Weekly Demo Day Recap
Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars 2024 Demo Day
While scouting for Demo Days this week, I stumbled upon something that got my sports-loving heart racing: the Minnesota Twins teamed up with Techstars to start an accelerator program.
This isn’t just another accelerator. It’s the first of its kind in Minnesota sports and only the second to be fully operated and funded by a Major League Baseball club, carving out a unique path in the sports world.
On February 15th, 2024, the third cohort of The Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars celebrated their Demo Day.
As a lifelong sports fan, I couldn’t resist diving into the pitches of these ten startups shaking up the world of sports, media, and live entertainment.
Pitching Founders
Huck Sorock from Refr Sports
- Refr Sports simplifies referee management with a user-friendly platform that incorporates gig economy principles to alleviate referee shortages and streamline operations.
Dr. Mosely from The Playbook
- An award-winning trademarked approach to track, treat, & improve overall well-being and performance for athletes & individuals that are operating at the highest level. Our team has developed a proven system utilized across thousands of athletes, coaches and support staff; and we’d like to build it for scale.
Adam Rosa from Cup Carrier Media Corp.
- Cup Carrier Media helps advertisers improve engagement with better consumer insights using our unique Portable Billboard drink carriers and connected digital tools.
Prashanth Pollishetty from SportsVision_ai
- SportsVision AI is revolutionizing the sports industry by providing an AI-driven analytics platform that empowers athletes, coaches, and teams to unlock their full athletic potential. We offer "Limitless Analytics for Mastering Performance," delivering personalized, results-driven insights for optimized training and game-winning strategies.
Chloe Sweden from Lowr
- We help spectator sports clubs lower their overall carbon emissions by tracking previously difficult to measure fan emissions from travel and consumption and actively reward fans for taking action to reduce their personal impact.
Mitch Thompson from PandoPartner
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- PandoPartner is bringing sponsorship into modern times with a SaaS platform that enables administrative efficiencies, analytics and insights, collaboration, and turnkey transactions.
Ernesto Pedroza from PromoShare
- PromoShare enables the sports & entertainment world to incentivize the creation of fan-generated content to drive in-market engagement & revenue.
Mark Grenader from Reifi
- A financial marketplace that helps pro sports teams mitigate the financial risk of player underperformance and increase fan engagement by allowing fans to invest in their favorite athletes and earn a return based on how those athletes perform.
Keith Presley from GUDEA
- Dis/Misinformation spreads uninhibited online, costing organizations and companies millions of dollars in monetary and reputational harm. By mapping how information spreads in real time across communication channels, we apply AI/ML to recognize patterns that predict virality and proliferation, allowing for immediate action.
Meredith Englund from Camperoni
- Camperoni is building a digital Family Admin platform that will take over kid-related administrative tasks, so parents can stop acting as their kids' assistants. We're starting with managing kids' camps, sports and activities, because it's overwhelming, time consuming, and emotionally fraught.
Key Takeaways
- Legacy Systems: With so much money in sports, it’s shocking how many businesses still rely on legacy systems. This is where the opportunity lies, and it's exciting to see these companies bringing fresh innovation to the field.
- Subscription Models: I’m not usually a fan of subscription models, but I have to admit—they’re a proven way to make money, and several of these companies are making them work.
- Big Money in Sports: These startups are aiming for a piece of an industry that’s worth over $1 trillion. It’s no small game.
- Crowd Passion: Whether it was the sports focus or just the energy in the room, the crowd was all in—cheering on the speakers and celebrating their success.
Investment
What stood out most was the team they’ve assembled. Just like in sports, I’m all about bringing proven winners on board—this group has helped over 65 teams win championships. They know what it takes to succeed, and I’m betting they’ll bring that winning mindset to The Playbook.
Watch the full recording here.