Sports-focused venture firm SeventySix Capital named a new managing partner to lead the company alongside founder Wayne Kimmel for the first time in its history.
Chad Stender has been with the company for more than a decade and previously held the role of managing director. Stender spent time with Comcast Spectacor and the Philadelphia Flyers before joining SeventySix Capital in 2012 where he oversees the company's Athlete Venture Group and founded its Sports Advisory agency.
Kimmel and Stender will work together to run SeventySix Capital, both with the managing partner title.
Kimmel founded the King of Prussia firm in 1999 and SeventySix Capital has a portfolio of 23 companies, three of which have had exits. Both Kimmel and Stender have said that the sports tech world is at a turning point as technology is pushing new ways to view, bet, play and coach sports.
“This is an inflection point for us at SeventySix Capital as we have established ourselves as the go-to investors for startup entrepreneurs in the sports industry,” Stender said in a statement. “We will continue to grow our business based on the incredibly lucrative convergence of sports, media, entertainment and technology.”
As part of the Athlete Venture Group, Stender has overseen a group of athletes looking to bank their money in sports tech startups. They include Philadelphia Union midfielder and chair of the group Alejandro Bedoya, along with former Philadelphia Eagles running back Demarco Murray, former New England Patriots fullback James Develin and former Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Stender sits on the board of five of SeventySix Capital's portfolio companies, as well as the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and Drexel University's Sports Business Advisory Board. Kimmel said that SeventySix Capital's "portfolio company CEOs rely on Chad as a board member and trusted adviser."
Though startups and venture capital firms alike are weathering down markets, Kimmel and his team are bullish on the direction of sports tech companies and investing in them. With the rapid rise of sports betting, the competition for sports streaming and new platforms to train and coach sports, Kimmel said they have "been building this company for a number of years for these types of moments."
"This is the time to invest for us," Kimmel recently told the Business Journal. "Or for an entrepreneur, it's time to start a technology company that's looking to transform sports, media and entertainment. This is the time to do it. It's a unique time where the doors are open and people are interested."
