The Profluence Pod 🌐

As a 23-year-old business owner and coming off a $500k fundraise, Huck Sorock is looking to transform the referee space.  The idea of Refr Sports stemmed a few years ago as Huck realized how much technology was growing in every category within sports but saw lots of improvement for the referee vertical.  Huck Sorock is a recent graduate of Colorado Boulder and grew up an athlete playing juniors hockey.  Chapters: (01:00) Entrepreneurial journey  (04:50) Refr Sports (08:55) Stats on referee market (13:30) Acquiring customers  (15:30) Being a young founder (18:00) Future of Refr Sports (23:15) Trends in sports (25:25) AI refs  . Huck Sorock: Website: https://refrsports.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huck-s-29841913a/ . 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.

StatusPRO recently received $20m in funding including an investment from Google’s venture arm to transform training and gaming in sports.  StatusPRO is a sports technology company that combines data, XR, and real-life experiences to provide a revolutionary suite of training and gaming products. Troy Jones is a former D1 quarterback who spent time at the NFLPA and Goldman Sachs before coming up with the StatusPRO idea and building alongside former NFL player Andrew Hawkins.  Chapters: (01:20) Troy’s athlete and business background (07:10) Scaling StatusPro learnings  (12:10) Getting Lamar Jackson involved  (14:30) Training vs. Gaming side of StatusPro (16:50) AR/VR/XR state of the market (19:55) Trends to watch in sports (22:50) StatusPRO post-$20m raise  (26:00) Limiting social media  . Troy Jones: StatusPRO: https://www.status.pro/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-jones-jr-mba-582b60163/ . 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. 

With high-end clients like the NBA and MLB, Sweet Chameleon is taking on phygital collectibles led by Michael Dub.  Sweet Chameleon lives at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds, leveraging additive manufacturing and blockchain technology to enable fans to create and customize physical and digital collectibles from individual creators and popular entertainment, sports, and gaming IP. Michael Dub has 25+ years of experience working in leadership roles at large media organizations, startups, and as an owner of a digital marketing agency with a proven track record of growth and developing new revenue streams.  Chapters: (01:35) The genesis of Sweet Chameleon  (03:05) Collectibles Market (04:35) Phygital Products  (05:55) State of Sweet Chameleon   (08:40) Benefits to all stakeholders (11:35) Business model (14:15) Learnings from landing MLB & NBA (16:00) Future of collectibles  . Michael Dub: Sweet Chameleon: https://www.sweetchameleon.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldub/ . 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.

The "Redzone for Baseball", PLYR is aiming to revolutionize discovery, engagement, and interaction with sports through its players. After spending a handful of years as a wealth advisor, David Wurth made the jump to entrepreneurship by interviewing successful executives, athletes, and business leaders.  CSQ is now an award-winning quarterly business and luxury lifestyle platform. PLYR was incubated from the platform.  Chapters: (01:25) CSQ: Filling the Void in Media (04:48) From Media to Advisory (06:44) The Birth of PLYR (15:40) Evolution of PLYR (19:16) Learnings entering sports (29:38) The Future of PLYR . David Wurth: PLYR app: https://www.plyrapp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/csuitemedia/ . 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. 

The Defense Department, 90% of NFL teams, and many high-level performers including Andrew Huberman use Momentous products.  Momentous offers high-quality nutritional and dietary supplements, researched and developed by leading scientific minds with rigorous quality control and independent third-party testing.  Jeff Byers played college football at USC and then spent several years in the NFL before diving into the business world head-first as an entrepreneur.  Chapters: (01:30) Thoughts on NIL & college sports (06:20) Transition from football to founder  (10:25) Marketing approach at Momentous (14:30) Building advisory/ambassador boards (16:30) Journey of Momentous (21:50) Niche vs. broad-scale consumer products  (25:05) $32M growth equity round  (28:00) Trends to watch . Jeff Byers: Momentous: https://www.livemomentous.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-byers-06726331/ . 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.

With many years of experience in sportainment, Craig Winning is now taking on BatBox as they expand from Mexico to the United States.  BatBox is an innovative experiential concept that caters to the underserved baseball fan market, offering a playful way for fans to engage with baseball and each other and offer corporate and private simulator sales to clients. Craig was previously at TOCA Social, Shorty’s, Punch Bowl Social, and has spent most of his career at the intersection of hospitality and entertainment.  Chapters: (01:30) Hospitality background  (05:50) BatBox concept  (10:10) GTM from Mexico to the US (11:55) Challenges with new concept  (13:55) Food/Beverage vs. Gameplay  (16:10) Blueprint to success (19:00) Trends in eatertainment  (21:40) Importance of technology  (23:00) Concepts that could work  . Craig Winning: BatBox: https://www.batboxusa.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thecraigwinning/ . 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. 

An experienced veteran in sportainment, Ollie’s newest project is at the intersection of racing, socializing, and eating with F1 Arcade.  F1 Arcade is a new simulation racing experience in the US, offering all the excitement, drama, and glamor of Formula 1. Ollie Raison has provided creative input to social entertainment businesses for many years including Bounce Ping Pong, Puttshack Mini Golf, Hijingo, AceBounce, Wonderball, Games Gurus, and more.  Chapters: (01:15) From comedy to social entertainment  (05:30) Bounce Ping Pong  (07:45) Flight Club and Puttshack (12:45) F1 Arcade Inception (17:20) Mistakes made in social entertainment  (20:35) Go-To-Market strategy  (23:10) Investors they targeted  (25:25) Future of social entertainment  (29:45) New location F1 Arcade  . Ollie Raison: F1 Arcade: https://f1arcade.com/us/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-raison-b3207235/?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.

Before launching his own agency, Jared was Head of Sports at Twitter/Vine helping establish deep ties within the social media world.   Changing the way credit works for social content with Gondola and making creative content for sports leagues, teams, brands, and media companies with Fresh Tape Media. Jared shares valuable insights into content creation, trends in social media, sports, highlighting the evolution of content, the impact of technology, and the future of content creation tools. Chapters: (01:20) Jared’s sports background  (05:35) Vine walked so TikTok could run (07:15) Gondola and Fresh Tape Media (14:30) Trends in social media  (17:30) Thoughts on AR/VR & content (22:45) Future ideas  . Jared Kleinstein: Gondola: https://gondola.cc/ Fresh Tape Media: https://www.freshtapemedia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-kleinstein/ . 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.

After the acquisition of The Athletic, Evan Parker joined Alexis Ohanian and Brett Montgomery to build Mantel.  Mantel is a community for collectors (starting in sports).  Before joining Mantel as the CEO, Evan Parker was the General Manager at The Athletic and Head of Content at NASCAR.  Chapters: (01:50) Career in Sports (03:00) Importance of Building Relationships  (05:05) How Leagues vs Media Brands View Content (07:30) Collectibles and Mantel  (12:30) Starting in Niches (14:20) From Corporate to Entrepreneurship  (17:50) Learnings from The Athletic acquisition  (20:10) Fundraising Insights  (21:50) Mantel Roadmap  (35:35) Trends to Watch  . Evan Parker: Mantel: https://www.onmantel.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evaneparker/ . 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 raising their Series A round, we discuss the changing dynamic of digital sports activations and how they’ve been able to help organizations get closer to their fans.  Vaidhy Murti has over a decade of experience developing production applications for high-growth, venture-backed startups, and Fortune 1000 companies WIT Sports is a digital activation platform that helps professional sports teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS elevate their marketing efforts while providing innovative, turnkey solutions designed to enhance brand partnerships. Chapters: (01:25) WIT overview + case studies  (05:35) Entrance into sports  (11:35) Leagues engaging fans  (14:15) Metrics to measure success (16:55) Series A round growth plans  (19:15) Macro trends to watch  (21:15) Learnings building companies  (24:20) Dealing with rejection  . Vaidhy Murti: Website: https://www.witcontests.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaidhy-murti/ . 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.