The Profluence Pod 🌐

With over 300+ locations sold, Pickleball Kingdom is one of the fastest-growing franchises in sports.  Pickleball Kingdom is a holding company of pickleball facilities around the United States, serving players of all levels.  Ace Rodrigues is a serial entrepreneur jumping into the business of pickleball after first discovering the game a few years ago.  Chapters: (02:00) Discovering pickleball (05:45) Franchising model (09:55) Navigating real estate (12:35) Creating a player experience (15:00) Building Pickleball Kingdom (19:40) Future of pickleball (24:40) Art of the game (27:15) Roadmap at PK . Ace Rodrigues: Website: https://pickleballkingdom.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ace-rodrigues-4907b7125/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

Quickly scaling over the last few years, GoRout has been transforming on-field communication, led by founder Mike Rolih.  GoRout is the only system that combines on-field wearable technology and real-time playmaking software to help teams perfect their on-field communication. Mike played collegiate baseball and was the President of Mirro before founding Gorout in his garage.  Chapters: (00:30) Mike Rolih background (05:50) Seeing GoRout’s potential (08:00) Scaling the company  (11:00) Overcoming resistance to change (16:25) Expanding into new sports (19:05) Selling to different levels of sports (21:40) GoRout roadmap (24:10) Learnings from delegating tasks . Mike Rolih: Website: https://gorout.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrolih/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

Rebranding to LEAD, Justin Driscoll is the principal overseeing the pre-seed investment fund out of Lake Nona.  LEAD is a family of funds investing across all stages of venture.  Prior to joining LEAD, he spent two years in an operational capacity at DS Sports and Magnus Group, a holding company that acquired youth sports event companies and built a ball-tracking technology platform. He is a former student-athlete who played baseball at Rollins College.  Chapters: (00:20) Justin Driscoll intro (03:16) Overview of LEAD (05:06) Focus on Pre-Seed (09:35) Identifying areas for disruption (12:50) Financial models as storytelling tools (17:30) Democratizing access and support (22:20) LEAD’s new pre-seed investments  (26:40) Racquet sports and market sizes (31:05) Lessons learned for founders . Justin Driscoll: Website: https://www.lead.vc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-driscoll/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

1st party data is reimagining the athletics landscape, and Adam Azor from Sportradar is at the forefront of it.  Sportradar is one of the world’s largest sports technology companies reimagining immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors.  Adam Azor is an integrated marketer with experience from global to local recently being promoted to EVP at Sportradar.  Chapters: (00:20) Adam Azor and Sportradar intro (02:15) Sportradar’s massive growth  (06:05) EVP Global Marketing role (08:15) 1st-party data landscape (14:00) Educating the market about “owning sports data” (23:30) Hyper-personalized data and cookies (27:00) Legal implications of 1st party data (29:15) From top to bottom of the pyramid (32:30) Sportradar’s partnership perspective  . Adam Azor: Website: https://sportradar.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamazor/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

One of the largest early-stage investors in the world, Trey Bowles is currently the Managing Director of Techstars where he runs two accelerator programs: Techstars Anywhere and Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth.  Techstars is a pre-seed investor providing early-stage entrepreneurs access to capital, mentorship, and other support.  Some of Trey Bowles’ other projects include InnoCity Partners, Dallas Entrepreneur Center, Dallas Innovation Alliance, Mayor’s Star Council, and other nonprofit organizations.  Chapters: (01:05) Trey Bowles Techstars (04:00) Evaluating early-stage startups (08:15) Accelerator vs venture money  (13:55) Human capital and teams (17:10) Emerging areas for new companies (21:30) Advice on raising capital with little revenue (25:45) Techstars application key points (30:35) Questions Techstars asks in interviews (33:05) Youth sports as a gem (36:10) Creating financial projections  . Trey Bowles: Website: https://www.techstars.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treybowles/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

Recently receiving investment from the NBA, NHL, and Profluence Capital, John Stewart is transforming sports at Fastbreak AI.  Fastbreak AI brings the power of world-class, sports scheduling optimization featuring a robust and intuitive user experience for league setup, defining scheduling goals, metric reporting, schedule modification, and distribution. John Stewart sold his last company, MapAnything, to Salesforce in 2019.  Chapters: (00:40) Building & exiting MapAnything (04:00) Opportunity John saw in sports (07:00) Fastbreak AI scheduling  (10:20) Downstream into youth sports (12:00) Next products  (15:30) Advice on fundraising (17:40) Bootstrapping vs venture capital  (20:40) Managing raised capital  (22:50) Having mainly engineers (25:15) Macro trends in sports to watch . Fastbreak AI: Website: https://fastbreak.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stewart-3528a38/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts.  *Disclaimer: Profluence’s work is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should always do your own research and consult advisors on these subjects. Our work may feature entities in which Profluence Capital LP or the author has invested.

With ownership in sports from grassroots to the pros and in nearly every niche, Jordan Gazdik breaks down the landscape for us.  BENCHPLAYERS is a portfolio of sport-related assets, driven by partnerships with industry leaders at all levels of the ecosystem.  Jordan Gazdik founded BENCHPLAYERS to help push forward sports by creating a better future through ownership.  Chapters: (00:45) Jordan’s background (02:00) Current sports projects (04:20) Youth sports & NIL interest (09:00) Evaluating opportunities (12:30) International trends (15:00) What wealthy families are looking at? (19:30) Betting vs other fan engagement (22:30) Sports media rights insights (25:50) Emerging teams & leagues (32:20) The mom economy . Jordan Gazdik: Website: https://www.benchplayers.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-gazdik-51abb2188/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and Ben Nichols saw this as a unique opportunity to build a PR firm for it.  Padel 22 is a global padel-dedicated communications consultancy that helps organizations, rights holders, brands, events, players and other stakeholders tell their stories and be part of the sport’s expanding global footprint.  Ben Nichols has nearly 20  years of experience running communications for the world’s leading sports series, leagues, events, teams, leaders, athletes, brands, and media. Including the infamous Russian Doping Scandal.  Chapters: (01:00) Ben’s communications background (03:15) Padel 22 (05:35) Market insights on Padel  (07:10) Stories that are sticking out  (10:35) Getting media attention (14:15) Country club sport (17:30) Next run in Padel (20:10) Padel leagues (23:55) US market (26:30) Advice on PR . Ben Nichols: Website: https://www.padel-22.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-nichols-7401929/?originalSubdomain=uk . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts. 

Once the 35th-ranked female tennis player in the world, CiCi Bellis is now the founding partner of Cartan Capital. Cartan Capital is a venture capital firm focused on the sports and health technology markets – particularly Seed and Series A stage companies.  At only 25 years old, CiCi Bellis is one of the youngest investors in sports.  Chapters: (00:30) CiCi’s background (03:15) Tennis re-structuring  (06:00) What classifies a pro tennis player  (07:20) Opportunities in racquet sports (09:00) Evaluating market sizes (11:00) Balancing investing & building (12:15) What excited her about VC (13:50) Investment themes (18:50) Areas to keep an eye on . CiCi Bellis: Website: https://www.cartancapital.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cici-bellis-750926182/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts.

Quidich is revolutionizing the broadcasting experience having recently raised a Series A fundraising round with the company led by film entrepreneur Rahat Kulshreshtha.  Quidich Innovation Labs was originally an aerial filmmaking company that has since evolved into a global technology leader in sports broadcasting.  In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Rahat Kulshreshtha is a founding member of the Drone Federation of India, where he currently serves as Chairperson, advocating for responsible drone usage in the country. Chapters: (01:10) Inspiration of Quidich (04:00) Evolving from drones (09:20) India sports market (13:15) Next big sports in India (15:50) Cricket’s global expansion (19:00) Quidich future roadmap (24:50) Advice for founders . Rahat Kulshreshtha: Website: https://www.quidich.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahatkul/?originalSubdomain=in . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay updated on new podcasts.