The Profluence Pod 🌐

A former rugby player himself, Dugald Macdonald wanted to connect the worlds of sport and data. He co-founded Sportable in 2015 alongside NASA engineer Dr. Peter Husemeyer.

Sportable specializes in designing and implementing cutting-edge data collection technology – enabling fans to see inside the play. They started by adding chips inside rugby balls and have expanded to additional verticals over the years.

8 years since its inception, Sportable is a global startup with over 70 employees.

Chapters:

(02:40) Creation story of Sportable

(07:15) Athletes and performance analytics

(12:30) Process from chip in the ball to the end user

(16:25) Challenges of scaling a global sports company

(18:05) Size of Sportable currently and the niche approach

(21:00) Sports trends to watch

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Dugald Macdonald links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dugald-macdonald-29a4ab75/

Website: https://www.sportable.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

TeamSnap is one of the largest sports technology companies in North America and Peter Frintzilas is leading the charge after Waud Capital purchased TeamSnap in 2020.

Founded in 2009, TeamSnap has over 24 million coaches, administrators, players, and parents that rely on their solutions for communication, scheduling, payment collection, registration, real-time game sharing, and more.

With NIL commercializing sports from top to bottom, TeamSnap is looking to capture the lag effect as it moves downstream.

Chapters:

(01:00) Private equity vs venture capital

(03:50) Role of an operating CEO

(07:15) Overcoming the challenges of building a company remotely

(09:40) Waud Capital’s interest in sports technology investments

(15:55) NIL and its impact on youth sports + LeagueSide acquisition

(17:30) B2B vs B2C in sports

(21:50) Youth sports market size & participation numbers

(25:45) Trends to watch in sports

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Peter Frintzilas links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterfrintzilas/

Website: https://www.teamsnap.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

(02:00) Business of Athletes: 

- Giannis Antetokounmpo now owns two pros teams, Naomi Osaka invests in Ramen noodles and more athlete investment stories including NBA players putting money in canned-milk

(11:00) NIL/College Sports:

- the first-ever lifetime deal in NIL history (but is it legit?)

(14:10) Sports Business

- sports tech investing is picking back up including the first-ever VC-backed pickleball company and Alex Rodriguez taking on TicketMaster with his new company 

Thanks for listening! Make sure to share with anyone who might garner value from this podcast. 

AI video cameras/software is exploding across the globe and Patrik Olsson is at the forefront of it at Spiideo.

Patrik was previously a Vice President at Sony (where he helped pioneer Bluetooth technology).

You’ll enjoy this episode as we discuss AI, the evolution of sports cameras, and the growing sports tech industry.

Chapters:

(00:55) Pioneering Bluetooth technology (& difficulties with hardware products)

(04:50) Where the idea for Spiideo stemmed from

(07:50) Starting in niche markets

(10:40) Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs & Patrik’s non-scalable trick

(11:50) Scaling Spiideo globally

(13:30) Competitive landscape Veo vs Spiideo vs Pixellot vs Hudl

(18:05) Rapid rise of artificial intelligence

(20:15) How sports tech is transforming the industry

(25:05) AI impacting sports (and the world)

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Patrik Olsson links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/podata

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polsson/?originalSubdomain=se

Website: https://www.spiideo.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

Vinit Bharara is a successful entrepreneur having founded and sold multiple companies:

Vin is business partners with the owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves (Marc Lore and MLB legend Alex Rodriguez).

You’ll enjoy this episode as we discuss Mojo and other sports + entrepreneurship topics.

Chapters:

(01:05) Vinit’s entrepreneurial background

(02:00) How do you find co-founders?

(04:15) Why now is the time to build in sports?

(06:30) Differences in raising $100M vs. typical seed round

(09:40) Backstory of Mojo (a stock market for athletes)

(11:50) Marketing tactics and CAC/LTV

(16:10) Expansion and future initiatives (micro betting/media)

(23:40) Insider trading and the rise of alternative asset platforms

(29:20) Sports trends to watch

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Vinit Bharara links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vinitbharara

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinit-bharara-2302306/

Website: https://www.mojo.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

Sitting on an audience of over 2.5M followers after graduating from Oregon, Adam Faris is thinking bigger than just content.

He is a co-founder of Dapper Life, which is the holding company of his various business endeavors all stemming from short-form content.

Sports creators are much more than video personalities behind the scenes.

Chapters:

(03:25) Some of Adam’s cool projects

(05:05) How he got started creating sports content

(08:00) Business behind influencers/creators

(14:40) Content creation for athletes (and Jon Seaton example)

(17:20) Tricks of successful content creators

(21:00) Creators Adam Faris looks up to

(23:20) Top platforms for content creation (YT vs TT vs IG vs etc)

(26:10) Future initiatives for Dapper Life & Adam

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Adam Faris links:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adampfaris?lang=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampfaris/

Website: https://www.teamdapper.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

When NIL went live in July 2021, Sean Clifford didn’t just sign endorsement deals – he created an agency, Limitless NIL, to help other players maximize their name, image, and likeness.

Sean Clifford finished his career at Penn State as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in school history.

In early 2023, Limitless NIL was acquired in a multi-million dollar deal by TEAM Group Holdings.

Chapters:

(01:55) Artificial intelligence and ChatGPT

(04:30) Penn State, Rose Bowl, & his brother Liam Clifford

(07:55) Where college sports is headed + an inside look at NIL

(17:15) Creating, scaling, and exiting Limitless NIL

(26:00) What working with a college athlete looks like

(29:15) Learning curves from athlete to entrepreneur

(30:40) Athletes taking equity over endorsements

(33:20) Future initiatives for Sean Clifford and Limitless NIL

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Sean Clifford links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seancliff14

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-clifford-79a064161/

Website: https://www.limitlessnil.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

Tracy Deforge is building The Player’s Impact, along with being on the board of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and USA Handball. A decorated sports leader, she has seen sports transform into a massive enterprise.

The Player’s Impact (TPI) is a group comprised of both active and retired professional athletes who come together as a collective to build relationships, get educated, and invest in private companies.

6 years since their inception, they’ve deployed over $17M in capital and had a huge return on their investment in DraftKings.

Chapters:

(01:30) The role of athlete influencers (and how players view it)

(04:40) Creation of The Player’s Impact and its shift over time

(07:50) NIL’s impact on female sports and youth athletics

(14:25) Missteps athletes make in business

(16:25) A shifting agency model in sports

(20:35) What are athletes looking for in investment opportunities?

(24:30) Rise in new sports leagues (and what makes them successful)

(26:40) Importance of athlete investors in sports leagues

(27:50) What kept Tracy in sports her whole career

(29:20) Where are sports headed and what trends to watch

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Tracy Deforge links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracydeforge/

Website: https://www.theplayersimpact.com/

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!

Ben DiNucci is a professional football player, playing 2.5 years for the Dallas Cowboys and now for the Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL.

DiNucci is also a co-founder of True Brvnd, where they created the original upside-down Dallas hat. 

Chapters:

(02:40) Becoming an NFL quarterback

(06:25) HBO Hardknocks

(08:15) Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Sea Dragons

(11:05) Typical day for a pro-QB (offseason vs in-season)

(13:45) Business and expenses of an NFL player

(17:40) Signing day bonus purchases + taxes

(21:05) Founding story of True Brvnd

(24:40) Expanding into new cities

(26:50) Athletes as entrepreneurs

(29:40) XFL back to the NFL

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Ben DiNucci links:

Website: https://truebrvnd.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/B_DiNucci6

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bdinucci/?hl=en

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Andrew Petcash links:

🏠 Website: https://profluence.com

✉️ Newsletter: https://www.petcashpost.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrewpetcash

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewpetcash

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewpetcash

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewpetcash

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetcash/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3q5jhAuCVT2FZCkLW5xBiQ/

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Thanks for listening!