A group of entrepreneurs recently earned cash prizes to further their business ideas in a “Shark Tank” style competition hosted by the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University and the Arizona Lottery.
At the Global Sport Venture Challenge, held Dec. 3 at Skysong Innovations, entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to a panel of judges and took home a combined $50,000 in prize money.
Volleyball lifestyle clothing brand VBAmerica and E-Sentience, a company that makes wearable technology to track stress levels, each received $15,000 at the "Demo Day" event.
“This Demo Day was really special to me,” VBAmerica founder Kate Fitzgerald said, adding she previously participated in two virtual Demo Day events. “It was my first live Demo Day and I got the true experience, which was absolutely incredible.”
Fitzgerald, an ASU women's beach volleyball player, launched the company more than a year ago.
Drive Hockey Analytics, which leverages artificial intelligence and wearable technology to improve player performance, was awarded $10,000. Nova Sport, a private social network for university and college sports, also received $10,000.
Earlier this year, the entrepreneurs applied for the ASU Venture Devils program as students, faculty, alumni or community members. Following the application process, the startups were invited to participate in the Global Sport Venture Challenge, a funding track offered by the Global Sport Institute.
"We were once again thrilled to see so many impressive sports startups pitch at this year’s Global Sport Venture Challenge, and the breadth and ambition of the winning ventures speaks to the growth of the GSVC program and the incredible innovation happening within sports,” Jeff Kunowski, associate director of innovation programs at the Global Sport Institute, said in a statement.
The Arizona Lottery Gives Back sponsorship provided $25,000 of the total funding awarded to entrepreneurs. ASU’s Venture Devils program receives its funding through the ASU Foundation, according to a news release.
In addition to the $50,000 prize, the Global Sport Institute and J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute provided award winners with promotional resources, workshops, and one-on-one mentoring.
The Global Sport Institute holds two venture challenges a year.
Entrepreneurs who participated in the event will continue to grow their companies using funding from the Arizona Lottery and the Global Sport Institute.
VBAmerica, which sells a variety of T-shirts, hoodies and hats, will use its award toward expanding inventory, covering marketing and operational costs, and growing its licensing partnerships, Fitzgerald said.
The company, which sells its items at ASU bookstores, online and pop-up shops, aims to potentially hire more employees in the next year, Fitzgerald added.
“I hope to scale this in every way I can across campuses in the U.S. with top volleyball programs,” she said.
