INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 07, 2021 – Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, is announcing the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy class of 2021. These 11 promising startups will partake in a 13-week mentorship-driven accelerator program beginning June 7, culminating with Demo Day on September 2 where they will showcase their progress to an expected audience of more than 500 investors from around the world.
The diverse group of founders selected for the class of 2021 come from around the world, including U.S. tech hubs like NYC, Denver and Salt Lake City, and often overlooked markets like Sacramento, Houston, Tampa Bay and Concord, NH, with a heavy international focus centered on the UK, with startups out of London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Belfast. The companies are shaping the future of the sports technology industry with their unique innovations in booming categories including NFTs, at-home fitness, sports media, sports data, fitness/wellness, robotics, artificial intelligence, team management, and ecommerce.
“Our program is a unique mechanism for innovative companies to gain traction and ultimately succeed in the broadly defined sports, media and entertainment industries,” said Jordan Fliegel, managing director at Techstars. “In finalizing this year’s class, we continued our global search for the best founders – with tremendous determination and vision – and teams working on the most timely and exciting subcategories within the overall sports and fitness ecosystems.”
The 2021 Class of the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy includes:
Curastory (NYC, NY) – Allows creators to shoot and edit high quality video, monetize shows, and distribute to all of their video channels, 100% free.
Flexia (Sacramento, CA) – A connected fitness company that provides a Pilates Reformer and online studio with patentable technology to be used at home.
Freeplay (Salt Lake City, UT) – A platform where independent fitness instructors teach in-person and online fitness classes, outside of a gym.
Grind (Houston, TX) – The first portable rebounding machine enabling optimal daily repetition to reach peak performance. Our software platform will give real-time feedback to players and coaches via their mobile device.
Kairos (Belfast, UK) – A communication solution for professional sports teams. Kairos is player focused and prioritizes clarity for athletes as well as offering significant time savings and efficiencies to staff members, administrators and coaches.
Own The Moment (Tampa Bay, FL) – OTM provides the content, tools, analytics and insights needed to build a community around collecting and investing in NFTs.
Launchpad (Denver, CO) – In-home, athletic training platform with AI coaching for young athletes. We enable youth athletes to have access to the equipment and interactive content that helps them train the right way.
LegitFit (Cork, Ireland) – Helps health and fitness professionals from first sale to scale. This online platform and multi-functional portal enables businesses to save time and increase earnings by up to $10,000 per year.
SportsIcon (London, UK) – An innovative NFT platform that allows sports enthusiasts to own part of the journey of their icons through limited edition digital collectibles.
PWRFWD (Concord, NH) – A marketplace that is pioneering the Athlete-to-Consumer industry by empowering athletes to connect with fans on a deeper level through their own custom-made products on a low-touch ecommerce platform.
PlayerData (Edinburgh, Scotland) – Bridges the gap between elite and amateur, creating professional level technology that’s accessible to everyone and revolutionizes the way individual athletes and teams train across multiple sports and platforms.
Throughout the three month accelerator entrepreneurs will work with the program’s nearly 200 highly respected mentors within the sports industry to refine their market strategy, better understand their customers, navigate obstacles in their path and accelerate the rate of progress through aggressive company goal-setting and accountability.
Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy is made possible by Founding Partners including the Next Level Fund/50 South Capital, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, NCAA, and Indiana Sports Corp, and Supporting Partners Indianapolis Colts, NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“We continue to be impressed with our Techstars partnership,” said Aaron Gillum, Senior Vice President in the Private Equity Group at 50 South Capital Advisors. “The team works with some of the best tech companies in the world to recruit, mentor and scale their businesses; building a vibrant sportstech ecosystem for our corporate partners and the greater Indianapolis region.”
“From the start, Techstars has been an important vehicle for Indiana’s sports industry to catalyze tech-based solutions through capital investment and mentorship,” said Steve Simon, Managing Partner/Co-Founder, Simon Equity Partners. “This public-private partnership has already fueled real innovation by entrepreneurs from around the world, and this year’s group will be just as exceptional. Pacers Sports & Entertainment is honored to be a founding partner in this incredible venture, and we can’t wait to meet and work alongside the rising stars of the 2021 accelerator class!”
“The NCAA is beyond excited to continue our partnership with Techstars and to work with this year’s class,” said Kathleen McNeely, NCAA Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer. “These companies are truly ground-breaking and are bringing new opportunities to the NCAA and its entire membership. We are thankful for this innovative program and are eager to get started with this cohort.”
“We had a vision as a community to grow our sports business ecosystem by harnessing the power of our sports organizations and tech business sector,” said Ryan Vaughn, President of Indiana Sports Corp. “What we needed to be successful was a partner who could recruit the best startup companies in the world and network and support them for success. Techstars has been a tremendous partner in helping us achieve these goals.”
For more information about the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy, visit www.techstars.com/accelerators/indy-sports.
About Techstars
The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas—entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,500 companies with a combined market cap of more than $209B. http://www.techstars.com