Samuel Schmelzer on LinkedIn: Greenfly Announces $14 Million Funding Led by ADvantage, Empowering Global… (2024)

Latest news from 360 Media Ventures!

1

Another talent M&A deal was just announced.Range just acquired Stoked. Talent x sports = 🔥🔥Some context...Range Media Partners was founded in 2020.Result of agent defections from UTA/CAA/WME.They're backed by Point72 Ventures, Steven Cohen's vehicle.In 2022 A&E Networks also invested in Range, alongside a production and content partnership deal.Range also recently did a JV with famed prod co Automatik. Stoked Management Group founder Lowell Taub previously founded and a talent mgmt biz, GFHF, which he sold to CAA in 2007. He founded Stoked in 2020, same year Range was founded.Now both Range and Stoked are combining, since outsized value in talent-led businesses is accruing to those with scale.To understand why, just read my recent Wasserman-Brillstein and talent M&A LinkedIn posts.But my fave part of this deal?Reading about the Stoked's client roster.Like Bode Miller. I grew up watching his ski videos.And John John Florence. A fave surfer of mine.Love it...this talent space gets more exciting by the week!#media #deals #investing #talentrepresentation

29

7 Comments

#CA-based ALT Sports Data secures $2.5million in seed #funding. This round was co-led by Eberg Capital and Relay Ventures, with additional participation from Trinity West Ventures, NuFund Venture Group and several notable sports and technology industry veterans.ALT Sports Data is at the forefront of #utilizing proprietary data to activate a growing wave of new sports #enthusiasts. Their mission revolves around building the most extensive database and league portfolio in #alternative sports, offering a gateway for sports book #operators to tap into an audience of over 83 million potential bettors in the United States alone, with a global reach exceeding 1 billion.This funding round comes as ALT Sports Data has secured 17 official league rights deals and 35 commercial #agreements. With early revenue being generated across three fronts: data, demand generation, and league services; and the #infrastructure built and now proven, in 2024, these funds will be utilized to efficiently scale the #business.ALT Sports Datais the leading source of official and #unofficial alternative sports trading data unlocking millions of #participatory fans and potential bettors for #sportsbook operators, media platforms and event producers.ALT Sports Data, Inc. Eberg Capital Relay Ventures Trinity West Ventures, LLC NuFund Venture Group Simon Sokol Joe Dunnigan To share your startup story write us on -contact@startuprise.io#altsportsdata #funding #startup

56

3 Comments

How do you turn a sports startup into a nationally recognized brand?The playbook is constantly evolving.Nowadays, engaging athlete investors is right up there with traditional marketing strategies like content, brand partnerships, community, etc.This doesn't refer to the kind of raise where a startup adds an athlete to its cap table, makes headlines, and calls it a day.Athlete investors are becoming a key part of a sports startup's go-to-market strategy.Athletes from the NBA, NFL, WNBA, and NWSL have cultivated highly engaged fan bases that new sports brands need to connect with.Simultaneously, athletes in these leagues have adapted their approach - focusing more on building their startup portfolio than expanding their brand partnership roster.So how are promising sports startups adapting and finding the right way to engage?This week we're analyzing Major League Pickleball's growing team of athlete investors to see how. ⤵️ #LinkedInSports https://lnkd.in/evZZ-wXp

160

22 Comments

What does a $1 billion-dollar company look like in sports?I dove deep to uncover the common trends: 1️⃣ 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥Fanatics: $4.9B, Sorare: $737M, Zwift: $620M, FanDuel: $416M, etc2️⃣ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬Fanatics (9), Mindbody (9), DraftKings (8), Hudl (5), etc───────────𝐀 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡:❶ The biggest and most successful sports companies started small.❷ They then aggressively raised money to scale into more niches.❸ Started making acquisitions and/or partially cashed out by taking PE money.❹ A handful have then had the honor of the IPO process.This process is UNIQUE for B2B vs. B2C companies...Which I broke down in today's article: 👇https://lnkd.in/eSb-r2-p𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦:𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 ($6𝘉 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 2023) 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴.

183

16 Comments

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀: (some examples)👇⁣• Skims & Kim Kardashian (𝘕𝘉𝘈), Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce (𝘕𝘍𝘓)• Creator programs started by leagues to draw in GenerationZ (𝘔𝘓𝘚)• Agencies expanding beyond contracts and endorsem*nts (𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦)🏟️ 🏟️ 🏟️- Athletes jumping into business and investment endeavors (𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘤𝘐𝘭𝘳𝘰𝘺, 𝘦𝘵𝘤) - Increased interest in women's sports (𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘵𝘤) - Sports opening up the discussion for mental health (𝘒𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘕𝘢𝘰𝘮𝘪 𝘖𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘢)🥇 🥇 🥇• Exited founders taking their talents to build new companies in sports (𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘺𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰, 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦) • New technologies testing their PMF in sports (𝘈𝘐, 𝘸𝘦𝘣3, 𝘝𝘙/𝘈𝘙, 𝘦𝘵𝘤)• Expansion of niche sports and emerging leagues (𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘭, 𝘦𝘵𝘤) • Sovereign wealth funds investing massive capital across the industry (𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘈)⁣𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼?

88

24 Comments

THE NEEDS OF ATHLETES ARE CHANGING (AND IT'S HELPING TO TRANSFORM THE SPORTS AGENCY SPACE FOREVER)𝐀𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 — 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.And steps are being taken by agencies to make this a reality: 1️⃣Creative Artists Agency, Wasserman,andWME Sportslaunched venture arms to provide ownership opportunities for athletes.2️⃣ Rudy Cline Thomasbought 33% of the management firmAthletes Firstto bring his venture deals to their clients.3️⃣Big League Advantage partnered with several athletes to join the ownership group of the English soccer club, Leeds United.4️⃣LRMR Venturesinked a lifetime deal withFenway Sports Management (FSM) to facilitate opportunities forLebron James.5️⃣OneTeam PartnersandWill Venturespartnered to create access to venture capital opportunities for their 4,000+ athletes.Why is this happening? Agencies have direct access to the athletes who now want ownership positions ─ and the outsized value that engaged athletes can bring to startups is a hot commodity in the market.𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁:❶CAA— $17.78B❷Wasserman— $9.49B❸WME— $6.4B❹Excel Sports Mgmt.— $5.75B❺Athletes First— $5.42B❻Boras Corp.— $3.9B❼Octagon— $3.24B❽Roc Nation Sports— $2.58B❾Klutch Sports Group— $2.27B❿Newport Sports Mgmt. — $1.88BIt's a top heavy industry & those with the most capital, resources, connections, and expertise are driving the representation space forward.Check out the full briefing here: 👇https://lnkd.in/eT5FaX4F

235

19 Comments

Exciting times ahead in the realm of real-time sports coverage! A Czech Internet startup, Livesport, founded by Martin Hajek, is all set to bring about a revolution in the realm of global sportscasting. With a robust network of over 60 websites and mobile applications, Livesport is making all crucial sports moments accessible for fans worldwide in the quickest time possible. Their flagship offering, FlashScore.com, touches base with 75 million worldwide users.To gain an insight into how Livesport is redefining the landscape of sports coverage, check out our latest article. You will not only get a glance into their operations but also their vision for fair play in internet and tech development.Learn about the journey of Livesport from their inception in 2006 till date and how they have managed to appraise the sports updates to millions globally with their independent working and 100% control environment.[Link to post] (https://lnkd.in/en4_4upu)Let us embrace this wave of innovation in sports broadcasting. Enjoy the read!#EUStartups #Innovation #SportsTech #RealTimeCoverage #Livesport #FlashScore #Technology #StartupGoals #Entrepreneur #GlobalSports

Had an insightful conversation with Dave @ FanClub Sports Capital...𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿:⚖ Sports are an 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 because media contracts span several years outlasting any depressed economic cycle.📈 The growth, scarcity, and resiliency of sports make it attractive.🏦 Over time we're going to see a better 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 for sports with crowdfunding, secondaries, and even IPOs.🏟️ Sports team use to deal with technology, but now they've become media and technology companies that just 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 to play pro sports.📣 Crowdfunding is enticing because it allows you to 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 with an existing fan base in a more profound manner using ownership as a tool.📺 Being the last form of 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 that can guarantee eyeballs to advertisers, the Netflix's, Amazon's, and Apple's have entered to boost subscribers.────David Mirynechalso gives a nice shoutout toProfluence Sportsand what we're doing on both the media and investment side of sports.Check out the podcast here (only 20min long):https://lnkd.in/eadgTxuY

81

13 Comments

From helping athletes fund their professionto computer vision and Ai to evaluate movements, these emerging startups are transforming the sports landscape 🏋️

2