The Profluence Pod 🌐

RacquetX looks to build the homebase for the multi-billion-dollar racquet sports industry as we dive deep into the business of events. Robyn Duda is the co-founder and managing director of RacquetX. She has had a successful career across events and technology.  The first-ever RacquetX event will take place March 24-26 in Miami, Florida.  Chapters: (02:00) RacquetX inception (04:40) Inaugural event  (09:50) Elevating racquet sports (11:20) Data & insights  (13:40) Badminton is bigger than soccer (17:10) Innovations to watch (21:50) Business of events . Robyn Duda: Website: https://theracquetx.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynduda/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

From grassroots to global impact, RugbyDAO is on a mission to reshape rugby for the next 200 years. It's a decentralized way to build community and operate across the ecosystem.  Nick Riggall is the OG and one of the original co-founders at RugbyDAO. As we explore the intersection of sports and Web3, you’ll also pick up on some incredible insights about rugby – which has over 850 million fans worldwide.  Chapters: 00:01:47 - Building Community in Sports with DAOs 00:02:59 - The Founding of RugbyDAO 00:05:29 - Nick Riggall's Background and Entry into Web3 00:09:45 - Learning from Other Sports DAO Projects 00:11:45 - RugbyDAO's Mission 00:16:22 - The Future of Rugby 00:20:04 - Business Model 00:21:45 - Five-Year Vision . Nick Riggall: Website: https://therugbydao.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickriggall/?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.

In this episode, CJ Handron of Diamond Kinetics gives us a deep dive into the evolution of sports tech (since they were one of the first companies in the space over a decade ago). Handron is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh entrepreneurship program and discusses the company's journey over the last decade, and its products aimed at the baseball and softball industry. We also delve into the future of sports tech - with an emphasis on the use of AI and video in capturing detailed game data. CJ sheds light on some challenges of building Diamond Kinetics in a non-tech hub and how remote work has shifted this paradigm. Chapters: (00:21) The Journey of Building Diamond Kinetics (04:00) The Role of University Entrepreneurial Programs (07:50) Building a Tech Company in Pittsburgh (11:41) The Evolution of Sports Tech (16:50) The Future of Diamond Kinetics and Sports Tech (23:20) Closing Thoughts and Future Trends in Sports . Diamond Kinetics: Website: https://www.diamondkinetics.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-handron-7859159/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

Reflecting on the trends and developments in sports business for the year 2023, the host speaks with Kirby Porter, the founder of New Game Labs.  Porter discusses the intersection of athletes and technology, the evolution of athlete investing, the importance of sports creators, and advancements in the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules. She also talks about trends in the women's sports industry, global trends in sports, and the rise of emerging sports leagues.  Both express excitement for the continued growth and innovation in the sector as they move into 2024. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction and Recap of the Year  (01:29) Deep Dive into New Game Labs  (03:28) Discussion on Athlete Investors (06:36) Exploring the Creator Economy (10:47) Insights on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) (14:50) The Rise of Women's Sports (18:34) Globalization of Sports (21:43) Emerging Leagues and Downstream Movement . Kirby Porter: Website: https://www.kirbyporter.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirbyporter . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

In this exclusive interview, we break down TeamSnap’s acquisition of MOJO Sports with their respective CEOs. We cover the state of youth sports across the world, fragmentation across the space, and the commercialization of amateur athletics.  Ben Sherwood was previously the President of ABC News & Walt Disney Company before building the youth sports app, MOJO Sports. Pete Frintzilas is the operating CEO of TeamSnap, coming from the PE firm Waud Capital.  Chapters: (01:40) MOJO Sports & Ben Sherwood’s background (03:10) TeamSnap acquires MOJO Sports (05:00) Learnings from corporate to startup land (07:10) State of youth sports (12:40) Merging tech stacks and investors (17:40) Fragmentation of amateur athletics  (23:15) Balancing commercialization with impact (27:10) Youth sports trends to watch . Ben Sherwood: Website: https://mojo.sport/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-sherwood-4944ba163/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

After 30 years at Accenture, Mike Sutcliff has jumped into the sports entrepreneurship world co-founding 3 different companies.  We touch on advice from leaving the corporate world to be a startup entrepreneur and the nuance within sports, fitness, and media.  Mobeus is developing innovative media technologies including their new product called Airscreen. The tech allows you to watch sports in the background of your computer while still answering emails or working.  Chapters: (01:25) From Accenture to entrepreneur (06:15) Lessons from corporate to startup (08:30) Mobeus (12:45) Immersive tech (18:30) Fan engagement (23:15) Cool products to come . Mike Sutcliff: Website: https://airscreentv.com/?profluence=&utm_source=profluence&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=airscreen&utm_id=sports LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesutcliff/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

Kyle Pfaffenbach is a high-end performance nutritionist, helping mostly athletes but also founders optimize their performance.  Plaffenbach has a B.S. and M.S. in exercise science from Colorado State University, along with a Ph.D. in nutrition from CSU.  LumosTech is an innovative sleep mask utilizing circadian rhythm studies to help improve sleep. They recently signed a deal with a WNBA team.  Chapters: (01:40) Background to sports (09:15) All things sleep (15:10) Social jet lag (18:30) Circadian Rhythm  (26:25) Daylight savings time (28:15) Next big “performance” trends (35:00) Focus on overall health . Kyle Pfaffenbach: Website: https://lumos.tech/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylepfaff/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

The Program is a business focused on restoring New York City basketball at the youth and grassroots level.  This includes a focus on media, merchandise, camps, activations, and an eventual state-of-the-art facility that will open in the fall of 2024 to host its academy and membership training programs. Griffin Taylor and Jared Effron grew up playing basketball together.  Chapters: (02:00) Backstory (05:30) Decline of NYC basketball (09:05) Prep school hoops (11:45) The Program overview (15:15) Business model (19:10) Real estate (23:40) Rise of women’s basketball . Jared Effron & Griffin Taylor: Website: https://theprogramnyc.com/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts.

With soccer growth ahead, Lega Serie A (Italy) launched a US division with Andy Mitchell leading the charge.  The Serie A Championship is the premier soccer division in Italy and is one of the world's elite soccer leagues. Prior to Serie A, Andy Mitchell worked at CNN, Facebook, and Meta as the Head of Global Media Accounts.  Chapters: (02:00) Media background (04:45) CEO of Seria A USA (08:15) 2026 World Cup (10:25) Grassroots efforts (12:00) US vs Italy soccer (15:00) Relegation and promotion (18:40) Media over the years . Andy Mitchell: Website: https://www.legaseriea.it/it LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andymitchell1/ . 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 up to date on new podcasts. 

MediaKind is an end-to-end video delivery solution that serves some of the largest media properties in the world.  After serving as the CTO for a few years, Allen Broome took over the CEO role at MediaKind in 2021. Previously he spent time as the VP of Cloud Engineering at Comcast.  Chapters: (01:45) MediaKind & Allen’s background (05:15) Leveraging AI + mathematics  (07:50) Streaming, RSNs, and D2C (14:15) Cool video technologies (20:10) Scaling into the future (24:35) Sports trends . Allen Broome: Website: https://www.mediakind.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenbroome/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com 🎙 Podcast: https://profluence.com/podcasts/ 🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash 🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/ Thanks for listening! Hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.