Evan Roosevelt & Matthew Erley [#74]: Investing Across the Golfing Ecosystem [Finance with Vansa Chatikavanij]

Oct 24, 2025

Join Evan Roosevelt and Matthew Erley, co-founders of Old Tom Capital, as they unpack the evolving landscape of golf investments. Evan shares insights on building the Random Golf Club community, while Matthew highlights his experience scaling startups like Drizly. They discuss the rise of the 'golf curious' consumer and the importance of adaptable formats like par-3s. The duo explores global perspectives on golf, digital experiences, and innovative leagues that could reshape the sport's future, offering a unique operator-investor viewpoint.

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INSIGHT

Golf Is An Undercapitalized Opportunity

Golf is a niche with rising transformation but limited investor attention, creating strategic opportunity.
Old Tom Capital targets that arbitrage by focusing deeply on golf to add operational value and secure deal flow.

INSIGHT

The 'Golf Curious' Is The Biggest Growth Pool

The 'golf curious' are newly engaged consumers who try golf through entertainment and lack brand loyalty.
Capturing this group offers high upside because their lifetime value is not yet determined and demand is latent.

INSIGHT

Golf Light Is Resilient, Scalable Demand

'Golf light' formats (short courses, driving ranges, par-3s) meet modern players' needs: faster, cheaper, social, tech-enabled.
These formats are resilient, supply-constrained, and attractive to investors seeking durable consumer demand.

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On today’s episode of the Sports Finance Podcast, Vansa is joined by Evan Roosevelt and Matthew Erley, Co-Founders and Managing Partners at Old Tom Capital, an investment holding company focused on shaping the future of golf as an asset class.

Evan and Matthew bring a rare operator-investor perspective. Evan built Random Golf Club, turning it into a global community and content-to-commerce brand, while Matthew helped scale companies like Drizly (acquired by Uber for $1.1B), Havenly, and Stella. Now, through Old Tom Capital, they’re backing golf businesses with deep sector insight, capital, and hands-on strategic support.

In this conversation, Vansa explores their thesis on golf as an emerging investment ecosystem, how they evaluate opportunity across stages and sectors, and tapping into a growing golf-curious audience.

Timestamps

3:00 - The Evolution of Golf: From Aging to Inclusive
6:00 - Founding Old Tom Capital
10:00 - The Golf Curious Consumer
14:30 - Challenges and Opportunities in Golf
23:00 - Global Perspectives on Golf
33:00 - The Future of Golf and Old Tom Capital

Additional Links

Private Golf as a Platform: Capital, Data, and Scalable Loyalty - Whitepaper

About The Hosts

Vansa Chatikavanij is Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Present Ventures, an investment firm focused on emerging sports, media, and technology. She previously led strategy at Omise (“Stripe of Asia”) and co-founded OmiseGO Network, reaching a $1B+ market cap. Earlier in her career, she worked at the World Bank across 13 markets and has advised organisations including the World Economic Forum, GSIC powered by Microsoft, and Real Madrid NEXT Asia.

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Andy Marston is the founder of Sports Pundit, a community and media platform for sports and technology executives. Through a weekly newsletter, podcast network, lively group chat, and regular social events, he shares industry analysis and connects leaders across the sector. Alongside Sports Pundit, Andy leads Corporate Venture at athlete-backed venture firm, The Players Fund, where he works with high-profile sports IP such as Como 1907 to design venture strategies and drive innovation initiatives.

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About Sports Pundit

Sports Pundit is a community-driven platform for executives working in sport, built around content, events, and conversation. Through its weekly newsletter, social channels, WhatsApp groups, and podcast network, it connects industry leaders across the globe.

At the heart of the platform is the Sports Pundit Podcast Network, a multi-show lineup created for sports executives, by sports executives. The network features six domain-specific podcasts spanning innovation, marketing, finance, performance, and media, alongside a conversational companion show, The Pitch. Together, they deliver insider perspectives that live up to Sports Pundit’s mission to be “The Voice of the Sports Industry.”

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