A local accelerator in Atlanta has announced a major global partnership with an up-and-coming sports accelerator in Europe founded by the heirs of one of the biggest names in sportswear.
The Farm, Comcast NBCUniversal's accelerator situated in SunTrust Park in Atlanta and powered by Boomtown, has established a three-year partnership with leAD, a global entrepreneurship and investment platform founded by the successors of Adi Dassler, the creator of Adidas.
The agencies will formally announce their partnership at 12:30 p.m. on June 1 at The Coca-Cola Roxy at The Battery as part of the Farm’s inaugural Demo Day.
Both launched last year, the Farm and leAD will connect access to their resources, including mentorship, investor networks and facilities. leAD, short for Legacy of Adi Dassler, focuses on funding and growing early-stage sports startups and was established by Dassler's grandchildren.
Horst Bente, co-founder of leAD, said the partnership was a homecoming in a way for him and his brothers who lived in Atlanta for 13 years.
"For us, this is reconnecting to a city where we spent a lot of time," he said. "With the legacy that we have and my grandfather being the founder of Adidas and our family serving as the driving force of creating this legacy platform…All of this, this sort of legacy initiative is a way for us to connect back and connect to the history."
Comcast Central Division President Bill Connors said he left his initial meeting with leAD before the launch of its accelerator in 2017 knowing the companies would work together somehow.
"As you spend any time with them, they’re pretty passionate about their very crystal clear message of seeking and finding that next level entrepreneur and doing everything they can to get that person to where their grandfather was and where a lot of other people associated with Adidas have gotten to in the world of sports," he said.
Burunda Prince-Jones, managing director of the Farm, said the agencies shared a similar story of foundation from a single entrepreneur who struck out on their own, much like the founders of startups today.
"I think you see a lot of commonalities here, between the Adidas story and (the founder of Comcast, Ralph Roberts) story," she said. "It’s a story that I think you share in common, but it’s also a story that inspires everyone."
When asked why they formed the partnership rather than continue to move forward on their own, Bente, Connors and Prince-Jones agreed collaboration was better for the startups they're serving.
"For me and for us, it’s all about the startups," Bente said. "What kind of value can we add for these young entrepreneurs that are trying to be successful? If we can reach out to a startup like this, connect to them to the Farm and give them more access to relationships, that’s valuable to them. And we feel we can bring some of that to the cohorts that are here as well."
In addition to growing startups locally in Atlanta, startups from around the globe guided by Comcast or leAD will be able to utilize the resources, connections and investors from both agencies with access to the Farm in Atlanta, Prince-Jones said.
"That’s important for startup founders to have a home," she said. "The connections that they make, their own respective journey---when you have a network of people, it makes that journey a little bit easier."
The Farm will kick off its inaugural Demo Day on June 1 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at The Coca-Cola Roxy. The event is free and open to the public, and will feature an after-party following. Participants can RSVP here.
