(July 19, 2018, Newark, NJ) – Michigan-based sports tech and social impact fund Opportunity Seed today announced its investment in Red Herring Top 100 award-winning youth sports media and fundraising platform League Network PBC. Opportunity Seed’s portfolio include sports training software firm V1Sports, all-weather golf apparel company Galway Bay Golf, local sports news platform Varsity News Network, 220,000-square-foot multi-sport facility High Velocity Sports, sports gear donation-with-purchase site Red Truck, sports and fitness stretching studios LYMBR, and sports fan engagement app UStadium.
Opportunity Seed includes three entities: Opportunity Seed Capital (OSC), Opportunity Seed Sports (OSS) and Opportunity Seed Foundation (OSF). OSC invests in the sports and technology sectors. OSS offers consulting services to sports facilities and sporting goods makers. OSF is funded by the success of OSC/OSS and contributes to individuals and organizations to help alleviate the financial pressures that come with the pay-to-play sports models of today.
“For Opportunity Seed, League Network is a fit two ways. Its LeagueGrowth.com e-funding solution is gaining traction in the $3B youth sports fundraising market; and its media platform provides a public benefit by teaching best practices to thousands of team sport organization leaders, many of whom are volunteers,” said Bryan Finnerty, Opportunity Seed CEO. “We also like League Network’s commitment to its trademarked motto, ‘Better Leagues, Better Lives’.”
“Investors with strong domain expertise in the fast-growing $19B youth sports space are rare,” noted League Network CEO Jay Whitehead. “We are thrilled to have a person of Bryan Finnerty’s caliber join our Board of Directors. Bryan is a former pro athlete, a youth sports parent, and an accomplished entrepreneur with a deep understanding of private youth facilities, sports industry economics, and the impact of both on community quality of life.”
CEO of technology publication Red Herring Alex Vieux, which features League Network on its Top 100 List, added, “It’s exciting to see companies forge niches that did not exist before, such as League Network, whose LeagueGrowth.com e-funding platform is becoming as important as e-commerce in youth sports. As a Public Benefit Corporation, League Network is also among a growing number of tech leaders for whom social impact represents a critical value.” Before they became market leaders, brands such as Alibaba, Google, Kakao, Skype, Spotify, Twitter and YouTube have all appeared on Red Herring’s Top 100 Lists.
About League Network PBC
Founded in 2016 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology by serial entrepreneur and longtime youth league leader Anne-Sophie Whitehead, the company’s media, LeagueNetwork.com and TLCSportSummit.com events, and its LeagueGrowth.com e-funding platform work together to help youth sports leagues grow. The company is backed by famous pro athletes and sports industry venture capitalists. More information at LeagueNetwork.com, TLCSportSummit.com.
LeagueGrowth.com.Media contact: Diana Zimmerman, League Network, [email protected].