Sixteen Business Deals Reached by the Inaugural Class of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator, Powered by Boomtown
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator, powered by Boomtown, announced the participation of 10 startups that secured 16 pilot partnerships following a successful virtual Demo Day. The cohort was selected from over 1,000 applicants across 70 countries, providing founders with mentorship from industry leaders and training in critical business areas. The accelerator focuses on enhancing products and experiences within sports tech, aiming to foster new innovations for sports fans globally. Applications for the 2022 class are currently open.
- 10 startups secured 16 pilot partnerships, indicating strong market interest.
- Selected from over 1,000 applicants, showcasing the program's competitive nature.
- Founders received mentorship from experts in major sports organizations.
- Focused curriculum included essential business skills like fundraising and marketing.
- None.
The first annual Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator, powered by Boomtown Accelerators, today announced the 10 startups participating in the program earned 16 pilots or partnerships after showcasing their innovative solutions during this year’s virtual Demo Day. Several of the world’s leading venture capitalists, startup founders, business executives, media and other top decision-makers in the broader sports and technology community participated in the event, which is the culmination of a three-month, intensive program to help take the participants’ businesses and ideas to the next level.
This year’s cohort of startups, chosen from a pool of over one thousand applicants across 70 countries, worked with experts from Comcast NBCUniversal and Boomtown Accelerators, to sharpen their business models, gain valuable connections and insights, and refine pitches to potential investors and clients.
One of the unique factors of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator is that founders receive direct access to the accelerator’s illustrious partner consortium, which includes experts from NBC Sports, Sky Sports, Golf, Comcast Spectacor, NASCAR, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, USA Cycling, and USA Swimming. Each sports partner provides individualized mentorship to at least one startup throughout the Accelerator. This intimate connection helps founders form deeper industry relationships while developing an understanding for how their solutions address customer needs while more easily integrating into business operations.
“Sports, entertainment and technology are core to our businesses at Comcast NBCUniversal. This SportsTech accelerator helps us and our partners identify, improve and implement new products and experiences for sports fans and viewers around the world,” said Sam Schwartz, Chief Business Development Officer, Comcast Cable. “I’m so impressed with the creativity and determination these entrepreneurs bring to the business of sports and we’re proud to partner with these rising stars to help grow their businesses.”
Founders also participated in a custom curriculum focused on fundraising, sales, marketing and branding, product design, mental health, company culture, go to market strategy, and working at enterprise scale. They also met with seasoned startup founders who shared their insights on starting, growing, and selling highly successful businesses.
Jenna Kurath, Vice President, Startup Partner Development and Head of SportsTech, led the startup teams as they worked with industry leaders from Comcast NBCUniversal as well as strategic advisors from the Boomtown network and the partner consortium, including Will McIntosh, Executive Vice President, Digital and Sports Consumer Business, NBC Sports Group; Lora Dennis, Senior Vice President, Digital Media NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations; Steve McElwee, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Sports and Sports Consumer Business at NBC Sports; Craig Neeb, Chief Innovation Officer of NASCAR, Sam Ebb, Vice President, Business Strategy & Analytics, Comcast Spectacor; Troy Taylor, Director of High Performance, US Ski & Snowboard; Bouker Pool, Chief Commercial Officer, USA Cycling; and Jim Fox, Director of Partnership Marketing, USA Swimming.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, founders participated in the accelerator remotely from cities across the globe including Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Antonio, Toronto, and Geneva, Switzerland. In the future, each company will have the opportunity to work at Comcast NBCUniversal’s Central Division Innovation Center in Atlanta at Truist Park, which overlooks the Atlanta Braves stadium.
The Virtual Demo Day is at 5 p.m. ET today and can be accessed at https://demoday.comcastsportstech.com.
Applications are now open for the 2022 class. For those interested in applying to join the next Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator program and to learn more about the accelerator’s eight focus areas: media and entertainment, fan/player engagement, athlete/player performance, team and coach success, venue and event innovation, fantasy sports and betting, esports, and the business of sports, visit www.comcastsportstech.com.
Meet the 2021 class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator, powered by Boomtown:
Ane Swimwear - Atlanta, GA
Ane Swimwear designs advanced swimming apparel for diverse swimmers and aims to eliminate the barriers that keep people from enjoying the water. The Ane Swimwear product provid
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