There has recently been a lot of buzz around incubators and accelerators focusing on sports startups (we even launched our own series to spotlight some of the more intriguing startups as a result). Most of that attention has come from the Dodgers and RGA joint Accelerator based out of Los Angeles. Their accelerator was certainly worthy of the hype as it has ten potential-packed startups with all sorts of different teams, products, business models and success levels to this point.
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But there is another sports accelerator that is worthy of the sports industry’s attention. It is called Stadia Ventures and it is based in downtown St. Louis.
Now, when you think of St. Louis you may not necessarily think of it as a startup haven. But you would be wrong. Dead wrong.
St. Louis is a thriving startup scene for all sorts of industries and Stadia Ventures is looking to lead that charge for sports startups.
Stadia Ventures pegs itself as a “Sports Innovation Hub for entrepreneurs, industry partners and investors.” They are founded by a very well connected and diverse team that, in addition to their individual equity investments up to $100,000, presents a tremendous amount of value for the startups that join Stadia.
The program is currently in the middle of its first of two cohorts per year (next year will be the first full year and they are currently accepting applications for 2016 cohorts) where it is putting four startup companies (they had over 175 applicants originally) through a 10-week business development bootcamp that will help hone their pitches, connect to strategic mentors, advisors and potential clients, participate in business workshops on Thursdays and Fridays each week and receive direct interaction with potential investors regularly.
The first cohort culminates in a Demo Day on December 10th at Busch Stadium in St. Louis that will showcase the progress that the first four companies have achieved while working with the Stadia Ventures team.
Art Chou, Stadia’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, is happy with the first cohort. “Our first cohort has been fantastic! We are extremely happy with our four portfolio companies and their founders. We knew enough about their businesses to be interested in working with them but the quality of the founders as people and leaders has been exceptional. The benefit of being a relatively small group is that the founders have all bonded over their mutual experience in St. Louis.”
Chou goes on to say that he genuinely sees growth and progress in the four startups that Stadia has been working with.. “I believe that they all have a better understanding of the key issues that really govern or threaten their business. We’ve worked hard to identify them and help them knock some out of the way. Also, we’ve helped them grow as leaders. We often discuss how their success may depend on their next few key hires and how this affects their capabilities and culture. And then we help them make those hires.”
Here is a brief overview of the four companies in the first Stadia cohort that will be taking part in Demo Day. For a much more detailed look at these companies please check out our Profile on them in our Startup Profiles Series.
- Fishidy is the go-to digital platform that helps over 400,000 fishermen and anglers succeed on the water through authoritative fishing maps and social sharing. Think of it as the “Waze” of Fishing.
- LEIF Tech is the world’s only electric skateboard that moves like a snowboard. LEIF brings to the pavement those smooth sideways moves that you can only get on a mountain or a wave – for up to 20mph and with 8 miles of riding range per swappable battery pack.
- Rookies makes it easy to create, print and share fully customized baseball cards via physical cards or virtual ones trades through social media channels. With 1,000,000 cards printed in their first year, they spare no detail in creating packs of physical baseball cards that rival the ones you opened as kids.
- Winning Identity is a customizable software platform that strives to be the easy button for golf. Through their partnerships with Golf Channel, Golf Channel Academy and others, they maximize athletic performance and heighten motivation for new generations of golfers in one centralized location.
Disclosure note: I am on the Advisory Board for Stadia Ventures.