The Profluence Pod 🌐

The Sporting News (TSN) was founded in 1886 as a weekly newspaper. They recently raised $15M to expand into commerce beyond just digital ads. LTV > CPM.  Before TSN, Rich Routman was the President and CRO of Minute Media helping them raise millions of dollars and become a 10-figure company.  The Sporting News acquired a sports betting company earlier this year and plans to continue building on top of their media.  Chapters: (01:55) Learnings from Minute Media (05:50) Why he joined The Sporting News (10:05) Digital media landscape (14:40) Sports betting and AI’s impact (20:45) Sports trends to watch . Rich Routman: Website: https://www.sportingnews.com/us LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-routman-497a5b/ . 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. 

HEIR raised $10.6M from Thrive Capital for their consumer-facing community platform for athletes to connect with fans — as well as other lines of business, including an entertainment studio, AI tech, and consumer products. Prior to co-founding HEIR alongside Jeffrey Jordan and Daniel George, Jeron Smith was the CMO for Steph Curry’s brand and co-founder of Unanimous Media. He also worked at Nike and the White House.  HEIR recently released their newest AI product PersonaPro.  Chapters: (01:30) College athlete to sports executive (06:30) Endorsement to enterprise (9:00) Creating community (11:50) PersonaPro (14:25) Creating fan engagement (16:45) Web3 is the future (22:15) Trends to watch in sports . Jeron Smith: Website: https://www.heir.app/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeron-smith-7581819/ . 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. 

Drive by DraftKings is a multi-stage venture capital firm investing in SportsTech and Entertainment. Drive also has an all-star network consisting of notable athletes and executives to add value to their core themes of gaming, fandom, and human performance.  Meredith McPherron is a former college athlete herself who has spent her professional career at the intersection of sports, entrepreneurship, and investing.  Chapters: (01:45) Mixing sports and entrepreneurship (07:30) Building the All-Star Network (11:00) Verticals within sports tech (14:00) Fan engagement  (18:20) Growth of women’s sports (23:30) State of VC in sports (28:30) Web1, Web2, Web3 . Meredith McPherron: Website: https://drivebydraftkings.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-mcpherron-0a09812/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.

The fragmentation of tennis has come to a crossroads as Saudi Arabia is disrupting other individual sports and players are itching for stable pay.  30-year tennis veteran John Butler joins the podcast to break down tennis and present his new tiered-system model.  From player pay to superstar reliance, promotion and relegation, and so much more this podcast covers the state of tennis today (and where it could go).  Chapters: (01:50) State of tennis today (03:40) Player pay (05:20) Fragmentation (08:00) Superstar reliance (10:10) Saudi Arabia (12:55) PTPA (15:50) Creating a new model (22:15) Tier system w/ promotion & relegation (30:00) Men’s and women’s teams . John Butler: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrbutler2/ . 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! If you want to stay up to date on new podcasts, hit the “follow” button. 

Previously the CMO at LiveONE and ONE Championship, Jon Anastas jumped into the CEO seat at sports live-streaming startup ClashTV in 2023.   Jon is also the Chairman of the Board at AlphaGen Intelligence. ClashTV is an interactive live-streaming content-first social platform that raised a seed round in 2020.  Chapters: (01:35) Culture, content, & commerce (03:20) Why ClashTV? (09:30) GenZ sports to target (12:45) Impact of sports on culture  (17:00) Tokenization + NIL in the future (20:20) Business model (24:00) AI is game-changing . Jon Anastas: Website: https://www.clsh.tv/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathananastas/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts. 

Third-generation textile entrepreneur Gary Goldberg is the founder of SquadLocker, which raised a $20M Series C in 2020.  SquadLocker is a custom apparel and gear software and fulfillment company transforming how sports organizations, schools, and businesses develop and distribute custom goods. Gary Goldberg moved to the president role after bringing on George Overholster as the CEO in 2023. George is a former co-founder of VistaPrint and a founding member of Capital One credit cards.  Chapters: (02:05) Millrat to SquadLocker (08:00) Scaling businesses (11:00) Meeting his first investor  (16:20) Next frontiers of e-commerce  (20:55) Evolution of sports (25:25) Apparel trends . Gary Goldberg: Website: https://www.squadlocker.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyctm/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.

Prior to jumping into the founder seat, Chase Garrett was a professional motocross rider, marketing manager at Red Bull, and personal agent to athletes such as Reggie Bush and Kris Bryant.  Chase is currently the CEO of Icon Source, an influencer marketing company connecting brands with athletes in a secure & trusted marketplace to reach new opportunities. Founded in 2018, Icon Source has continued to grow and is taking advantage of the new college NIL rules that went live in 2021.  Chapters: (01:35) Background at Red Bull (05:10) From agent to NIL company (09:30) Scaling Icon Source (11:35) Creating community (14:00) State of NIL marketplaces (16:45) Hot industries in brand marketing (20:45) Where NCAA is headed? (23:15) Trends to watch in sports . Chase Garrett: Website: https://iconsource.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasegarrett/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.

Former Executive Director of U.S. Figure Skating Ramsey Baker dives deep into Olympic Sports, National Governing Bodies, the IOC, and the upcoming 2028 LA Summer Olympics.  Ramsey Baker is currently an SVP at Aggregate Sports.  Aggregate Sports works on behalf of a variety of sports properties, leagues, teams, and federations helping them to maximize their revenue while creating the greatest experience for their fans and supporters. From Property Sales to Property Consulting, from Media Rights to Naming Rights, our underlying approach remains the same Chapters: (01:45) Background at US Figure Skating (03:45) College sports impact on the Olympics (05:15) More countries winning medals (10:35) Saudi’s impact (12:50) NGBs in the US (18:35) # of Sports and how the IOC adds them (24:50) Behind the scenes of Olympics (30:20) Hollywood writer strike impact . Ramsey Baker: Website: https://aggregatesports.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramsey-baker-8725483/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts. 

Frank Michael Smith tells his story of how he has built an audience of more than 3 million followers/subscribers and billions of views around sports and pop culture content.   Frank runs his multiple business endeavors through JUICE Productions, which includes a creative agency, sponsorships, games, and more.  A fascinating conversation on the state of social media, how to grow an audience, and the rise of creators to entrepreneurs.  Chapters: (03:00) Backstory to sports content (08:00) Starting TikTok in 2020 (10:00) Scaling from 1-person to a team (16:45) State of social media platforms (22:45) Frank’s ultimate vision (25:20) Art & science of content creation (28:30) Two pieces of advice . Frank Michael Smith: Website: https://frankmichaelsmith.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank27/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/frankmichaelsmith . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.

Pro League Network's brands include SlapFIGHT Championship, World Putting League, CarJitsu, and the Pro Carrom Tour. They have an owned audience of over 500K subscribers/followers across their brands. Pro League Network makes betable sports entertainment. They own a portfolio of brands and produce short-form, wagering-ready, and accessible live sports content for their partners to monetize (wagering operators, sponsors, media partners, etc). Mike Salvaris spent most of his professional career in the legal, gaming, and sports betting world.  Chapters: (01:25) Trends that led to PLN (08:05) Defining what qualifies as a “sport” (12:35) Talent scouting process (14:15) Business model of Pro League Network (16:10) Characteristics of successful leagues (19:20) Scaling PLN (24:00) Trends in sports betting + media . Mike Salvaris Website: https://www.proleaguenetwork.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-salvaris-88b4921/ . 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! Make sure to hit the “follow” button to stay up to date on new podcasts.