The Profluence Pod 🌐

Soccer is growing at a rapid pace in the United States, and the USL is in a prime position prior to the 2026 World Cup on North American soil. Orange County SC won the 2021 USL Championship Cup, which is the second tier of US soccer behind the MLS.  Before becoming president of OCSC, Dan Rutstein was a sports reporter, British Diplomat, AR entrepreneur, soccer referee, and whisky podcast host.  Chapters: (01:50) Overview of the USL (03:30) Impact of Lionel Messi on US Soccer (05:50) Relegation discussion (12:10) Dan’s fascinating career path (15:40) Running a soccer club (23:10) What OCSC looks for in sports tech (25:30) Pro athletes buying USL teams (27:30) Trends to watch in sports . Dan Rutstein: Website: https://www.orangecountysoccer.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danrutstein/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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. 

Bruce Buffer is the legendary UFC announcer and Matt Whitteker is an exited unicorn founder at SaaS company Assent.  They came together to co-found the sports company MILLIONS, which raised a $10M Series A in 2021.  MILLIONS unites the sports world through a single social commerce platform allowing athletes, gyms, fans, and brands to connect and be brought together. Chapters: (01:20) Rise of sport-entertainment fights (03:00) Growth of the UFC (05:35) Brand-building 101 (07:30) Overview of MILLIONS (12:35) Buffer’s favorite experiences (14:50) ChatGPT athlete extension  (16:30) AI opportunities and concerns (18:50) NIL & sports tech thoughts  (21:50) Where MILLIONS is going . Info: Website: https://millions.co/ Bruce Buffer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-buffer-b36ba24/ Matt Whitteker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-whitteker-06596011/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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. 

(02:00) Business of Athletes - Chris Paul, Aaron Rodgers, and Victor Wemby make moves (06:10) NIL/College Sports - NCAA releases weird report and a partnership (07:50) Sports Business - Ryan Reynolds buys F1 team, MLB goes to youth sports, and over $50M in fundraising for sports companies Thanks for listening! Make sure to hit the "follow" button to never miss another podcast.

Before jumping into the founder seat, Courtney Jeffries worked for the Oakland Raiders, MSG, and was the Chief Operating Officer of Satisfi Labs.  VRTL, Virtual, was previously known as Virtual Tables and participated in Techstars, Minnesota Twins program.   They are the first virtual fan engagement platform that delivers a live autograph experience combining both streaming and video chat functionality.  VRTL also have segmentation capabilities to scale the event to different tiers of fans, and full production support equipped with queue management and event execution. Chapters: (01:15) Rebranding to VRTL (from Virtual Tables) (03:40) Idea for founding VRTL  (05:40) Web3’s impact  (06:35) Overview of VRTL  (10:25) What is a fan? Fan engagement? (14:25) Business model overview (18:35) NIL thoughts  (21:00) AR/VR integrations (24:10) Sports x AI collision  (26:25) Community + trends to watch . Courtney Jeffries: Website: https://www.vrtl.live/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-jeffries-8b53571a/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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. 

17 Sport is the world's first sports impact company, working at the intersection of sport, business, and purpose.  As a Certified B-Corp, 17 Sport’s mission is to educate, inspire and enable all stakeholders including athletes, brands, and properties to activate their purpose through sport and deliver positive financial, social, and environmental outcomes.  Before founding 17 Sport, Fabien ran his own sports talent agency working with elite athletes on impact initiatives including the legendary Serena Williams. This was a unique convo focused on not just the business of sports, but the good that sports can bring to the world. Chapters: (01:25) Fabien’s career in sports  (05:30) Overview of 17 Sport (09:10) What makes a B-Corporation  (10:40) 17 Sport x Adidas case study  (13:50) Balancing finances and purpose  (16:35) Social Return on Investment (SROI) (18:00) Managing a global consulting company  (19:45) Trends to watch in sports  (23:00) Web3 outlook  . Fabien Paget: Website: https://www.17-sport.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabienpaget/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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.

OLIVER has raised over $1M and recently entered into a partnership agreement with FC Barcelona that also included an investment from the soccer conglomerate.  Agustin Rozadas started his professional career as a financial analyst at Accenture before building up Fligoo and then jumping into the sports technology founder seat.  OLIVER is a wearable tracking device that uploads deep insights onto their platform through a smart GPS providing key information to optimize performance, evolve talents, and prevent injuries.  This was an interesting conversation revolving around the evolution of wearables to moveables, the benefit of owning both the hardware and software + many other fascinating sports tech topics.  Chapters: (01:20) Why now is the time for sports tech (04:40) Overview of Oliver (06:30) FC Barcelona partnership (10:20) Revenue model + product solutions (12:45) Importance of data analytics (15:45) Oliver vs. Competitors (19:50) Wearables to Moveables  (23:25) Applications to scouting/recruiting (25:00) Future initiatives  (26:20) The 2026 World Cup impact . Agustin Rozadas: Website: https://tryoliver.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-rozadas-275b4328/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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. 

(01:05) Business of Athletes (05:50) College Sports/NIL (08:40) Sports Business Thanks for listening today! I hope these weekly roundups keep you up to date & informed on the most important events taking place in the sports industry.

OnCore Golf is innovating unique products including their Genius golf ball that has a GPS tracking device inside its hollow-core construction. The tracking device pairs with a phone app to help find the golf ball, plus provide data such as ball velocity, spin rate, spin direction, carry, and more. Keith Blakely is the CEO and Chairman of the InVentures Group, a hybrid consulting firm, virtual incubator, and investment firm that is located in Buffalo, NY but services companies around the world. Before taking a more active role at OnCore Golf, Keith spent 20+ years building Advanced Refractory Technologies up until its acquisition by Tyco International.  This was an incredible discussion around the future of golf, increased technological innovation entering sports, and OnCore’s unique business.  Chapters: (01:15) PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger (04:00) OnCore Golf overview (11:20) Mixing analytics with products (16:00) Building a golf entertainment center (19:30) InVentures Group (22:45) Technologies in sports that could use disruption (25:10) Future initiatives  . Keith Blakely: Website: https://www.oncoregolf.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithblakely/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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.

(00:30) Business of Athletes - tons of athlete investments to catch up on (05:30) NIL/College Sports - interesting news coming out of the NCAA (10:15) Sports Business - all the stories that didn't get covered because of the LIV/PGA merger taking the headlines by storm

Launched in 2017, iSport360 has raised ~$2M in capital to help youth sports coaches, players, and parents set goals, foster healthy team communication, and engage in a positive way. They also have a media arm with over 500,000 newsletter subscribers.  Ian is a father, coach, and entrepreneur who founded 3 companies before the age of 18 and helped his family's food distribution company for over 15 years before deciding to build Isport360.  Chapters: (01:20) NBA Jr. Leadership Summit (03:00) Ian’s journey  (04:45) Problems in youth sports (07:00) Money + NIL moving downstream (12:00) Overview of iSport360 (16:20) Private Equity entering youth sports (20:35) Innovations needed in amateur athletics (24:25) AAU + Club “tier” landscape (26:50) Specialization or not? . Ian Goldberg: Website: https://isport360.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-goldberg-ba99b18b/ . Andrew Petcash: 🏠 Website: https://profluence.com ✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.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.