Local venture capital leaders who are betting on sports technology have added a new investor with a playing pedigree.
Houston-based venture capital firm The Collectiv confirmed that New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux has joined as an investor. The news was first reported by Sportico.
The Collectiv was co-founded in 2023 by Ashley DeWalt, managing director of the nonprofit DivInc Houston, and Winston Gilpin, former CFO of Houston-based VC firm Mercury.
According to its website, The Collectiv’s investor list features sports and technology executives, including some from the major leagues and such corporations as Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: META) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)
DeWalt told the Houston Business Journal that The Collectiv will raise $20 million, having already completed an initial close. The fund will be closed in six to nine months.
Thibodeaux, who is entering his third season as a professional, already has investments in real estate, beverage, hospitality and restaurant sectors, according to Sportico. But DeWalt sees him as the blueprint for future athlete-investors of all backgrounds.
“We are differentiating our strategy by focusing on athletes much earlier at the collegiate level and early pros and educating them on venture investing while leveraging their [name, image and license rights],” DeWalt told the Houston Business Journal in an interview. “However, there are opportunities for athletes later in their careers or retired to join The Collectiv.”
While 2023 was not a strong year for Houston in terms of sports-technology funding — with only three deals in Greater Houston, according to Crunchbase — leaders like DeWalt believe that athletes who live in the city could be a new source of investment for startups in the Bayou City. That belief stems from the wisdom of “investing in what you know.”
Sports technology is an umbrella term that includes applications ranging from sports betting — which is still not legal in Texas — to performance analytics, health care, fan experience and media creation. Thibodeaux is most interested in the fan experience aspect, according to DeWalt.
Athlete-investor workshops, partnerships with the Ion
In addition to joining as an investor, Thibodeaux was sold on the prospect of sharing his knowledge with future athlete-investors in Houston, DeWalt said.
“Houston is one of those cities that players just love to come and hang out, and that turns them into living here,” DeWalt said. “I told Kayvon, ‘You don’t need us; you’re in New York!’ But he stopped me and said, 'Hold on. I love the mission; I love that you guys are trying to democratize access and provide opportunities,' and that was the link for him.”
The Collectiv hosts workshops in the Ion, an incubator located in Midtown on land owned by Rice University, and Thibodeaux will join as a speaker. Some of those workshops have gotten older players involved through organizations like the NBA Retired Players Houston Association.
DeWalt has also hosted DivInc cohorts in the Ion and said he’s looking to partner further with Rice for sports technology development.
The Bayou City is no stranger to its athletes investing in other sectors. Former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster was an investor in DraftKings, and his brother Abdul was a founder in DivInc’s Spring 2024 Sports Tech cohort.
More recently, Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles is backing a new restaurant in George Bush Intercontinental Airport. DeWalt said that his team hasn’t had any contact with Biles yet, but she would be top of the list for future investors.
"Everything she's seen at the Olympic level, the success she's had, there's no doubt she could add a tremendous amount of value," DeWalt said. "Our goal and what we're looking to do from a local perspective is engaging these sports stakeholders in the city to be a part of The Collectiv, whether it's local athletic directors or coaches or all the way down to the performance trainers."
