🚀🏃♂️ From Competition to Creation: Lessons in Sports and Startups 🏆💼 Reflecting on my experiences in sports competitions and the business world, there are a few parallels between pushing limits on the track and navigating the complexities of running a startup. Key parallels include: 🏋️ Preparation: Just as I trained for competitions, launching a startup required utmost readiness through learning, strategizing, and adapting. 🗺️ Navigating Challenges: Progress in both realms involved facing initial highs, enduring setbacks, and recalibrating strategies to stay the course. ⚡ Energy and Fitness: Maintaining an active lifestyle fuels the energy and focus to create a positive feedback loop of productivity. 🌱 Embracing Growth: Both arenas demand time and dedication for continuous improvement, and shortcuts should be avoided. I believe that perseverance, strategic thinking, and a balance between physical and mental well-being are essential for sustained success and fulfillment 🌟💪 https://lnkd.in/gzk2GeGR #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Sports #Perseverance

🏆 Ready to make the leap from athlete to entrepreneur? Apply now for The Athlete Incubator’s 2024 cohort and redefine success off the field. Reach out to our wonderful Chief of Staff Carmen Taylor for application material. HOW CAN THE Athlete Incubator HELP YOU WITH YOUR STARTUP? One of the key goals of the Athlete Incubator is to help athletes build "fundable" businesses. This means not only developing innovative products or services but also crafting compelling business models and investment pitches. Athletes learn to articulate their vision and value proposition, making them attractive prospects for investors who recognize the unique blend of skills and influence they bring to the business world. Above all, the Athlete Incubator empowers athlete-entrepreneurs to take control of their futures. By nurturing their entrepreneurial spirit, providing expert guidance, and fostering a culture of innovation, this program enables athletes to transition seamlessly from their sports careers to successful business ventures. It's not just about building businesses; it's about empowering athletes to become leaders, innovators, and influencers in their respective industries. #AthleteLeadership #EntrepreneurialExcellence #nbalaunchpad #nflpa #nbpa #startupfounder #sportstech #nameimageandlikeness #venturecapital #privateequity #drypowder #siliconvalley #highgrowthtech #angelinvestor #accreditedinvestor #impactinvestor #termsheet #seedstagestartup #pitchdeck #TheAthleteIncubator#2024Cohort #studentathlete #athletebranding #AthleteFounder

Building Your #Brand from Scratch - Hey #Founders! Ever wondered how to transform your #startup into a powerful brand? 🚀 Here’s a quick rundown of some tips to get you started: Define Your Core Message: Know your ‘why’ and make sure it resonates with your #audience. Understand Your Audience: Dive deep into who they are and what they need. Develop a Strong Visual Identity: Create a look that speaks volumes about your brand. Create Valuable #Content: #Educate, #entertain, and #inspire with your content. #Engage and Measure: Stay connected with your audience and track your progress. Curious to dive deeper into each step? Head over to our detailed post on Connectclub for the full scoop! 🌟 👉 Read more on Connectclub - https://lnkd.in/d5Peexb4 Let’s build something amazing together! #StartupJourney #BrandBuilding #Connectclub #Entrepreneurship #MarketingTips

There is a lot in common between growing an early stage startup, and endurance sports. 1. The self-talk. During an ultra you always talk yourself into pushing one more mile, one more step, one more summit. You don’t know what’s after it, and how much more you are able to endure. But this is what startups and sports about - not knowing if you can make it, but still pushing, because fuck it, I can. 2. A guaranteed fuck-up. You will absolutely positively fuck something up. Will eat something wrong and stick with nausea for couple of hours. Will forget to change socks and end up with huge blisters. Forget the food you need. Will run out of water in the middle of nowhere. Startups are the same. You will fuck up a lot of things, and there’s no need to try not to. You will, and the idea is to solve problems on the go, to fix the plane in the middle of a flight. 3. Readiness to DNF. Did Not Finish — a fear of every runner. Startups are the same — you can DNF at some point, and odds are against you, so just be prepared. 4. Multitasking. You think about different things at the same time: route, water, food, your energy, physical feed, emotional state, weather, time. If you loose track of something — chances are you will have a problem with that in the future. The same goes with startups: product updates, testing, feedbacks, new leads, retention, fundraising, cashflow, support — everything is a priority, you don't have enough cash to delegate, but still have to do everything. So just stick to it as long as possible. I can add a lot more, but you got the point. Every time I run 50-60-70K trails, I think about this stuff, and it helps me figure out how to approach startup problems. Will see what it takes to run 100 miles. Maybe it's like growing to Series A.

Athletes bring more to startups than brand awareness. College and professional athletes can also add value to startups through: 1. Market Insights → Providing firsthand knowledge of the athlete consumer and surrounding trends. 2. Business Development → Facilitating partnerships via a network of athletes, agents, teams, and leagues. 3. Fundraising → Assisting in fundraising via a network of HNWIs, athlete-investors, and personal capital. Just to name a few areas. This heightened value proposition has prompted players to seek a seat at the table in the companies they partner with by taking on advisory roles. Learn more about Athlete & Startup Partnerships ➡️: https://lnkd.in/e2j3Q9c9 #LinkedInSports

Since the rise of the endorsement era startups have been partering with athletes to build brand awareness for their products. Then in the 2010’s talent and mindsets evolved. 📽Athletes started to tell their own stories, and built media companies to grow their brands beyond the jersey. And in the 2020’s this grew ten-fold. 📱Younger athletes with massive social followings have been building creator-versions of a media company. Generation by generation, the athletes brand continues to increase in value for startups. Learn more about the future of startups and athlete content in this week's New Game Labs report ➡️: https://lnkd.in/enGg7-zt #LinkedInSports #SportsTech

Here is a simple event format that works: - Mix sports and business - Heavily curate the list of attendees (e.g. founders & investors) - Add some fun elements - Work with partners who support the event for the long run - Keep it simple That's it. This is the format I used for the Startup Padel Tour, which is happening on the 18th of June. It is completely sold out for the 4th consecutive year and thanks to our long term partners Cocoroco.com and Deel we keep improving on the format, the group and the fun. What type of companies are joining... you might wonder? Well, you'll find founders from the likes of Alleo, Billy Grace, BOLDKING, WASTELESS, CarePay International, Crisp, HelloPrint, OpenUp, Payaut, pr.co, Settly, Trengo, Cocoroco.com, Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀, Deel, Keen Venture Partners, No Such Ventures, Facilitee, TechNative BV, Slingshot Ventures, Whoppah, Tiqets, ENTER, Curiosity VC, @maven11, DFF (Dutch Founders Fund) and more... Overheard last year: "The quality of the people is far greater than the level of the game" and that's exactly how we like it. A shoutout to Merch by Helloprint for providing some awesome swag (ping Sebastiaan Roebroek if you're looking for high quality merch and great service). P.S. if you want to drop by and grab a drink while conversing with founders and investors you can RSVP via the link in the comments.

Ever try explaining 'product-market fit' at a family dinner? Let's just say my grandma now thinks it's a new type of yoga pose. 🤣 This innocent mix-up is more than just comic relief; it's a reminder. An echo of the wise old principle: If you can't break down your startup jargon for grandma, maybe it's too jumbled up. Enter the 'Grandma Pitch'. 🎙️ Flashback to 2019, Startupfest Montreal (How did I bag a free ticket? That’s a chuckle-worthy tale for later 🎟️). The hottest challenge? The Grandmother's Choice Award! Entrepreneurs, me included, tried selling their big ideas to grandmas. The golden rule? If grandma gets it, everyone will! Here's the tea: If we can't make our techie talk clear to grandma, are we even doing it right? No more mistaking startup lingo for yoga or... TikTok dances? Tech pals, let's keep it breezy and jargon-free. Because nailing a pitch might just start with making Grandma smile! 😊 #marketing #growthmarketing #startuppitch