These are the 10 Hottest SportsTech Startups on the Planet Right Now

The fall classic is right around the corner and the Dodgers are in first place. In more ways than one…

The Los Angeles Dodgers and advertising agency R/GA have teamed up to launch a 3-month accelerator program aptly dubbed the LA Dodgers Accelerator program. A total of 10 companies were vetted and selected to receive up to $120K in investment and mentorship from 80+ industry professionals which include the likes of Magic Johnson , Jeanie Buss , Troy Carter , Matt Withelier , and Nihal Mehta , for the program based out of R/GA’s offices in LA.

While not the first sportstech accelerator (Nike has previously run a sports-focused accelerator), it’s the first by a professional franchise that we can recall. The program participants are diverse but they all sit at the bustling intersection of sports, technology, and entertainment.

“The companies in this class show just how diverse and exciting the sports technology sector is becoming. With both early and late stage companies innovating the fields of analytics, fantasy and community engagement and more, the 10 companies will have invaluable access to the LA Dodgers network, brilliant and inspiring mentors, and talented R/GA Services experts who will take the companies to a higher level” shared Tucker Kain, Chief Financial Officer, LA Dodgers, and Managing Director, Guggenheim Baseball Management, LP.

“With the mix of early and late stage companies, this program is significantly different from any traditional accelerator. We are innovating on the idea of how to create value for companies at all stages, and the companies will receive tailored programming based on their stage. Additionally, this is an exciting time to be a startup in LA, and it’s clear that the community is strong and only growing. We’re thrilled to be a part of it” added Stephen Plumlee, Global Chief Operating Officer, R/GA and Managing Partner of R/GA Ventures.

It’ll be interesting to see how the 10 startups fare and how they are able to leverage the resources of a top-tier sports franchise combined with a distinguished advertising agency. There just may be a new fall classic in Los Angeles powered by the LA Dodgers Accelerator come demo day in November.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 10 HOTTEST SPORTSTECH STARTUPS RIGHT NOW Appetize Appetize is a POS payment platform for live events. The Santa Monica-based startup, founded by Jason Pratts, Max Roper, and Kevin Anderson in 2011 is focused not only on payments and ordering but also provides a very robust backend solution for management of all core functions that allows venues to reduce transaction times and make sure they are well equipped for event attendees. The company already has an impressive roster of venues and events where the platform is being used including Madison Square Garden, Boannaroo, and Lincoln Financial Field. We can only assume Dodger stadium is next.

Doorstat Sitting at the intersection of big data, analytics, and business intelligence, Doorstat is a full service solution that allows businesses to better understand foot traffic, customer demographics, and customer behavior through the use of technology. Using a proprietary video-based software and people counting and demographic sensors, the startup promises to let you know who your customers are. Given that the technology can be leveraged across a number of verticals and over 200M people attended a top 10 sports league event in 2013, the future and total addressable market for this startup looks bright.

FieldLevel Founded in 2008 by Brenton Sullivan, Kai Sato, Cory Ducker and Jeremy Weir, FieldLevel is a private social network to connect coaches and athletes that serves as a recruiting tool. The network has over 21000 teams on its platform and has led to over 14000 commitments between athletes and schools since 2013. The platform has leveraged technology to introduce transparency into the student athlete recruiting process by empowering athletes to navigate their futures while allowing coaches and scouts to get efficiently source talent for their programs. It looks FieldLevel has lived up to its name and leveled the playing field.

FocusMotion Big data and wearables are both sizzling spaces and FocusMotion is ready to capitalize on it. Founded in 2012 by Cavan Canavan and Grant Hughes, the Santa Monica-based startup is the complete solution that tracks and analyzes movements that are captured from wearables. With a robust SDK that can be adapted, the company is poised to power the next generation of biometric tracking applications for developers. Today, we are the nascent stages of the wearable revolution but FocusMotion is providing the infrastructure for the future.

Kinduct Another data play with a different twist, Kinduct is focused on turning data into intelligence for organizations that work with patients, athletes, and clients through easy to understand software solutions with graceful interfaces. The company already boasts notable clients and partners including the Washington Capitals, Dallas Mavericks, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

League Apps Founded in 2010 by Brian Litvack and Steve Parker, LeagueApps is an online platform that allows sports organizations to create, manage, and organize their league activities. The company has nearly 2M registrations on its platform, has processed over 1M transactions totaling over $100M for over 6000 organizers. The NYC-based company has previously raised $4.4 M in Series A funding from David Arcara and Red Sea Ventures

ProDay Proday is a mobile app that allows users to work out with professional athletes. The company appears in the earliest stages and it will be interesting to see how it is able to execute on its vision to providing access to professional athletes through its platform.

SidePrize SidePrize , founded by Sam Solomon, Tareq Dowla, Adam Wexler in 2014, layers on an additional component to existing fantasty football leagues by allowing fantasy players to integrate additional real money competitions with others in their leagues. If fantasy football wasn’t addicting enough, this added ‘action’ will make Sundays even better.

Swish Analytics Swish Analytics , founded in San Francisco in 2014, is the tech-enabled sports handicapper. Using algorithm driven tools, the platform is able to provide sports predictions and analytics using historical data. Sports betting is rumored to be a $400B industry and it’s about time that a few data scientists came on board.

Yezno Yezno is a platform that allows fans to engage, poll, and debate each other in real time environment that is integrated with social. The platform is currently in beta and is accepting beta invite requests.

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