RealResponse, a Charlotte-based company whose anonymous digital feedback service for athletes, coaches and administrators has become popular with college athletic directors, is now making an aggressive pitch to pro teams and sports governing bodies.
Recent additions include the NFL Players Association, Major League Baseball, U.S. Soccer, USA Track and Field, and individual teams in various leagues.
RealResponse counts more than 100 colleges as clients. Now, RealResponse has hired former NASCAR executive Blake Davidson to focus on non-college sports sales. Davidson, who spent 24 years at NASCAR presiding over everything from video games and esports to licensed products and digital media strategy, got to know RealResponse and company founder David Chadwick as a consultant to RealResponse during the past year.
In multiple instances, Davidson, in a part-time consulting role, helped develop successful sales pitches aimed at pro teams and governing bodies. Davidson started consulting company Game Seven Partners in 2020 after leaving NASCAR the previous year.
Davidson told me that, initially, he had no plans to join RealResponse beyond having the company as a client. Over time, Chadwick and Davidson realized they could have greater impact working together on a full-time basis. Late last month, Chadwick hired Davidson for a newly created position: executive vice president of emerging markets.
“It became really clear that this was a full-time job,” Davidson said. “This opportunity allowed me to get involved with something that’s not a brand-new startup. It’s got good traction.”
RealResponse is a privately owned company created by Chadwick in 2015. Chadwick is a former college basketball player who developed the business while still in school. He saw a need for players and others in athletic departments to be able to report unethical and abusive behavior without fear of retribution. For administrators, the anonymous online system provides alerts of potential or existing problems and an effective way to intervene earlier and provide counseling and other assistance.
Davidson said that joining the company was appealing not only because it’s fast growing but also because he believes the service is meaningful. Helping people resolve problems of abuse, mental health or other issues can, at minimum, improve someone’s life, and, at the extreme end, save lives.
Schools and teams can use the RealResponse system for everyday items, too, from the quality of campus facilities and academic programs to nutrition, training and other areas of concern or emphasis.
“The company was founded out of David’s experience in college as a former athlete,” Davidson told me. “When we sat down, we started talking about what they were doing and one of my first questions was, what are you doing in professional sports? This is an amazing platform (and it) is certainly needed in professional sports.”
At the time, RealResponse had signed the NFLPA but had no other clients beyond college sports. Since then, the company has signed 10 NFL teams and six national governing bodies (the nonprofit organizations that oversee Olympic teams and build affiliations with youth and amateur leagues). MLB and the National Women’s Soccer League have agreements that encompass all athletes and staff.
Clients can and do tailor their service subscriptions in various ways. Some may focus on players or student-athletes only, others will include coaches and administrators, while still others will cover an entire organization or department. The average client spends from $1,000 to $10,000 monthly for RealResponse services, according to the company.
“I think the timing is perfect and the message has resonated,” Davidson said.
One of the company’s clients is USA Gymnastics, which, with the U.S. Olympic Committee, agreed last year to a settlement of $380 million stemming from a sexual abuse scandal perpetrated by a former team doctor. The abuse occurred before USA Gymnastics enlisted RealResponse to help improve communication with athletes and provide them a safe way to report potential abuse.
Non-collegiate clients account for 40% of RealResponse’s business. Most of the non-college customers were added during the last year. Collectively, 150,000 athletes, coaches and others in the client organizations can provide reactions, concerns and suggestions through anonymous, real-time messages.
Davidson said the response from human resources executives and general counsel offices at teams, leagues and governing bodies has convinced him that a service like RealResponse is needed everywhere.
“We support any method to report issues or concerns,” he added. “The thing that excited me about RealResponse was that it was different than anything I’ve seen out there. … I’ve yet to have a meeting where somebody said, ‘Oh, no, I’ve seen something exactly like this.’ There’s opportunity across the board.”
