The Profluence Pod 🌐

Stanislas Marchand is the co-founder and CEO of Rocapine. He brings a sharp, growth-oriented perspective to consumer tech, having started his career in strategy consulting before entering mobile gaming at Voodoo, the publishing powerhouse behind hit titles with over 7 billion downloads. After years of mastering product mechanics and user retention in mobile entertainment, Stanislas realized he wanted to shift his focus from pure engagement toward long-term human impact, leading him to co-found Paris-based Rocapine alongside Jean-Gabriel Boinot-Tramoni and Sammy Teillet to redefine our relationship with technology.

Today, Stanislas is applying high-velocity growth frameworks to digital health and digital well-being. Rocapine is an AI-native wellness venture studio and publisher building consumer apps designed to "hold instead of hook", aligning business incentives with real user value rather than ad-driven screen addiction. By adapting the mobile gaming playbook to test hundreds of app concepts per year, implementing subscription models, and pairing AI automation with human design craft, Rocapine achieved $6M (€5.1M) in ARR within nine months of launch and recently secured an €11.2M ($13M) Series A led by Educapital.

Stanislas explores how tech can be engineered for human flourishing rather than brain rot. They unpack Rocapine’s internal mechanics for prototyping apps in less than a day, one hit reaching $1M ARR in just 16 days, the plan to scale to 400 apps tested per year, and the shift from attention metrics to 30-day value retention. Stanislas also shares his vision for reaching 40 million lives, building privacy-first encrypted wellness products, and what founders can learn about scaling consumer tech in an AI-driven era.

Podcast Chapters:

01:15 Stan's Journey: From Strategy Consulting to Wellness Apps

03:25 The Playbook for Rapid Growth and User Engagement

09:04 Iterative Model: Finding Product-Market Fit

12:48 Structuring the Venture Studio: App Studio vs. Publisher

15:55 Measuring Time Well Spent: Beyond Subscriptions

19:24 Leveraging AI for Personalization and Data Privacy

22:36 Governance and Security in App Development

25:58 Investor Insights: Traction vs. System

28:49 Exit Strategies and Long-Term Vision

John Willi is President of Accelerate Sports Ventures; John brings a uniquely holistic perspective to sports business, boasting a diverse career that spans every tier of the industry. From rolling up his sleeves as a young GM in minor league baseball and driving collegiate media rights at IMG College, to handling corporate partnerships for the New York Jets and advising World Cup host committees with Playfly, John has spent decades connecting with audiences from the grassroots to the global stage.

Today, John is leveraging that deep experience to scale Accelerate Holdings across the collegiate and high school sectors. While Accelerate's collegiate arms focus on NIL consultancy and alternative revenue generation, John leads Accelerate Media, a division dedicated to professionalizing the high school landscape. By executing regional market rollups, building premium broadcast networks like the Super Football Conference Network, and embedding revenue-share models that fund local scholarships, his team is unlocking a massive, historically fragmented market.

John unpacks the untapped potential of a high school sports industry that draws 500 million attendees annually. They dive into the strategy behind building localized, college-style media networks, how high schools are competing against the travel club circuit, and the mechanics of structuring deals through school district red tape. Finally, they discuss the critical responsibility of commercializing youth sports while protecting the amateur experience, highlighting the growing need for athlete education, mental health resources, and keeping the game fun.

Podcast Chapters:

02:39 John Willi’s Journey in Sports Management

05:19 Understanding Accelerate Media's Role in High School Sports

07:51 Strategic Approaches to High School Sports Media

10:42 The Impact of Club Sports on High School Athletics

13:16 Structuring Partnerships and Revenue Models

15:52 The Success of the Super Football Conference

18:54 Cross-Pollination of Opportunities within Accelerate

21:39 Future Trends in High School Sports Media

24:09 Challenges and Responsibilities in Youth Sports

26:48 Engaging Diverse Audiences in Sports Broadcasting

Sandy Ogg is the CEO of Curve Sports, a company partnering with elite youth baseball organizations to help them scale through capital, operational support, and shared best practices. Before launching Curve Sports, Sandy spent decades leading and advising some of the world's most influential organizations, serving as an Operating Partner at Blackstone, Chief Human Resources Officer at Unilever, and Chairman of Nord Anglia Education, one of the largest premium education groups globally.

Rather than acquiring and rebranding youth sports organizations, Curve Sports partners with club owners, allowing them to retain their identity while gaining access to capital, operational expertise, and a nationwide network of elite operators. The company's long-term vision is to build a connected ecosystem of premier baseball organizations that creates better opportunities for athletes, families, and club leaders alike.

In this conversation, Sandy shares why youth sports represents one of the biggest untapped investment opportunities in sports, how Curve Sports is building a new model for consolidating travel baseball, why leadership matters more than financial engineering, and how the intersection of education, athletics, and long-term athlete development is shaping the future of youth sports.

Keith Zubchevich is the President and CEO of Conviva, where he leads the company at the intersection of agentic AI, real-time analytics, and digital customer experience. After nearly two decades with Conviva, including serving as Chief Strategy Officer, Keith has helped build one of the leading platforms for measuring how consumers actually experience digital products, enabling businesses to optimize performance, reduce friction, and improve outcomes at scale.Before joining Conviva, Keith held senior leadership roles at Riverbed Technology and Cisco. Throughout his career, he has focused on helping organizations use technology to make better decisions, improve customer experiences, and drive measurable business results. Today, he is one of the leading voices on how AI is transforming digital businesses and why measuring AI performance is becoming just as important as building it.Keith explains why today's AI agents are more like toddlers than trusted employees, why an 80% success rate is unacceptable for customer-facing AI, and how businesses should think about deploying, measuring, and improving agentic AI systems. He also shares insights on the future of digital experiences, the importance of real-time analytics, and what leaders need to understand as AI becomes embedded into every customer interaction.Podcast Chapters:00:59 Keith's Journey in Technology and Conviva02:22 The Importance of Measuring Experience in Streaming04:58 The Complexity of Live Event Streaming08:53 Navigating AI and Productivity in Business11:56 Quality of Experience and Fan Engagement14:33 Personalization through AI in Sports Viewing17:42 Structuring Data for AI Insights18:08 The Importance of Structured Data in AI20:20 Consumer Efficiency and the Future of AI23:43 Personal Experiences with AI26:22 Educating the Market on Agentic AI29:49 Continuous Learning and Personal Growth32:06 Lessons from Childhood and the Human Experience

JM Arseneau is a serial entrepreneur, operational leader, and Co-Founder of Winya, an AI platform helping sports organizations transform customer data into automated revenue-generating actions. With more than two decades of experience building and scaling technology companies, JM has successfully led multiple businesses through growth and acquisition while specializing in operations, artificial intelligence, and business performance.

Before launching Winya, JM served as Chief Operating Officer at Globalia, where he helped drive hyper-growth by building scalable operational systems, leading multidisciplinary teams, and integrating AI into business processes. His background spans software, RevOps, digital transformation, and enterprise technology, giving him a unique perspective on how organizations can turn strategy into execution.

In this conversation, JM shares why the next era of AI is shifting from collecting data to making intelligent decisions and taking action. He explains how Winya is helping sports teams automate revenue opportunities, strengthen fan engagement, and optimize operations across ticketing, sponsorships, retail, and entertainment districts. The discussion also covers entrepreneurship, building lasting co-founder relationships, lessons from multiple successful exits, and where agentic AI will create the biggest opportunities across the sports industry over the coming years.

Podcast Chapters:

02:34 Entrepreneurial Journey and Co-Founder Dynamics

05:20 The Shift from Data Collection to Execution

07:38 Introducing Winya: The Agentic AI Platform

10:23 Building AI Agents and Team Dynamics

13:08 Job Security and Workforce Transition in AI

15:39 The Spotlight Effect of AI on Performance

17:58 Navigating the AI Startup Landscape

20:38 Funding Strategies and Market Positioning

Rick Wolf is founder of DraftNation 2026 and one of the early architects of the modern fantasy sports industry. Rick’s career traces back to IBM, where he worked on some of the first online fantasy baseball systems before the internet era, helping build foundational products for ESPN and later playing a key role in the rise of SportsLine, which evolved into CBS Sports. Over the decades, he went on to help scale and shape the fantasy ecosystem through RotoWorld (now NBC Sports Edge), Fantasy Alarm, and his long-standing involvement in industry leadership and advocacy through the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association.Rick brings a rare, full-stack perspective on fantasy sports, combining technical roots, media evolution, and industry governance. From programming early stat-based games in the late 80s to helping define how fantasy was structured, regulated, and commercialized, he has been at the center of almost every major shift in the space. Today, he is channeling that experience into DraftNation 2026, a live, in-person fantasy draft experience taking place at Circa Las Vegas, designed to bring leagues back together physically and turn draft day into a shared cultural moment.Rick explore the massive evolution of fantasy sports, from niche hobby to a 60+ million player global behavior and how it has reshaped fan engagement, media consumption, and even athlete identity. They dive into the rise of AI in fantasy decision-making, the shift toward player-centric fandom, and why live, in-person drafts are making a comeback in a digital-first world. The episode also unpacks DraftNation 2026 and the broader vision of turning fantasy draft day into a national celebration of sport, community, and competition.

Podcast Chapters:

02:58 The Evolution of Fantasy Sports and Its Mainstream Acceptance

05:49 Draft Nation 2026: A New Era of Fantasy Drafting

08:51 The Role of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association

12:10 Diverse Fantasy Formats and Community Engagement

15:01 The Impact of AI on Fantasy Sports

18:06 Emerging Trends in Fantasy Sports and New Leagues

20:57 The Future of Fantasy Sports and Generational Engagement

22:47 Changing Fan Dynamics: Player vs. Team Loyalty

24:38 The Rise of Player-Led Business Ventures

25:55 Celebrating Fantasy Football: A New National Holiday

28:43 Inclusivity in Fantasy Sports Events

32:18 The Fun Side of Fantasy: Punishments and Traditions

Dan Cataldi is the Founder and CEO of Groov, a footwear technology company reimagining how shoes fit by focusing on the part that matters most—the surface your foot actually stands on. Using AI-powered 3D foot scanning and proprietary surface optimization technology, Groove creates personalized insoles designed to improve comfort, stability, performance, and long-term foot health.

Before founding Groov, Dan was a Division I wrestler at Brown University, where he studied theoretical mathematics and poetry before beginning his career working alongside the founder and CEO of a Fortune 100 company. He later attended The Wharton School, where Groove was born through an innovation course and quickly gained momentum after winning the Penn Launch Award and securing Alabama Football as an early customer.

Today, Groov is trusted by professional athletes and organizations across the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and collegiate athletics, while also partnering with leading medical institutions to make personalized footwear more accessible. By leveraging AI and over 30,000 data points captured through a simple iPhone scan, Groov is challenging the century-old approach to shoe sizing and bringing custom footwear technology to everyday consumers.

Podcast Chapters:

03:35 The Problem with Traditional Footwear

06:58 The Evolution of Custom Insoles

10:47 Groov's Unique Approach to Footwear

13:59 The Importance of Custom Insoles for Young Athletes

17:47 Consumer Behavior and Groov's Market Strategy

21:30 The Future of Footwear and Customization

26:10 How to Get Started with Groov

Philip Hover-Smoot is the Founder and CEO of Atlas Cup, the company building the world's first professional sport in space. Atlas Cup will feature satellites racing head-to-head in low Earth orbit, creating an entirely new category of sports, entertainment, and competition beyond our planet.Before launching Atlas Cup, Philip spent over a decade in the defense and space industries, leading satellite, launch, and space technology initiatives worth billions of dollars. As a former space company CEO and attorney specializing in space operations and regulation, he brings a rare combination of technical expertise, business leadership, and vision to one of the most ambitious sports ventures ever attempted.In this conversation, Philip shares why he believes sports are the next major application layer for the growing space economy, how satellite racing could become the Formula 1 of orbit, and what it takes to build a professional sports league where the competition takes place hundreds of miles above Earth. He also discusses the future of commercial space, AI-powered competition, media opportunities in orbit, and why the first human race in space could become the most-watched sporting event in history.Podcast Chapters:02:41 The Journey from Concept to Reality05:51 Understanding the Mechanics of Space Racing08:33 The Role of Technology and Teams in Space Racing11:26 The Future of Sports in Space23:29 Exploring the Structure of Space Sports24:00 The Human Connection to Space and Sports25:03 Creating Emotional Connectivity in Space Racing27:11 The Drama and Risks of Space Racing29:54 Navigating Compliance in Space Sports35:15 The Future of Global Space Racing38:07 The Rise of Application Layers in Space Sports38:58 Continuous Learning in a Changing Landscape

Milton Lee is a former NBA executive, sports technology CEO, investor, and board member whose career spans professional sports, technology, and finance. Most recently, he served as CEO of Keemotion, leading the company through significant growth, mergers and acquisitions, and ultimately its acquisition by Sportradar ahead of the company's NASDAQ IPO.

Prior to Keemotion, Milton held numerous leadership roles across the sports industry, including serving on the boards of the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, and Onexim Sports & Entertainment. He also served as General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets' G-League affiliate and Chairman of the NBA G-League Basketball Rules Committee. With decades of experience operating at the highest levels of sports and technology, Milton brings a unique perspective on leadership, innovation, investing, and the future of the industry.

Milton shares lessons learned from building and scaling companies, what investors look for in founders, why grit remains one of the most important traits for long-term success, and how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are transforming the sports landscape. He also reflects on his journey from professional sports executive to technology CEO and investor, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs, operators, and leaders across the sports ecosystem.

Podcast Chapters:

01:04 Milton's Journey in Sports

03:04 Transition from Wall Street to Sports

04:39 Building Key Motion and Sports Tech

07:29 Networking and Alumni Influence

10:55 CEO Insights on Technology and Innovation

13:00 Guardrails Against Scope Creep

17:19 Emerging Trends in Sports Ownership

21:49 The Future of Football and Other Sports

25:07 Lifelong Participation in Sports

27:58 Investor Insights and Grit in Founders

Andy Sandler, Temerity Capital - The Art of Investing in Sports Teams Temerity Capital Partners is the Sandler family office and private investment company. Under the Temerity Capital umbrella is Temerity Baseball, which focuses on sports team ownership and real estate development. Temerity Baseball owns and operates three professional baseball teams: the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, and Lexington Legends. They are also minority investors in the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Sandler Family recently got into women's sports with their investment in the Columbus Fury, a Major League Volleyball team. Andy Sandler is a senior partner at Mitchell Sandler, founder of Asurity Advisors, and leads Temerity Capital. Andy previously founded and led the Buckley Sandler law firm and Treliant Risk Advisors, which he sold in 2017.

Podcast Chapters:

02:33 Investment Philosophy and Community Impact

05:18 Transitioning Minor League Ownership

08:00 Community Building in Sports

09:43 The Role of Community in Sports Ownership

12:27 Real Estate Development and Sports

14:07 Utilizing Stadiums Beyond Game Days

19:50 Technology and Shared Services in Sports Ownership

23:53 The Centralized League Model vs. Community Ownership

29:02 Evaluating Team Culture and Leadership

33:01 The Rise of Women's Sports

35:56 Investment Insights and Lessons Learned