Grandstand: The Startup Bringing the Creator Economy to Sports
Welcome to The New Game where we break down the latest trends in the athlete’s economy.
Special Edition 🥳
Grandstand, a startup bringing the best of the creator economy to sports, has announced a new $2.75M round of seed funding led by Will Ventures.
As a believer in creator-empowerment for athletes, I’m excited to be a part of Grandstand’s journey as an advisor!
In this weeks special report, we’re diving into Grandstand’s launch and how they will catalyze the athlete-creator market.
Let's connect on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
Enjoy!
💡Big Idea: Athletes Can Do Both
Source: Deestroying on X
Today’s creators are on track to become what Forbes dubs "the most significant business leaders of our time."
In the past decade, 300+ startups have entered the market to assist creators in unlocking new forms of monetization. One of the most powerful revenue opportunities has been the community (more on this below).
Source: Influencers Club
Collectively, these startups have enabled what venture capital firm Signal Fire calls, “creators as businesses”.
Before the NIL rule changes, athletes with promising creator potential had to make a choice.
One of the most frequently cited examples is Deestroying, the former UCF Kicker who opted for YouTube over football and went on to create a new blueprint for the modern-day athlete.
However, in 2023 and beyond, athletes can pursue both paths.
Enter: Grandstand
💸 Grandstand: Bringing the Best of the Creator Economy to Sports
By merging the creator blueprint with a focus on the athlete consumer — Grandstand is making it easy for players to “engage and monetize their true fans as effectively as their favorite creators can”.
In action, Grandstand will provide athletes with a simplified subscription structure to help them:
Build a direct-to-fan recurring revenue stream
Turn their top fans into brand loyalists
Transform their audience into a real business
The platform is effectively bringing the best of the creator economy to sports.
In The Independent Creator (the largest study of creators ever done), research showed that the future of the creator economy is the community economy – a world where top earners online build network effects around their brand.
Leading the charge for Grandstand is Sandeep Rajan, who brings first-hand experience at the intersection of community and commerce as a former product leader at Patreon.
Athletes have some of the most loyal and passionate fan bases in the world but have not yet benefited from many of the tools and technologies that have unlocked creator freedom and monetization over the recent years. We believe that by applying the best of these ideas in a way that’s unique to athletes and their biggest fans, we can unleash a new era of true fandom in sports in a way that uplifts and unites athletes and their communities
Sandeep Rajan, Founder and CEO of Grandstand
🤳🏽 Women’s Sports: Leading the Creator Charge
A new generation of social-native players are entering their prime performance years and redefining how we think about the modern day athlete.
At the forefront of this — women’s sports.
Grandstand is embracing this, as the platform has formed a strategic partnership with Parity at launch.
Parity represents 850+ professional women athletes across 70+ sports and connects them with corporate partners through meaningful collaborations.
In partnership, Parity and Grandstand will be finding ways to “increase fan engagement and create new revenue opportunities for Parity’s community of women athletes”.
👀 What to Watch: A Real Sports Creator Economy
Source: Signal Fire
When you look into the cycle of the creator economy, the industry took on new life once creators could monetize directly from their fans.
Prior to off-platform solutions, creators were reliant on advertising and platform payouts to earn — until platforms like Kajabi helped content-creators earn “over 6 figures with as few as 350 customers”.
Athletes will experience a similar shift.
Right now, solutions are successfully helping players earn with advertising and sponsorships.
The next step are effective off-platform monetizations solutions like Grandstand to catalyze the next wave of athlete-earnings in the sports creator economy.
🫂 That’s a Wrap
Thank you for reading!
As always, let’s connect on LinkedIn to continue the conversation!
Kirby