Startups to wrap up sports accelerator with pitch event

Startups to Wrap Up Sports Accelerator with Pitch Event

The inaugural class of the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy will culminate Thursday in the accelerator's first Demo Day. Ten startups from around the world will present their ideas to an audience of venture capitalists, corporate leaders and others after spending 14 weeks to further their businesses.

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The inaugural class of the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy will culminate Thursday in the accelerator’s first Demo Day.

Ten startups from around the world will present their ideas to an audience of venture capitalists, corporate leaders and others after spending 14 weeks to further their businesses in Indianapolis.

The sports accelerator was first announced over one year ago with the goal of pushing the development of technology to grow the sports sector.

In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Managing Director Jordan Fliegel said the startups cover a wide variety of technologies.

“What’s interesting is sports is such a big industry, $1.3 trillion industry, and there are so many different verticals within sports,” said Fliegel. “We have 10 companies doing 10 very different things from athleisure to George Foreman, Jr. who’s disrupting all of boxing with his new startup and he’s doing it here. What’s really great is how collaborative they’re all being and how they’re all doing different things.”

Techstars says the startups have spent the last three months working closely with leaders in the Indianapolis sports and tech sectors, including representatives from the Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indiana Sports Corp.

They have also worked with a variety of mentors, including venture capitalists, c-level executives from leading sports companies and celebrity athletes.

Fliegel says during the accelerator, the startups also took on summer interns from various Hoosier universities, at least five of whom have already received full-time job offers. He adds at least three of the startups have committed to staying in Indianapolis to further their businesses.

You can learn more about the 10 startups participating in the pitch event by clicking here.