and increased operating profit by 250-percent. As CEO of Project Frog, she is leveraging the company’s game-changing innovation to grow markets, develop new products and increase brand awareness for its industry-leading smart buildings. Ann is on a mission to revolutionize how buildings are built and redefine standards for how they perform…she intends to make the construction industry a lot better.
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About Super League Gaming: Super League Gaming hosts recreational video game league events in movie theaters.
Brian Baer
CEO of Growve
Brian Baer currently works as the Chief Executive Officer for Growve. He previously worked at Nutraceutical Corporation as the Vice President.
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About Growve: Growve is a brand aggregator that specializes in the acquisition and management of wellness and beauty brands.
Jacob Fortinsky
CEO of Novig
Experience in investment banking, financial markets, politics, and legal research Passionate, diligent, curious, & innovative leader with deep knowledge of sports betting markets and regulations
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About Novig: P2P Sports Betting Exchange
Andy Dinh
Co-Founder and CEO of Blitz App
Andy Dinh is the founder and CEO at Blitz App.
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About Blitz App, Team SoloMid: Your personal gaming coach for League of Legends, Valorant, CSGO, Fortnite and more— powered by AI and built with professional players.
Will Lopes
Chief Executive Officer of Catapult
As the former Chief Revenue Officer of Amazon subsidiary Audible, Mr. Lopes brings world-class technology and growth experience from one of the world’s most successful technology businesses.
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About Catapult: Catapult is a developer of wearable sensors to monitor athletes’ sport demands.
Mike Melby
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FITLAB
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About ELECTRIC, FITLAB, FITLAB, FITLAB, Mayweather Boxing & Fitness, XPT: FitLab powers experiences that inspire you to move.
Steve Olechowski
Founder and CEO of Blinkfire Analytics
Steve Olechowski is Founder and CEO of Blinkfire Analytics.
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About Blinkfire Analytics, Northwestern University: Blinkfire Analytics uses AI and computer vision to optimize the sponsorship marketplace between creators, and their sponsors.
Eli Dawson
Co-Founder and CEO of StatMuse
Co-Founder, CEO at StatMuse.
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About StatMuse: StatMuse is a sports statistics website that allows users to search for players and view customizable statistics.
Matt Bailey
Founder and CEO of GameOn
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About GameOn: The future of engaging superfans. If it’s on, it’s on.
Conrad Cornell
Co-Founder and CEO of Press Sports App
Conrad Cornell is a former Mercer University D1 college baseball player who struggled heavily during the college recruiting process. At the end of his career he connected with a lifelong friend, Drew Williams, and realized there need for a sports focused social media platform that mirrored the need for a business focused social media platform. The two co founded Press Sports their senior year of college and have been growing the platform for a little over a year now.
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About Press Sports App: Press Sports believes that every athlete has a story worth sharing. Check out our app on the app store or play store!
Wayne Mackey
Founder/CEO of Statespace
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About Statespace: Statespace provides performance analytics and a suite of tools for casual gamers and esports athletes to maximize their potential.
Kevin Rocco
Chief Executive Officer of Biorez
Kevin Rocco is Director, Chief Executive Officer at Biorez. He joined the company in February 2014 as the lead engineer, and in November 2016 was promoted to CEO and joined the Board of Directors. As CEO, Kevin has led a $1.5 million fundraising effort, rebranded the company, grown the Biorez team, and filed a new patent for Biorez’s lead ACL technology in March 2017. Prior to joining Biorez, Kevin studied tissue engineering at Yale University, where he coauthored 17 publications in the field and was a part of the research team with the first US clinical study of a bioresorbable vascular graft in human. Kevin began his career as an engineer in new technology development at Covidien (acquired by Medtronic) where he investigated a novel bioresorbable hernia mesh device. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Connecticut and Yale University, respectively.
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About Biorez, Paw Haven: Biorez is a medicine company focused on the development of tendon and ligament healing.
Shannon Terry
Founder & CEO of 247 Sports
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About 247 Sports, ComicBook, Pop Culture Media: 247 Sports is an online platform for basketball and football fans and players to find updated news and sporting opportunities.
Michael Williams
President & CEO / Co-Founder of Oomba
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About Glytch, Oomba: Oomba is a specialized digital media company bringing elegant organization to sports and games.
Mark Fidelman
Founder & CEO of Raynforest
Mr. Fidelman is currently eVP of Sales at MindTouch the leading open source collaborative networking company. He was a former eVP of Sales at TASER (Nasdaq: TASR). He spent 6 years at A.T. Kearney as a Director.
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About Fanatics Media, Raynforest: Raynforest provides solutions that enable brands to connect with influential people to promote their products, services or causes.
Don Faul
CEO of Athos
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About Athos: The Athos mission is to help athletes train more effectively and reach their performance goals faster.
Mark Mastalir
Co-CEO & Chief Marketing Officer of Halo Neuroscience
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About Halo Neuroscience: Halo Neuroscience is a neurotech company focused on using electrical neurostimulation to unlock human performance and treat human disease
Matthew Haag
Founder & CEO of 100 Thieves
Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag is the Founder & CEO of 100 Thieves, a gaming lifestyle organization that competes in top professional esports including League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. Matt leads the company’s creative, brand, and strategic direction, while also sitting on the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to founding 100 Thieves, Matt was one of the most decorated esports athletes in video game history. Originally a Call of Duty competitor, from 2011 – 2015 Matt was captain of the OpTic Gaming team, which he led to both an X Games Gold Medal and a Call of Duty World Championship. In 2014, Matt was named Esports Athlete of the Year. After retiring from competitive play, Matt built some of the most popular gaming channels on Twitch and YouTube, and was named Forbes 30 under 30 for his success as an entrepreneur and content creator. In 2017, Matt founded 100 Thieves as a creative outlet for his passions in competitive gaming, storytelling, and streetwear. Matt grew up in Chicago, Illinois where he attended college and was working at McDonald’s before leaving both to pursue his career as a professional gamer. His biggest inspiration came from his father who taught him that nothing in life comes easy, contributing to 100 Thieves’ motto: “Take What’s Not Given.” Matt is based in Los Angeles and can be found online @Nadeshot.
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About 100 Thieves: 100 Thieves is an American e-sports, lifestyle, and apparel brand.
Tuan Ma
Founder & CEO of PlayersOnly
A entrepreneur, computer scientist and Founder of PlayersOnly. He holds a M.S. in Computer Science from DePaul University, and a M.B.A. from Durham University (UK).
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About PlayersOnly: PlayersOnly is a sports social network focused on athletes.
Ishaan Sutaria
Co-Founder, Co-CEO of Wave Sports + Entertainment
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About Wave Sports + Entertainment: Wave Sports + Entertainment is a media company built for the next generation of digital superfans.
Jason Abromaitis
Co-founder and CEO of Launchpad
Jason Abromaitis co-founded and bootstrapped Corus from 2014 to 2021. He co-founded Launchpad, the first at-home connected fitness platform for aspiring athletes in 2021.
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About Launchpad: Fast Twitch Training for athletes, driven by SpeedAI.
Carter Russ
Founder & CEO of Champions Round
I am an entrepreneur with a passion for creating exceptional products and building fantastic working cultures. I am the founder and CEO at Champions Round. I’m interested by sports tech, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, physics, investing, art and music, and pretty much anything nerdy or cool under the sun.
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About Champions Round: Fantasy & sports betting operator offering hyper casual skill based contests.
Jack Moses
Co-Founder & CEO of LevelChanger
Jack Moses is a tech entrepreneur and angel investor. He is the Co-Founder and VP Marketing of Grand Junction Networks (the pioneer of “Fast Ethernet”), which was acquired by Cisco in 1995 for $348 million. Prior to leading Grand Junction Network’s marketing efforts, Jack worked as a Marketing Executive at 3Com where he oversaw product and marketing for the company’s core computer networking and ethernet technologies. Jack attended Yale University for his undergraduate studies, where he received his B.S. in Economics, and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), where he received his MBA in Marketing.
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About LevelChanger: Real-time scoring, stats, and analytics for wrestling teams.
Colin Dyne
Chairman/CEO of Red Bull Global Rallycross
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About Red Bull Global Rallycross: Red Bull Global Rallycross combines the best aspects of circuit racing, off-road racing, and rally competition to deliver intense
Craig Levine
Co-CEO of ESL Gaming
Craig Levine has helped pioneer the eSports industry over the past fifteen years. As a longtime gamer, Craig founded the first truly professional video game team in North America, Team 3D, in April, 2002. In addition, Craig also co-founded ESS Agency, an event marketing and technology company that helped power the North American eSports and video game industry with live streaming, online technology, and live event services. ESS Agency was acquired by Turtle Entertainment in 2014 to expand ESL’s global footprint to North America. ESL is the world’s largest independent eSports brand, leading the industry across various games with numerous online and live competitions. Craig is responsible for growing ESL and eSports in North America and around the world through strategic partnerships. Craig received a BS in Management & Organizational Behavior and Information Systems from NYU’s Stern School of Business.
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About ESL, ESL Gaming: ESL Gaming has developed into the world’s largest esports company.
Nicholas Horbaczewski
Founder and CEO of Drone Racing League
Nicholas Horbaczewski is the founder and CEO at The Drone League Racing and also the founder of Leeden Media. He is the previous senior vice president revenue and business development at Tough Mudder Inc. Nicholas ha a MBA at Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in history and literature at Harvard University.
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About Drone Racing League: Drone Racing League is a drone racing circuit company for professional pilots.
Harold Hughes
Founder/CEO of Bandwagon
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About Bandwagon, Beam Founders, Founder Institute, Furman University, Notley, Partake Foods, Republic: SaaS, Blockchain, Identity
Laila Mintas
CEO PlayUp Inc & Board Director PlayUp Ltd of PlayUp
Dr. Mintas is a global thought leader on sports data, sports betting legislation, regulation and sports integrity with speaker engagements around the world including Europe, Australia, North America, Central America and Asia. She published more than 100+ legal publications in the top academic and professional journals about sports betting and sports law. She serves as Guest Professor at several Universities such as Columbia University NYC, St John’s University NYC, University of New Hampshire and Humboldt University Berlin/Germany on topics such as Sports Betting, Sports Law and Sports Integrity. Dr. Mintas received for her personal achievements the Leaders in Sports U 40 Award, the SBJ Game Changers Award and the International Award for Women in the Gaming Industry – Inspiration of the Year 2018. She was named one of 25 executives to watch in 2019 by the Global Gaming Business GBB magazine, selected as SBJ´s Power Player Sports Betting 2019 and Business Insider´s Leaders of the Sports Betting Industry 2019.
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About PlayUp: PlayUp is an online-only Sports Betting and Fantasy Sports Company.
Helene Guillaume
Founder & CEO of WILD.AI
“|| Live Extremes || WILD.AI enables women to reach their race objective with our app-based AI coach. Cycle after cycle, we help you understand your body, what you feel means, what works best for you, and finally optimise the decisions you take for your body to reach your peak performance. Until now, female athletes have relied on training protocols, injury guidelines and nutrition plans based on research conducted with men – limiting females to reach their full potential, as they struggle to take advantage of their natural cycles. Periods are the last taboo in sports, we are breaking it. We are operating in a widely untapped and underserved $10bn market, at the crossway of fitness and female tracking. We are starting with a laser focus on the 1.5mn US female triathletes. From this initial engaged and quantified-self pool, we’ll be able to help a wider female population with a specific challenge to tackle (including IBS, fertility) applying our learnings and research. Our team of AI Ph.D and athletes (100km ultra-marathons, triathlons, ice swimming) is redefining the future of female health. == I love extremes – in every sense of the word – I’m an avid endurance racer, having done 100km Ultra Trails, half ironman, ice swimmer and cross-continental swimmer. I am is also the co-founder of PeakAI.org, a community of AI researchers and Founders and I’m a very active humanist, helping men reach equality.”
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About Entrepreneur First, WILD.AI: WILD.AI is building a knowledge base of female datasets, across all ages, life stages, and ethnicity.
Rose Marcario
Chief Executive Officer & President of Patagonia
Rose is CEO and President of Patagonia Works and Patagonia Inc., one of the most admired companies in America. She is credited with quadrupling the company’s profits and revenues since 2008, and taking founder Yvonne Chouinard’s “radical revolution to scale.” She created the company’s first in-house venture fund, and oversaw the development and creation of Patagonia Provisions, an organic regenerative food company . She was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama as a Champion of Change for her family friendly work policies. She was profiled in Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business 2015 and Fast Company named her one of the most creative and innovative CEO’s of 2016. She was named by Good Net as one of the five most inspiring CEO’s in America. She has been recognized for her work as a champion of the Benefit Corporation movement. She has been practicing Buddhism for two decades and is on the Board of Trustees at Naropa University, a Buddhist College in Boulder, CO. She lives in Ventura, CA.
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About Patagonia: Our values reflect those of a business started by a band of climbers and surfers, and the minimalist style they promoted.
David Graff
CEO of Hudl
David Graff is the CEO of Hudl.He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with an undergraduate degree and MBA from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School in Computer Science and Management. An Omaha, Neb., native, David also serves on the Raikes School Advisory Board.
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About Hudl: Hudl is a software platform that provides video analysis and coaching tools for sports teams.
Stephen A. Murphy
Co-Founder & CEO of Boom Entertainment
Stephen A. Murphy is the Co-Founder and CEO at Boom Fantasy. He operates the popular NBC Sports Predictor gaming platform and the award-winning Boom Fantasy real-money platform. Mr. Murphy was the Vice President, Business Development at High 5 Games and Managing Editor of Card Player Media. Stephen graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor of arts in Political Science.
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About Boom Entertainment: Boom Entertainment is building the future of online gaming technology. We power casinos, sportsbooks, media companies, sports leagues & more
Bruce Stein
Co-Founder ,CEO ,Board Member of aXiomatic & Board member Team Liquid of aXiomatic
Bruce Stein is the Co-Founder ,CEO ,Board Member of aXiomatic & Board member Team Liquid at aXiomatic.
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About aXiomatic, Westridge Consulting: AXiomatic powers unforgettable eSports experiences through sports and entertainment expertise.
Sam Osman
Founder & CEO of Playas Play
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About Playas Play, SocialVenu: Playas Play is a new mobile app that rewards sports fans for doing what they love — betting and talking trash.
Mac Bolak
CEO, CO-Founder of Give and Go Film
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About Give and Go Film: Give and Go is the first automated film editing platform for sports teams and coaches. Give & Go is 72x faster than the leading contractor.
Greg Raifman
Founder & CEO of Momentum Sports Group
As President of Rubicon Project, Greg manages the day-to-day operations of the company. Greg, who reports directly to CEO Frank Addante, recently served as the Executive Chairman of video ad exchange and real time bidding company LiveRail, Inc. Prior to LiveRail, Greg was Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dragon Media Online and also founded and served as the Chairman, CEO and President of Mediaplex, Inc. Under his watch, Mediaplex developed from inception to a publicly traded global advertising technology company before merging with ValueClick in October 2001. Mediaplex developed many of the initial ad serving technologies for the advertising space that are still used today, including adXML and mobile java objects [MOJO]. Greg is also Founder, Chairman & CEO for Momentum Sports Group, LLC, which owns and operates the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, the #1 professional cycling team in the United States for most of the past decade. Greg began his career as an attorney, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate financings. “He” has “also” been an investor, advisor, and board member to many emerging stage and growth companies. Greg has appeared on CNN, CNBC, FNN and ABC News, was featured in a cover story in Fortune Magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and has presented before numerous leading Wall Street investment institutions. He has lectured and written extensively about entrepreneurship, corporate finance, and technology for companies and educational institutions such Johnson & Johnson, The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, The Haas School of Business at the University of California, The University of Michigan, and the Georgetown University Law School. Greg received a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and an A.B. from the University of Michigan.
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About Momentum Sports Group: Momentum Sports Group, LLC manages one of the most successful professional Cycling Teams.
Chris Krause
CEO and Founder of Next College Student Athlete
I was a high school football player who fell through the cracks in the recruiting process. As a junior in high school, I received interest from more than 100 collegiate football programs including Harvard and Notre Dame, but did not get any real offers. My problem was not that college coaches didn’t know who I was, but that I didn’t understand how the recruiting process worked. After my senior football season, I found out that some of my friends at rival high schools were setting up official visits and receiving offers from some of the same programs that had contacted me. It was then that I took matters into my own hands and started reaching out to college coaches on my own. I called every coach who had sent me a letter and asked if they were still looking for linebackers. Some said they wished I had called them earlier, but I also found some schools that were still looking! College coaches were impressed that I had been the one to call them directly, not my mom or dad, and that I asked a lot of questions and showed real interest. After I sent my video footage to the ones who requested it, I received offers to take official visits of college campuses. In the end, my hard work paid off; I received and accepted a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University and graduated in four years. Building on my experience in being recruited to play in the SEC, I began assisting student-athletes to get recruited and play in the college that was the best fit for them. I founded NCSA in 2000 with a passion to help turn dreams into a reality. Since its inception, NCSA has become the leader in helping match college coaches with qualified high school students.
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About Next College Student Athlete: Next College Student Athlete helps student-athletes and families connect with college coaches.
Tony Hawk
Founder, CEO of Birdhouse Skateboards
Tony has won numerous awards, including Make-A-Wish’s Favorite Male Athlete, Teen Choice Awards’ Choice Male Athlete and Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards’ Favorite Male Athlete, beating out such sports icons as Shaquille O’Neal, Tiger Woods, and Kobe Bryant. From video games to skateboards to online media to clothing to world tours, Tony has dominated the Action Sports market with his laid-back style. He is the most recognized Action Sports figure in the world and, according to some marketing surveys, one of the most recognizable athlete of any kind in the United States. Tony regularly appears on television and in films, and hosts a weekly show on Sirius XM. His autobiography, HAWK—Occupation: Skateboarder was a New York Times bestseller and is currently available in paperback. In 2010, Wiley Publishing released How Did I Get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO. As his income reached a level he never could have imagined, Tony made an effort to give back to the subculture that has given him so much. His Tony Hawk Foundation has donated over $4 million to 525 skatepark projects throughout the United States. The foundation helps finance public skateparks in low-income areas, providing a safe place to skate and helping young skaters from Marathon, Florida, to Sitka, Alaska, build their self-confidence. Skateparks that received financial assistance from the Tony Hawk Foundation currently serve more than 3 million young Americans annually.
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About Birdhouse Skateboards: Birdhouse Skateboards is a skateboard company.
Ted Leonsis
Founder, Chairman, Majority Owner, Chief Executive Officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Ted Leonsis is Cofounder and partner of Revolution Growth as well as a nationally renowned entrepreneur, investor, and sports team owner. Ted is founder, chairman, majority owner and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s Washington Mystics, AFL’s 2018 Champion Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade, the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go and the NBA2K League’s Wizards District Gaming. Leonsis is a co-owner of aXiomatic, which has controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid. The company also owns Monumental Sports Network, a first-of-its-kind regional sports network for digital, mobile and over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Leonsis serves on the board of governors for the NBA and NHL as well as on the executive committee of the NHL. He previously was chairman of the NBA media committee. During his almost 14-year career at AOL, Leonsis served as president of America Online Services Company, president of AOL Studios, president of AOL Web Properties, vice chairman and president of AOL Core Services, vice chairman and president of AOL Audience Business and vice chairman emeritus. The company recorded its greatest levels of innovation and growth under his leadership, and in May 2010 AOL named a central office tower The Leonsis Creative Center in his honor. He retired from active management of AOL in 2006. Leonsis founded SnagFilms, the internet’s leading site for online audiences to find, watch, and share documentary films. Ted also has been a producer of award-winning documentary films such as Kicking It, Nanking, and A Fighting Chance. Nanking premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and has won an Emmy Award. Early in his career, Leonsis was the founder of several technology-enabled consumer companies, including Redgate Communications, where Leonsis is credited with having coined the phrase “new media”. Leonsis has been named Washington’s Businessman of the Year, Washingtonian of the Year, one of the 20 most influential people in sports, and one of the top 10 entrepreneurs of the year. Leonsis tweets daily from @TedLeonsis. He sits on the board of directors of several leading companies ranging from American Express to Groupon.
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About aXiomatic, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Revolution, Revolution Growth, ViewLift: Monumental Sports & Entertainment is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies
Erhan Ciris
Founder and CEO of 4D Sight
Founder and CEO at 4D Sight
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About 4D Sight: Deep video monetization platform.
Steve Rendle
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of VF
Steve Rendle is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at VF Corporation. He has more than 35 years of experience in the specialty outdoor and action sports industry, more than half of which have been with VF. Steve was appointed CEO in January 2017 and then Chairman of VF’s Board of Directors in October 2017. Prior to being named CEO, he was President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all of VF’s business coalitions worldwide: Outdoor and Action Sports, Jeanswear, Imagewear and Sportswear. He also was responsible for VF’s Global Supply Chain and Direct-to-Consumer platforms. Prior to becoming President and COO, Steve was Senior Vice President, Americas, and was responsible for driving strategies to support VF’s continued growth in its Americas-based businesses. Previously, Steve spent three years as Group President, Outdoor and Action Sports Americas, leading VF’s Outdoor and Action Sports businesses in North and South America. He also served as President of VF’s Outdoor Americas coalition, where he oversaw The North Face®, JanSport®, Eagle Creek® and lucy® brands, as well as business development for the coalition. Steve began his VF career with The North Face in 1999 and shortly afterward was promoted to Vice President of Sales, where he worked to reshape the business’ sales organization, product and marketing strategies, and go-to-market model. In 2004, Steve was appointed President of The North Face brand, a role he held for seven years. Under Steve’s leadership, the brand expanded globally and experienced considerable growth from $483 million in 2004 to $1.6 billion in 2011. Before joining The North Face, Steve held leading sales management roles at Youngone Corporation and at W.L. Gore and Associates. Steve serves on the Board of Directors of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He is a founding board member of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Outdoor Foundation and has served in an advisory capacity to Bainbridge Graduate Institute where he provided insight into its creation of a Master of Business Administration program with a focused concentration on sustainability. In 2018, Steve was named CEO of the Year by Corporate Responsibility Magazinefor his progressive environmental, social and governance agenda. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Washington.
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About VF: VF offers a diverse portfolio of iconic outdoor and activity-based lifestyle and work-wear brands.
Oleg Butenko
CEO of VY Esports
A digital entrepreneur who has founded businesses focused on music, telecom, and esports. Before starting VY Esports, Oleg co-founded ESForce, a global esports holding company (acquired by Mail.ru in 2018). Oleg served as the CEO of an OTT services company Megalabs and United Music Agency, Russia’s leading music streaming content aggregator.
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About STYNGR, United Media Agency, VY Esports: VY Esports is a global esports company specializing in authentic experiences and creative content for the esports generations.
Robert de Wolff
Co-Founder & CEO of SEQL
Robert de Wolff is a Co-Founder and CEO at STAC.
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About SEQL: SEQL is an athletic recruiting platform that connects high school amateur athletes and collegiate coaches.
Sam Wang
Founder & CEO of ProGuides
Founder & CEO of ProGuides.
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About ProGuides: ProGuides is an esports training platform where millions of committed gamers get better.
Rajiv Maheswaran
CEO of Second Spectrum
Rajiv Maheswaran is CEO of Second Spectrum, an innovative sports analytics and data visualization startup located in Los Angeles, California. His work spans the fields of data analytics, data visualization, real-time interaction, spatiotemporal pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, decision theory, and game theory.
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About Second Spectrum: Second Spectrum develops a gaming machine learning software to revolutionize sports through AI.
Alex Aleksandrovski
Founder, CEO of Wooter
Founder at Wooter
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About Wooter, Wooter Africa: Sports technology company revolutionizing the sportswear industry and the way leagues + teams are run.
Matt Minoff
Co-Founder & CEO of Bond Sports
Matt Minoff is the Co-Founder & CEO at Bond Sports.
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About Bond Sports: Bond Sports delivers a holistic modern platform that enables the management of activities, rentals and members of athletic spaces.
Ari Evans
Founder & CEO of Maestro Interactive Inc
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About Maestro Interactive Inc: Maestro provides a white label platform for enterprise live streamers to own, engage, and monetize their audiences.
Eric Forkosh
CEO of DribbleUp
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About DribbleUp: DribbleUp is the first ever smart basketball to track and analyze your performance.
Robin Han
Founder & CEO of Zepp
Han, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, was a student at Peking University when the impact of the internet was first felt in broader society. But the vibrant discussions the internet initially spurred would prove too much for the ruling Communist Party which, over time, has become more sophisticated in reasserting control over information.
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About melo, Zepp: Zepp provides wearable sports technology products for baseball, golf, and tennis players.
Mark Floreani
CEO & Co-Founder of FloSports
Mark Floreani co-founded FloSports in 2006 with Martin Floreani and Madhu Venkatesan, filling a need in the market for high quality live broadcasts and original content by athletes, for athletes. An All-American track star at the University of Texas, Mark found early success filming athletes when he posted a video of the first American to break the hour barrier in the half-marathon. It went viral, kick-starting a journey that resulted in FloSports becoming a premier sports media company. Mark became CEO in 2018 and led the company to its most successful year to date in 2019. Fun fact: Mark co-founded Flo with just $20k and a van.
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About FloSports: FloSports is a media and events company that provides live streaming of premier events, original video programming, and weekly studio shows.
David Bialek
Co-Founder & CEO of ReKTGlobal
With over 25 years in the sports marketing & media world, Dave made the jump to esports with his co-founding of ReKTGlobal. Dave has spearheaded the creation of multiple advertising platforms in the place-based, streaming media and sports advertising space. He is credited with building two groundbreaking initiatives in collegiate sports. First, he led a sales team to create the iconic Allstate Field Goal Net program in NCAA Football. Second, he invented a “profile” position on NCAA and NBA basket stanchions, with which State Farm has become synonymous. The stanchion sign is widely considered to be the most impactful signage position in all of sports. For this latest pursuit, Dave became a recipient of the prestigious Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award. His work in the traditional sports marketplace can be seen far and wide, and he’s bringing the very same creative approach to the esports ecosystem.
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About ReKTGlobal: ReKTGlobal is a business authority in e-sports and competitive gaming.
Evan Vandenberg
Co-Founder & CEO of Dibbs
Evan Vandenberg is the Co-Founder & CEO at Dibbs.
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About Dibbs: Dibbs is a trade and collects in the only real-time, 24-7 fractional card market.
Bill Simmons
CEO and Founder of The Ringer
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About The Ringer: The Ringer is a digital platform that covers pop culture, technology, and sports.
Gene Williams
Founder & CEO of Athletes Untapped
Gene is the Founder & CEO of Athletes Untapped, a platform that connects young athletes with experienced private sports coaches. He currently serves as the president of VeryApt, a real estate technology company. Prior to his career as an entrepreneur, Gene played professional basketball in Ireland and received his BA in economics from Johns Hopkins University.
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About Athletes Untapped, VeryApt: Athletes Untapped operates an online portal for aspiring athletes looking for professional coaches.
