Nathaniel Thompson Jr. Nathaniel Thompson Jr.

003. Startups Drive Growth

Explore how data-driven fan engagement builds lasting relationships, drives participation, and delivers measurable impact across every touchpoint.

Economic Growth, Talent Development, and Community Transformation

Startups in the sports ecosystem do far more than develop new technologies, they're powerful drivers of economic growth, creators of quality jobs, and catalysts for lasting community transformation. Professional sports organizations and universities that actively engage and support these startups accelerate regional economies, expand workforce pipelines, and unlock social value that fuels the future of the sports industry.

Through my work advising and mentoring sports tech startups in accelerators like Stadia Ventures, DivInc, Minnesota Twins Techstars, Plug and Play Tech Center, and MassChallenge, I’ve played a part on the ground floor next to founders building companies that create diverse local jobs, embed themselves in communities, and deliver measurable value to teams, universities, and innovation hubs worldwide.

Quick Context

  • Economic Development: Sports startups generate 25–35% more local jobs than comparable sectors, attracting millions in investment and diversifying regional economies.

  • Workforce Development: Startups serve as immersive training grounds, creating clear career pathways and reducing local talent attrition.

  • Community Transformation: By improving access, wellness, and inclusion, startups increase participation and deepen fan and community loyalty.

The Shift

The sports tech ecosystem is evolving toward a connected, collaborative ecosystem that centers startups as essential growth agents. Startups now anchor networks linking academia, professional leagues, teams, government, and investors that co-create tech, business models, and community programs that deliver regional impact.

  • Genius Sports, who employs over 1,800 people worldwide and drives growth through data and tech services powering leagues and betting markets.

  • WHOOP, a leading wearable startup, has grown its workforce to over 1,000 across engineering, data analytics, and customer experience to support elite athlete performance.

  • Emerging companies like Jump, focused on ticketing and fan engagement, recently announced a $23M fundraise fueling platform development and subsequent hiring.

Sports leagues also cultivate this ecosystem, accelerating growth through initiatives like:

These multi-dimensional engagements integrate startups deeply into the sports industry, creating scalable impact on jobs, technology, and community.

The Gap

Despite significant progress across these team, league, and innovation ecosystem initiatives, there are still several foundational challenges that limit the full growth potential of sports startups:

  • Not Fully Embedded: Too many startups sit on the sidelines instead of being implemented into the daily operations and big decisions of teams and universities which limits their long-term impact.

  • Scaling Stalls: Even strong ideas struggle to move past pilots without clear paths to commercialization, market access, and business development.

  • Impact Without Proof: Ecosystems lack consistent, transparent data to show the true economic, workforce, and community value startups create and making it harder to attract capital or influence policy.

  • Talent Left Untapped: Workforce programs exist, but the bridge between emerging talent, startups, and professional sports careers is still fragmented.

  • Slow to Adapt: Technology moves fast, fans move faster while sports ecosystems remain slow to integrate startup innovation at scale.

Addressing these deeper structural and strategic gaps is pivotal to unlock growth driven by startups across sports.

The Next Move

For Sports Executives & Operators

  • Establish partnerships guaranteeing access and innovation resources year-round.

  • Collaborate with startups for workforce development (internships, mentorships, and training programs).

  • Integrate startups to optimize operations and enhance the fan and athlete experiences.

For Universities & Innovation Leaders

  • Embed entrepreneurship challenges and internships throughout academic and sports programs.

  • Create cross-disciplinary hubs linking sports tech, health sciences, business, and design.

  • Build pipelines connecting research with real-world industry careers.

  • Use campus innovation spaces and athletic departments as inclusive startup collaboration platforms.

For Civic Partners

For Founders & Ecosystem Builders

  • Connect networks linking startups with teams, universities, and civic leaders.

  • Prioritize inclusive programming that creates opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs and talent.

  • Launch mentorship and workforce initiatives bridging academic training with industry.

  • Build scalable, sustainable models linking innovation to community and economic growth.

Key Takeaways

Startups are catalysts for growth, innovation, talent development, and inclusion in sports, driving measurable impact across industries and communities. Sustainable success depends on ecosystems that are:

  • Connected — linking organizations, universities, civic partners, and founders

  • Inclusive — providing broad access for all communities

  • Aligned — coordinating funding, strategy, and partnerships toward shared goals

The future of sports innovation depends on collaboration that is intentional, equitable, and enduring.

Make Your Next Move with HTX

Curious about how startups are driving real impact in the sports ecosystem?

As leaders deeply connected to emerging sports startups, HTX Sports Tech is uniquely positioned to help your organization discover the next best platform or identify venture capital partners looking to invest. We assist in sourcing promising startups and conducting critical diligence to ensure your investments and partnerships drive real value.

Now that you’ve explored how startups drive economic growth, workforce development, and community transformation, let us work with you to build, invest in, and scale a thriving sports startup ecosystem.

Let’s connect here and support your next move to elevate startups as game changers for growth, innovation, and inclusion for your organization, fans, and community.

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Nathaniel Thompson Jr. Nathaniel Thompson Jr.

002. Sports Innovation Hubs

Explore how data-driven fan engagement builds lasting relationships, drives participation, and delivers measurable impact across every touchpoint.

Connecting Talent, Capital, and Community

In today's sports landscape cities are proving that intentional partnerships can transform sports from a game-day event into a year-round driver of innovation, community growth, and economic development.

Through my work building partnerships with HiG Sports in India and AquaBloom International Sports Tech Group in China, mentoring startups through the Minnesota Twins Techstars and Plug and Play accelerators, participating in the British Consulate summit on sports investment and placemaking, and serving with the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Innovation I’ve seen firsthand how collaborative public-private partnerships create the conditions for innovation, inclusion, and ecosystem growth that last for decades and impact generations.

Prime examples: Indianapolis with Indiana Sports Corp & Sports Tech HQ, Frisco’s Sports Innovation Space @ UNT, Cleveland’s UH Haslam Sports Innovation Center, and Tempe with Arizona State University's SportX show how governance, aligned capital, and inclusive programming can turn potential into sports innovation hubs that serve everyone: elite athletes, students, entrepreneurs, creatives, and fans.

Quick Context

Key Definitions:

  • Public-Private Partnership (PPP): Government + private organizations (teams, universities, investors, nonprofits) collaborating to fund and operate projects with community benefit.

  • Innovation Hub: A physical or virtual space where stakeholders co-create, test, and grow new technologies, ventures, and ideas.

  • Tech Transfer: Moving innovations from research (universities, hospitals) into market-ready or community-accessible applications.

Leading City Initiatives:

City Core Attributes:

Consistent across these leading sports innovation hubs are a mix of: Universities, healthcare systems, pro sports organizations, diverse tech talent, capital access, strong participation at all sport levels, civic leadership, supportive policy, connected infrastructure, and inclusive culture across sports, creative, and media.

The Shift

Sports innovation hubs are shifting from siloed venues and one-off events into connected, cross-sector ecosystems that deliver impact well beyond the pro leagues.

  • Indianapolis: Leveraging PPPs and the 2050 Vision framework, Indy has built a coordinated sports-tech ecosystem where leaders actively share capital, talent, and resources that helps position the Midwest as an innovation destination.

  • Frisco, Texas: Growing beyond “Sports City USA,” Frisco has embraced open-access innovation, academia, pro sports, accelerators, and community for year-round economic and social impact.

  • Cleveland: By linking elite athlete research with youth programs makes performance tech and wellness benefits available to the full community.

  • Tempe: Blends athletics, entrepreneurship, and placemaking through ASU's SPORTx and the Novus Innovation Corridor.

The Gap

Despite this strong progress, challenges stilll exist that limit many cities from realizing their sports innovation hub’s full potential:

  • Narrow focus: Many hubs primarily serve elite teams or signature events and miss important inclusion of startups (local and global), educators, and community groups.

  • Fragmented funding: Public, private, and philanthropic capital often fail to work together, missing opportunities for alignment and shared investment responsibilities.

  • Stakeholder exclusion: The rooms and tables often lack voices from diverse investors, grassroots leaders, and community representatives.

  • Access barriers: Physical or cultural hurdles limit everyday engagement and access to hub resources - whether transportation is insufficient or spaces aren't inclusive.

  • Underused grassroots connection: Youth and rec sports are under leveraged as innovation testbeds and necessary anchors, even with growing financial investments.

The Move

Here’s how we begin closing these gaps to build sports innovation hubs that serve elite athletes, everyday recreational players, and passionate participants alike:

For Sports Executives & Operators

  • Structure partnerships to guarantee community programming, placemaking, and public access.

  • Champion tech transfer so R&D benefits both professional and grassroots athletes.

  • Introduce high-performance tools with local training and mentoring opportunities. (ex: Tapping into MLB RBI programs - Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities)

For Universities & Innovation Leaders

  • Integrate open innovation challenges, internships, and workforce development pathways within multiple areas of hub programming.

  • Build workforce pathways that link academic research initiatives, internships, and projects.

  • Use hub spaces to be the bridge across silos. Closing the gap between health, technology, design, and sport.

For Civic Partners

  • Implement policies, zoning, and incentives that support inclusive, accessible sports innovation hubs.

  • Engage community leaders early in planning to ensure diverse input and feedback.

  • Place hubs within well-connected infrastructure that makes it available for both professional use and public engagement.

Key Takeaway

The cities and regions that do it collectively (wink: Midwest, Sunbelt) that will win long-term are the ones building ecosystems to compliment the facilities. Spaces built on a foundation of shared governance, open access, and strategic alignment of talent and capital.

The next move is clear: Start at the top tier of sport, but design from day one to serve the full community, creating innovation hubs that become engines of legacy, equity, and growth.

Make Your Next Move with HTX

Curious about how cities are leading sports innovation for real impact?

Now that you've discovered models and strategies proven to bridge elite performance with community growth we want to work to build, invest, and scale your own innovation hub. HTX Sports Tech stands ready to deliver the vision, partnerships, and execution needed for generational success.

Let’s connect here and make your next move the right one for your organization, fans, and community.

Resources to share:

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Nathaniel Thompson Jr. Nathaniel Thompson Jr.

001. Owning The Fan Experience

Explore how data-driven fan engagement builds lasting relationships, drives participation, and delivers measurable impact across every touchpoint.

Power Plays from Disney, MLB & the NFL's Data Strategies

In today’s crowded sports landscape, the competitive advantage goes to those who treat fan engagement as a system-level business strategy.

That means seeing every interaction, digital or in-person, as a touchpoint that can be learned from, responded to, and designed for. When it all comes together you're getting attention, building loyalty, driving revenue, and creating a loop of connection and insight.

I first saw this in motion working with the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball (MLB) on the early rollout of the MLB Ballpark app. We were digitizing the fan experience and designing a mobile-first experience that shifted how fans moved, purchased, and interacted inside the stadium. The app became the box office, guest service desk, and game-day guide.

That experience and later work with the Houston Astros shaped how I continue to think about fan engagement systems as tools to generate insight and reveal value, when they're connected.

Quick Context

Disney had been quietly building the ultimate fan experience platforms. They recently revealed a fully connected fan layer for the NFL and WWE - integrating live content, real-time stats (RedZone), and interactive play (NFL Fantasy) into one seamless experience.

The tech behind it? BAMTech.

What began as MLB Advanced Media, a digital arm built by Major League Baseball, became the engine now powering ESPN, WWE, and NFL streaming.

Disney slowly acquired it piece by piece between 2016 and 2022. Starting with a 33% stake (2016), then 42% for $1.58 billion (2017), picking up the NHL’s 10% for $350M (2021), and closing the deal buying out MLB’s remaining 15% for $900M (2022).

Disney was setting the stage. Behind the scenes building the foundation for something big - a "frictionless", integrated fan experience - all in one place, all connected. (i.e Hulu also rolling into Disney+).

Now, as leagues and teams (with universities on deck) create more content, capture more data, and build bigger communities, the game-changing play is integration. A strategy that turns attention and participation into shared value between fans and the teams they engage.

A triple play: connection, insight, and growth.

The Shift

Whether you're building platforms, investing in them, or leading strategy from the inside of a team or league - what you do next shapes the value created. We're seeing a clear move:

  • Platforms are moving from mass outreach to real-time, personalized fan journeys that help fans feel seen, heard, and understood.

  • Teams are leveraging tech to build smarter data stacks and layering in AI to tailor engagement, create shareable moments, and dynamically price their offerings. ESPN's evolving model is an example: Blending live NFL coverage, crucial scoring moments with RedZone, and fantasy play into one across cable, streaming, and mobile

Engagement is even more of a core currency of growth - measured in time spent, data shared, and actions taken. It now sits alongside ticket sales and media rights as a driver of enterprise value across sports.

The Gap

Still, most teams, leagues, and emerging startup ventures are playing catch-up:

  • Cool tech doesn’t always equal clear strategy. Many rush to build flashy features that look good but don't solve for flow, friction, or feedback. Missing what fans actually want and how they want to participate (content creation, voting, or exclusive access).

  • Insights sit on the bench. Data gets collected and without organizational alignment and buy-in, valuable insights never realize their full potential and engagement stays transactional.

Integration is the game changer for success. The wins will come from syncing systems so that every touchpoint across channels feeds into a single view of the fan in real time.

The Move

Here's how to shift from fragmented touchpoint to a connected, fan-first system - whatever your role:

For Sports Execs & Operators

  • Build agile, cross-functional teams: Unite marketing, ops, sales, and tech around shared KPIs and a single view of the fan.

  • Connect the fan journey end to end: Connect digital, in-venue, and broadcast to deliver seamless, measurable experiences.

  • Start with key fan moments: Design fan experiences around what fans are doing to make it feel timely, relevant, and personal.

  • Run fast, learn faster: Pilot small. Build, test, and double down on what works, and document the why behind what doesn’t.

For Investors

  • Bet on platforms with utility: Look for products that create value across the full fan journey, and invest in the people that think in systems.

  • Follow retention over hype: Find companies that drive consistent usage, repeat behavior, long-term value over empty one-off metrics.

For Founders & Ecosystem Builders

  • Design for insight and access: Turn raw data into simple decisions, and build integrations that plug into legacy and next-gen tech.

  • Build like BAMTech: Lay foundations that scale across leagues (in their case MLB, NHL, WWE), develop IP, and watch & guide fan behaviors.

Key Takeaway

Skate to where the fan is going - not where they've been.

Use data to anticipate what's next. We need to understand what already happened, but curating every touchpoint as a chance to drive connection, conversion, and long-term growth for the future puts you in position to make the next big play.

What’s Next?

Coming August 14th, The Next Move dives into Sports & Civic Engagement

Taking a look at how strategic partnerships between teams, cities, universities, and communities can shape the next generation of impact, equity, and growth in sports.

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