JaneWallStreet: At The Table

On this episode of JaneWallStreet Presents: At The Table, JaneWallStreet Executive Chair Deirdre Lester sits down with ATHLOS Acting President Kayla Green to discuss the future of women's sports, building a modern sports property from scratch, and creating new commercial opportunities for athletes and brands.

The conversation explores ATHLOS' approach to gender-neutral branding, its athlete-first sponsorship model, going all-in on live events at the intersection of sports & culture, and how lessons from esports and creator culture are helping the company build fandom at scale.

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In the fourth episode of JaneWallStreet’s At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with her former colleague, Barstool Sports’ first CEO, and co-founder of Mule Media Erika Ayers Badan.

Badan reflects on her unconventional rise through the internet economy — from early roles at Fidelity, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL to leading Barstool Sports through a period of explosive growth that transformed the company into one of the most influential media entities of the 21st century. She shares lessons from scaling Barstool from 12 employees to more than 400, growing revenue over 5,000%, and why building authentic communities mattered more than chasing vanity metrics.

The conversation then dives into Badan’s newest venture, Mule Media, a "community company" combining Work Like a Girl and The Local Moms Network. She explains why trust, connection, and localized communities are becoming the most valuable assets in a world flooded with AI-generated content.

Lester and Badan also explore the growing influence of moms and professional women as decision-makers, why emerging leagues need to focus less on television deals and more on building deeply engaged communities, and why the next generation of internet businesses will be built on “a lot of smalls” instead of mega-celebrities.

In the fourth episode of JaneWallStreet’s At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with her former colleague, Barstool Sports’ first CEO, and co-founder of Mule Media Erika Ayers Badan.

Badan reflects on her unconventional rise through the internet economy — from early roles at Fidelity, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL to leading Barstool Sports through a period of explosive growth that transformed the company into one of the most influential media entities of the 21st century. She shares lessons from scaling Barstool from 12 employees to more than 400, growing revenue over 5,000%, and why building authentic communities mattered more than chasing vanity metrics.

The conversation then dives into Badan’s newest venture, Mule Media, a "community company" combining Work Like a Girl and The Local Moms Network. She explains why trust, connection, and localized communities are becoming the most valuable assets in a world flooded with AI-generated content.

Lester and Badan also explore the growing influence of moms and professional women as decision-makers, why emerging leagues need to focus less on television deals and more on building deeply engaged communities, and why the next generation of internet businesses will be built on “a lot of smalls” instead of mega-celebrities.

In the third episode of JaneWallStreet's At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with Head of Fubo Studios and Fubo Sports Network, Pamela Duckworth.

Duckworth traces her unconventional path from signing on at a public broadcasting station at 5:30 AM in college (even if she was out until 4:30 AM!) to producing live NASCAR coverage, building QVC from an empty warehouse in the mid 80s, putting on the star-studded DirecTV Beach Bowl with guests including Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian, and eventually landing at Fubo — where she launched a female-founded sports network in just three months.

She breaks down how Fubo Sports Network became one of the earliest and most aggressive players in FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV), what it actually takes to program a live sports channel profitably, and how a late-night experiment with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) turned into a minority ownership stake for the company.

Duckworth also pulls back the curtain on Fubo Studios — the in-house production arm that co-produced Evolution of the Black Quarterback with SMAC Entertainment which earned an Emmy nomination and hit number one on Amazon — and shares her philosophy on leadership in a fast-moving, relationship-driven industry where, as she puts it, “you don't have to be the smartest person in the room.”

In the third episode of JaneWallStreet's At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with Head of Fubo Studios and Fubo Sports Network, Pamela Duckworth.

Duckworth traces her unconventional path from signing on at a public broadcasting station at 5:30 AM in college (even if she was out until 4:30 AM!) to producing live NASCAR coverage, building QVC from an empty warehouse in the mid 80s, putting on the star-studded DirecTV Beach Bowl with guests including Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian, and eventually landing at Fubo — where she launched a female-founded sports network in just three months.

She breaks down how Fubo Sports Network became one of the earliest and most aggressive players in FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV), what it actually takes to program a live sports channel profitably, and how a late-night experiment with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) turned into a minority ownership stake for the company.

Duckworth also pulls back the curtain on Fubo Studios — the in-house production arm that co-produced Evolution of the Black Quarterback with SMAC Entertainment which earned an Emmy nomination and hit number one on Amazon — and shares her philosophy on leadership in a fast-moving, relationship-driven industry where, as she puts it, “you don't have to be the smartest person in the room.”

In the second episode of JaneWallStreet's At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Head of Sports Julie Souza. Julie outlines how data and technology are quietly reshaping the business of sports beyond the broadcast booth. She pointed to the NFL’s overhaul of its kickoff rule as a case study in data-informed decision-making delivering measurable results. Julie draws a clear boundary around the role of innovation in the live fan experience, arguing that immersive technologies such as virtual reality risk undermining the communal appeal that defines in-person events. Julie also reflects on leadership lessons learned over her career in this wide-ranging and engaging discussion.

In the second episode of JaneWallStreet's At The Table podcast, host Deirdre Lester sits down with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Head of Sports Julie Souza. Julie outlines how data and technology are quietly reshaping the business of sports beyond the broadcast booth. She pointed to the NFL’s overhaul of its kickoff rule as a case study in data-informed decision-making delivering measurable results. Julie draws a clear boundary around the role of innovation in the live fan experience, arguing that immersive technologies such as virtual reality risk undermining the communal appeal that defines in-person events. Julie also reflects on leadership lessons learned over her career in this wide-ranging and engaging discussion.

The business of sports is evolving — and so are the models behind it.

In this episode, Deirdre Lester sits down with Stephanie Alger, Chief Growth Officer at League One Volleyball, for a conversation on what it actually takes to build a modern sports league from the ground up.

From capital formation and ownership structure to youth-to-pro ecosystems and long-term sustainability, Stephanie shares how League One Volleyball is rethinking the traditional league model — and what it signals for the future of women’s sports. This is a discussion about more than growth — it’s about building infrastructure, aligning incentives, and creating lasting enterprise value in a rapidly changing landscape.

About Stephanie Alger

Stephanie Alger is a sports executive and dealmaker focused on building sustainable sports leagues for the next generation. As Chief Growth Officer at League One Volleyball, she leads ownership expansion, capital formation, and league strategy across the professional and youth ecosystem, helping drive more than $150 million in capital commitments and team transactions.

Prior to returning to sports, Stephanie spent two decades in finance and private equity at Bank of America and Vista Equity Partners, where she led large-scale global businesses, including oversight of the Equity Derivatives, Swaps, and Prime Brokerage platforms. She serves on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Performance Innovation Advisory Committee, is Audit Chair of USA Taekwondo, and is actively involved with multiple nonprofit organizations.

Episode 1: Building the Next Generation of Sports Leagues with Stephanie Alger

The business of sports is evolving — and so are the models behind it. In this episode, Deirdre Lester sits down with Stephanie Alger, Chief Growth Officer at League One Volleyball, for a conversation on what it actually takes to build a modern sports league from the ground up.

From capital formation and ownership structure to youth-to-pro ecosystems and long-term sustainability, Stephanie shares how League One Volleyball is rethinking the traditional league model — and what it signals for the future of women’s sports.

This is a discussion about more than growth — it’s about building infrastructure, aligning incentives, and creating lasting enterprise value in a rapidly changing landscape.

About Stephanie Alger

Stephanie Alger is a sports executive and dealmaker focused on building sustainable sports leagues for the next generation. As Chief Growth Officer at League One Volleyball, she leads ownership expansion, capital formation, and league strategy across the professional and youth ecosystem, helping drive more than $150 million in capital commitments and team transactions.

Prior to returning to sports, Stephanie spent two decades in finance and private equity at Bank of America and Vista Equity Partners, where she led large-scale global businesses, including oversight of the Equity Derivatives, Swaps, and Prime Brokerage platforms. She serves on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Performance Innovation Advisory Committee, is Audit Chair of USA Taekwondo, and is actively involved with multiple nonprofit organizations.