Companies to Watch: SportsTech Founders Changing the Game

October is one of the best times of the year to be a sports fan: The month is jam packed with the WNBA finals, MLB playoffs, the NFL season starting to hit its stride, and NBA and NHL seasons just getting started. And for the runners out there, you have the NYC Marathon quickly approaching (Nov. 2).

Now let’s bring the tech side in. Sports technology is a rapidly growing industry:

• Globally, sportstech companies raised $58 billion between 2020-2024, and $9.6 billion in 2024 alone, according to SportsTechX.

• The sector didn’t slow down in 2025: June 2025 delivered over $1 billion in deal flow, the fourth billion dollar deal month this year.

• The U.S. accounts for 56% of global sportstech investment.

Obviously, New York City ranks among the top global sportstech hubs:

• NYC-based sportstech companies raised $2.58 billion from 2020-2024, the second most in North America (behind Jacksonville).

• NYC captured 11% of all top deals in 2024 with $295.7 million raised, third most in North America.

• NYC is ranked No. 1 in the number of sportstech startups among all North American cities.

This month, we spoke with four NYC-based founders who are innovating to disrupt the sports industry and continue to make New York a sports destination.

For this edition of Companies to Watch, meet:

• Marcus Ellison (founder of Breadcrumb)

• Tristan Rhee (founder of Launchpoint)

• Danielle Donchetz (founder of Partake Sports)

• Hannah Sorkin (founder of PlayMaker)

Breadcrumb

“In most places, there is a single or a few industries that dominate. In New York, you see the highest success across nearly every industry… at the same event.”

What does your company do? What problem is it working to solve?
Breadcrumb is helping sports vendors scale personalized reporting to stadiums and sports teams across the NFL, NBA, and NHL without a data team.

Business to business data reporting is slow, manual, and bottlenecked by technical teams.

In the fragmented sports and live entertainment data ecosystem, vendors spend heavily on dashboards that end up too generic to be useful. Hundreds of millions of dollars are left on the table because customers and partners can’t translate data into real time insights their revenue teams can use.

Breadcrumb solves this “last mile” of personalization by empowering non-technical managers to build and share interactive, AI-powered reports that business leaders can explore and customize themselves. By offloading data work to agentic AI, companies can scale personalized reporting 10x cheaper with 5x higher engagement and impact.

A question we like to ask every founder — why New York?
I grew up in a small town in Maine surrounded by nature. Yet I find nothing more inspiring than walking the streets of New York. People have to live on top of each other. There’s a type of harmony between different kinds of people when that’s the case. I’ve never felt a strong sense of “we’re all in this together”.

Those of greatest ambition find their reflection here. In most places, there is a single or a few industries that dominate. In New York, you see the highest success across nearly every industry… at the same event. Interdisciplinary at heart, I love this melding of greatness across every aspect of humanity.

What have been the most surprising or counterintuitive insights from vendor and customer analytics so far?
People without data skills will explore and share data if you make it accessible.

This is quite contrary to most of the advice we received.

Sports experts told us we couldn’t start bonboarding tier 1 sports leagues. Data experts told us recreating data teams with AI agents wasn’t possible. Sports analytics companies told us business leaders just want insights, they don’t want to explore them.

Yet, by lowering the bar, we’ve unlocked whole new audiences and experiences.

Looking ahead, how do you see analytics evolving over the next 5-10 years in sports and live events?
Nobody knows what will happen 10 years from now. But it’s clear that AI will embed itself in every workflow. The key question is how.

Our bet for the next five is that the world will not reach AGI. At best we’ll have savant-level intelligence in specific domains.

In the analytics space, we expect the majority of roles on a data team will be accomplished by non-technical and semi-technical users enabled by new, simpler experiences working with data.

Internally we’ve often said getting an insight should be as easy as sending a text message.

This transitions most data work to AI.

Insights will be in the hands of business leaders and operators that need to decide, communicate, or act on data.

What’s your favorite New York sports moment — or sports moment in general?
“The Fight of the Century.” The legendary boxing match at Madison Square Garden between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali

Time for some New York-themed rapid fire questions — where’s your favorite place to grab a slice of pizza in New York?
Mama Too’s in the West Village for ‘best’ (hyped but worth it). My everyday slice is Prince Street Pizza in Nolita.

Where’s your favorite coffee shop in New York?
The Alchemist. It’s perfect for weekend deep work.

Do you have a favorite spot to escape the noise of the city?
As an NYU alum, Washington Square Park holds a special place.

What’s one piece of advice — that you’ve shared or was shared with you — on building a startup in New York City?
Startup advice: “Build something people want”. Get there by “doing things that don't scale”. 

Human advice: Be authentic. Do what you say. Cultivate relationships.

Launchpoint

“My cofounder Adam grew up in SF, started a company in SF after college, and still wanted to move to NYC because of the energy.”

What does your company do? What problem is it working to solve?
Launchpoint automates creator marketing for brands using AI. Right now our focus is on college athletes. 

Creator marketing is a process filled with manual labor, so Launchpoint helps more content get made and more deals get done.

We help large brands like Keurig Dr Pepper, C4 Energy, and Gopuff produce more high quality content.

On the athlete side, we are basically Uber for monetizing influence. We help athletes earn more in less time.

A question we like to ask every founder — why New York?
The energy of the city is really special. My cofounder Adam grew up in SF, started a company in SF after college, and still wanted to move to NYC because of the energy.

Really talented people will always want to come here to challenge themselves. This is the city where dreams come true.

Personally, all of my best friends from Cornell live here, and my entire extended family lives in Manhattan. I also watched Home Alone 2 when I was 10 and knew I wanted to live in NYC from that moment on.

What unique challenges or dynamics do you see in running NIL campaigns versus traditional influencer marketing?
College athletes are extremely busy people, so you have to make it as easy as possible for them to make content. Every single point of friction matters.

We are making improvements every day to our app to help reduce the amount of time it takes for them to make content.

Looking ahead, how do you envision Launchpoint evolving as AI and NIL both mature? Do you see yourself expanding beyond college campuses?
We are laser focused on college sports right now — we have so much room to grow there.

College athletes have needed a solution like this for such a long time, and our goal is to help as many of them as possible.

What’s your favorite New York sports moment — or sports moment in general?
Linsanity was one of the craziest sports moments ever.

My parents met at Syracuse, so watching the six-overtime game between Syracuse and UConn at MSG in 2009 will always be a favorite memory of mine.

As a Columbus, Ohio native, Ohio State winning the national championship in 2015 will forever be my favorite sports memory of all time. I watched every game with my dad and my younger brother.

Time for some New York-themed rapid fire questions — where’s your favorite place to grab a slice of pizza in New York?
I used to go to Pop’s Pizzas all the time on West 57th street when I worked in Columbus Circle.

Shoutout to my buddies Lakhan and Luca at DB.

Where’s your favorite coffee shop in New York?
SEY coffee in Bushwick.

Do you have a favorite spot to escape the noise of the city?
American Museum of Natural History.

Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller was my favorite movie growing up, I’ve seen it 10+ times.

What’s one piece of advice — that you’ve shared or was shared with you — on building a startup in New York City?
My dad always had the best life advice for me. My favorite was: Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond.

My uncle started a company in NYC during the dot com bubble called Kozmo.com. I remember hearing those stories growing up, listening to Empire State of Mind, and dreaming of starting my own company in NYC. I am so blessed to be where I am.

Partake Sports

“I do my best thinking when walking, and there is so much inspiration to take in when cruising the streets of New York.”

What does your company do? What problem is it working to solve?
Partake Sports is a platform that helps women’s sports bars, leagues, and teams grow attendance and sponsorship value by combining storytelling, friendly competition, and community-driven experiences that keep fans engaged. 

People are tuning into women’s sports in record numbers, and for teams to drive revenue growth and boost valuations, they must prioritize engaging and retaining new fans.

A question we like to ask every founder — why New York?
Since I was in middle school, I’ve wanted to live in New York. I was drawn to the energy of the city and dreamed of being at the center of it all. I do my best thinking when walking, and there is so much inspiration to take in when cruising the streets of New York. 

The access to startup resources is also unmatched — investors regularly host events for founders, coffee shops are full of people pitching their ideas, and many sports industry conferences take place in New York due to proximity to league offices. 

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced building a community-first platform in a sports tech landscape often dominated by transactional or betting-focused models?
One of our biggest challenges is that women’s sports fans behave differently than men’s. There is no established playbook for how to engage them. We’re writing it as we go. 

Community is at the core of women’s sports, so instead of pouring money into digital ads like many sports apps that are designed for men, we’re focused on building authentic, lasting connections between fans. That means creating interactive, social experiences that reflect how women’s sports fans actually engage with the game — together, not transactionally. It’s a slower path to growth, but we believe it will build a far more loyal and sustainable audience.

How do partnerships with women’s sports bars, leagues, and teams work in practice?
Our partnerships with women’s sports bars and teams are all about creating a shared fan experience that drives engagement and growth for everyone involved. With sports bars, we provide a way to activate fans in real-time throughout games. 

During the WNBA Semifinals, fans at the women’s sports bars in Minneapolis and Phoenix went head-to-head on Partake while their teams faced each other on the court. The bar owners exchanged friendly smack talk on social media, and it was fun to give fans a way to get involved, too. Every partnership is designed to make women’s sports more discoverable, social, and rewarding.

What’s your favorite New York sports moment — or sports moment in general?
My all-time favorite sports moment was attending Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. The New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx to win the Liberty’s first franchise championship, and a first for a New York basketball team since 1973. The crowd was electric, and as we all poured out of the arena after the game, people were cheering and honking their car horns. It gave me goosebumps to see so many people celebrating women’s sports. 

Time for some New York-themed rapid fire questions — where’s your favorite place to grab a slice of pizza in New York?
After going to school in Chicago and filling up on deep-dish pizza, I’ve adopted the mindset that a New York slice of pizza is a fully acceptable snack between meals. When out in the city, Joe’s is usually my go-to for a quick slice of cheese. 

Where’s your favorite coffee shop in New York?
La Cabra has great coffee and matcha, and their cardamom buns are pretty spectacular as well. 

Do you have a favorite spot to escape the noise of the city?
After living in New York for almost 10 years, I’ve learned that I need to leave the city to escape the noise every few months. I’m fortunate that most of my family still lives in Minnesota, and I can get away for a quick break to recharge. 

What’s one piece of advice — that you’ve shared or was shared with you — on building a startup in New York City?

I love New York, and I cannot imagine building a sports tech startup anywhere else. Every few blocks, there is a sports bar full of potential users. 

My biggest piece of advice for founders is to put yourself out there and talk to as many people as possible about how they engage with and consume sports. In the beginning, I was so nervous to approach strangers, but once I started to see the benefits of doing so, it became exhilarating. I’ve talked to thousands of sports fans about Partake at this point, and these conversations have helped shape what the product is today.

PlayMaker

“New York is the heartbeat of sports, media, and technology. It’s where partnerships are born, deals are made, and innovation thrives.”

What does your company do? What problem is it working to solve?
PlayMaker is the operating system for sports sponsorships. We help teams, leagues, and brands manage everything from deal creation to activation in one centralized platform. The problem we’re solving is that sponsorship teams today rely on spreadsheets and scattered tools, making it difficult to track assets, measure performance, and collaborate effectively. PlayMaker automates these workflows and surfaces insights that drive revenue and operational efficiency.

A question we like to ask every founder — why New York?
New York is the heartbeat of sports, media, and technology. It’s where partnerships are born, deals are made, and innovation thrives. Being here allows PlayMaker to stay close to both the rights-holders shaping the future of sports and the brands investing in it.

How exactly does PlayMaker use AI to enhance sponsorship automation and collaboration?
PlayMaker uses AI to automate manual sponsorship processes like deal creation, contract understanding, and inventory management. Our models analyze partnership data to recommend optimal packages, auto-generate proposals, and flag underutilized assets, empowering teams to move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and make data-backed decisions in real time. 

PlayMaker also generates recommendations for integrated brand campaigns where brands outline their objectives, and in seconds we curate not just an idea, but concrete ways of how the brands can holistically leverage the assets in their deals to accomplish their goals.

What are the most interesting use cases you’ve seen where PlayMaker’s AI surfaced insights or efficiencies that traditional methods missed?

1. We learned that one of our customers saves 15 hours every week by using our activation module to work with their brand sponsors v. using spreadsheets! 

2. Another customer reduced the time spent building recap decks by 80% by using PlayMaker’s automated recap deck generator

3. And the Head of Partnerships for a pro team used PlayMaker’s executive-level sales and revenue reporting to deliver real-time insights and recommendations to ownership, something that previously took hours to compile across disconnected tools. By connecting inventory, deals, and proposals, PlayMaker made those insights instantly accessible.

What’s your favorite New York sports moment — or sports moment in general?
Any moment spent watching the Rangers or Islanders is a great one. The electricity of the stadium during a power play or in overtime is unbeatable. 

Time for some New York-themed rapid fire questions — where’s your favorite place to grab a slice of pizza in New York?
Vinnie’s Pizzeria in Williamsburg!

Where’s your favorite coffee shop in New York?
I love Cha Cha Matcha and La Colombe.

Do you have a favorite spot to escape the noise of the city?
Central Park. Going for runs / walks helps me “reset.”

What’s one piece of advice — that you’ve shared or was shared with you — on building a startup in New York City?
Community is everything. Building a company is hard, so finding, connecting with, and supporting others who have gone through or are going through something similar as you can be extremely powerful.