🌐 Consumer Startups Meeting the Demand for Women's Sports
Avoli, TOCA Football and Moolah Kicks
Each week this newsletter helps founders and investors navigate the athlete's economy by breaking down the latest trends across:
NIL
Athlete-Creators
Women’s Sports
Emerging Leagues
Athlete-Investors
Athlete-Driven Media
and more.
This week you'll get to know 3 consumer startups meeting the demand for women's sports ⤵️
Avoli
Avoli is the first and only athletic brand dedicated to women's volleyball athletes.
Investors and entrepreneurs have had their eyes on the #1 participation team sport for girls in the U.S.
At the professional level, it's sparked the development of leagues to expand playing opportunities:
LOVB
Athletes Unlimited
Pro Volleyball Federation
Additionally, at the collegiate level, women's volleyball has set the record for the largest attendance at a women's sporting event, ever (via ESPN).
However, prior to Avoli's launch in 2023, there were no performance brands specifically tailored to women's volleyball athletes.
Founded by Rick Anguilla and Mark Oleson, former athletic footwear and apparel executives, Avoli draws upon their extensive experiences at brands such as Adidas, Lululemon, Nike, and Under Armour to cater to an underserved market.
Upon launch, Avoli successfully secured a $1.5M seed round and assembled its initial roster of NIL athletes (via Yahoo):
University of Texas Longhorns junior Reilly Heinrich
University of Nebraska Cornhuskers freshman Harper Murray
University of Virginia Cavaliers junior Ashley Le
Learn more about Avoli here.
TOCA
TOCA was founded in 2014 by former pro soccer player Eddie Lewis.
Over the course of 10 years the startup has grown from 1 training location in California to the leading tech-enabled soccer experiences company with 40+ venues across the world.
Additionally, in 2022 TOCA became the Official Soccer Training Partner of the MLS through a 10-Year partnership focused on developing the next generation of talent in the U.S.
On the NWSL side, TOCA is also empowering players off the field to become leaders & stakeholders in their company.
In 2020 Abby Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup Champion and Hall of Famer, joined the TOCA Board of Directors.
And last week, TOCA became the first equity deal for Angel City FC stars Alyssa and Gisele Thompson .
The multi-year partnership structure aligns with the growing profile of the women’s sports owner & investor.
Learn more about TOCA here.
Moolah Kicks
Women's basketball players are leading faces of athlete-marketability in the NIL era.
By the numbers:
The average female basketball player partners with 3 brands, versus 2 for men (via Sponsor United)
75% of the most followed Final Four players in the 2023 NCAA tournament were women (via Sportico)
Women’s college basketball is ranked the third-highest among NIL compensated sports — only behind men's basketball and football (via Opendorse)
Moolah Kicks, the first and only performance brand focused exclusively on women's basketball, has positioned itself to become synonymous with the growth of the game — from its product to its partnerships.
After identifying a lack of proper footwear from women's basketball players, Natalie White founded Moolah kicks in 2020.
In 4 short years, the shoe brand has grown from an upstart to “The Air Jordan” for women and girls (via Fast Company).
Additionally, Moolah Kicks has forged partnerships with a growing roster of pro & college WBB players:
Courtney Williams
Destanni Henderson
Caroline Ducharme
The company has secured a total of $5M in funding from investors such as Mark Cuban and Dick's Sporting Goods' investment arm.
Learn more about Moolah Kicks here.
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