Vasu Kulkarni is the founding Partner of Courtside Ventures, the leading venture capital fund focused on early-stage sports digital media, fitness/wellness, and e-sports/gaming companies. The $35M fund is backed by anchor investors Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rock Ventures, Quicken Loans, and majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as WPP, the world’s leading communication services company. Since launching Courtside Ventures in 2016, Courtside Ventures has invested in over 30 companies that are leading innovation across the sports and gaming industries. Some notable investments include Beam (acquired by Microsoft), Rebel (acquired by SalesForce), 100 Thieves, The Athletic, Freeletics, The Drone Racing League, FanAI, StockX, Players Lounge, LiveLike and ZenRez, among several others.

A lifelong sports fanatic, Vasu previously was the founder and CEO of Krossover, a sports analytics SaaS company that he founded out of his dorm room. The company built affordable data analytics and video search tools for sports teams at all levels. Vasu led the company from its inception in 2009 till its eventual acquisition in 2017 by Stack Sports, a Providence Equity and Genstar Capital backed software company. Vasu was recognized by Bloomberg as one of America’s top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25 in 2010, while also appearing in numerous publications discussing the use and future of technology in sports.

Vasu is also an avid angel investor, having invested in ~25 early stage companies across consumer products, insurance tech, SaaS, and food & beverage. Vasu played JV basketball for the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in computer engineering and entrepreneurship. He continues to be an avid pickup player, and can be found at the basketball courts of NYC, five days a week.

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Please enjoy this wildly entertaining episode with Vasu Kulkarni from Courtside Ventures.

Email – [email protected]

Twitter - @vasu