Branding, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Marketing, Tennis, Mobile Apps, Gamification, Community, SportsTech
Stephen Mikolajczak
Tenni: Modernizing the Tennis Experience.

In 2018, a Copenhagen City Heart Study was published via the Mayo Clinic which found that playing tennis added 9.7 years to people’s lives. The contributing factors were not just benefits gained from physical activity, but also from the social relationships formed by being part of a tennis community.

Given all this, I was super intrigued to speak with founder Mark Pesahovich in our latest release of ‘start-up stories’ to hear how he’s looking to re-invent recreational tennis with a community-based platform named Tenni. We hope you enjoy the highlights from our conversation.

Tenni: Modernizing the Tennis Experience.
Branding, Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Marketing, SportsTech, Founders, Mental Health, Student-Athletes
Stephen Mikolajczak
The Zone: Disrupting the stigma of mental Health

It’s no secret that mental health has become a topic evermore top-of-mind in the cultural conversation. Over the last 10 years we’ve seen a nationwide increase in mental health-related challenges by 250% for a subset of one group in particular, the student-athlete. We sat down recently for a truly inspiring conversation with Erik Poldroo, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer of The Zone, a personalized mental wellness platform for student-athletes and their athletic programs. We spoke about their origins, purpose, fears, frustrations, and pivots. The Zone is gaining momentum in the market as they bring their solution now to a collection of marquee university athletic programs inside America. Based on our conversation, it’s easy to see the positive impact they have already started to make.

The Zone: Disrupting the stigma of mental Health
Branding, Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Marketing, Golf, Betting, SportsTech, Founders
Stephen Mikolajczak
LoopGolf: Disrupting Real Money Betting

An estimated 85% of golfers play for money, it's a natural motion that's always been embedded in the game where even Mary, Queen of Scot's played a money match before her wedding day! Recently we enjoyed a fascinating conversation with co-founder of LoopGolf, Thomas Reinholm. Loop is a peer-to-peer betting app built specifically for golf. Thomas and I spoke about Loop’s origins, where the game of golf is heading, the Loop brand, and what its future could look like.

LoopGolf: Disrupting Real Money Betting
Branding, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Marketing, Tennis, Footwear
Stephen Mikolajczak
Frank Works: Reinventing Tennis Footwear

For our latest edition of ‘start-up stories’ we connected with to Rod Foley, Dave Lambert, and Greg Newman, founders of 5AM Brands, to hear about their story and how they’re looking to disrupt the tennis footwear category with a new challenger brand Frank Works. Here’s a look our conversation:

Frank Works: Reinventing Tennis Footwear
Branding, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Marketing, Fan Engagement, SportsTech
Stephen Mikolajczak
SuperQuickQuestion: helping Fans & Athletes ...

For our latest edition of ‘start-up stories’ I had a blast talking to Dave Benson, founder of SuperQuickQuestion about their story, brand, and some major lessons from their journey thus far. Here’s a look our conversation:

SuperQuickQuestion: helping Fans & Athletes meet 1-on-1

Super Bowl

5 LESSONS YOUR BRAND CAN LEARN FROM THIS YEARS SUPER BOWL® TEAMS

The biggest sporting event of the year is upon us.  Overindulgence of delectable snacks, cheesy dips, multiple libations, and being over-stimulated by 30-second commercials are all on tap. However, it’s worth the time to think about what we can learn from “The Big Game”. Is your brand like the Denver Broncos® or the Carolina Panthers®? 

THE BRAND OF THE BRONCOS: The Denver Broncos; enter as the “Mature”, tried & true, traditional brand. Chalk full of veteran leadership with the classic prototypical pocket passer, Peyton Manning, and Hall of Fame quarterback turned NFL executive, John Elway. The Broncos have a rich history of sustained success in the league with winning seasons, deep playoff runs, and Super Bowl appearances. They’ve taken bold yet calculated risks, signing on an aging Peyton Manning, which wound up paying off for the franchise quite well with 2 Super Bowl appearances in the last 3 years. One might say the Broncos blueprint has it positioned as a “best in class” franchise. 

Despite this strong track record, the future is murky. The Sherriff’s “last rodeo” seems imminent. So what’s next? Who can take the reins? Can the team sustain excellence without it’s HOF play caller? Can they remain relevant in the “New NFL?”

THE BRAND OF THE PANTHERS: Now let’s turn our attention to the Carolina Panthers; they enter the game on the young, emerging start-up phase of the brand life cycle. A young franchise (relatively speaking) - with some success since entering the league 21 years ago. However, their dedication to excellence has been inconsistent at best. This season though, the Panthers have been utterly dominant. Franchise QB Cam Newton, has come of age and to many is being described as “how the position should be played in the future”. The team as a whole is full of energy and extremely creative in their offensive and defensive schemes. What’s more, they have electrified their fans, and found ways to instantly give back to the community with every score.

The flip side of “Brand Carolina”; they are entering unchartered territory as well as having limited experience of winning and being the focal team of the league. Their bold actions and messages rub a lot of people the wrong way. The big question, like any emerging brand, is if what they are doing this year is sustainable, or are they a waning fad?

There are dozens of parallels these teams have with brands in the marketplace today. Regardless of which end of the spectrum of your brand falls, there are 5 key lessons to remember:

1.       Play your game – Brands that try to be something they are not, will find it hard to fake it for long, and consumers will sense the phoniness. You should stay true to yourself and your brand promise.

2.       Build Your Strategic Plan to mitigate your weaknesses - Your Brand may be in the Super Bowl today, but what does the future look like? What action steps do you need to take today to ensure your band is relevant 3 years from now?

3.       Bring your fans along for the ride - Your consumers (aka Fans) are your most important asset.  You should find ways to surprise and delight them every chance you get to build long-term loyalty.

4.       Learn from your competition - While your Brand might not be on the cutting edge of the category, learning new approaches from start-ups can be a great way to bake innovation into your culture.

5.       Don’t be afraid to take risks - Regardless if you are a well-established brand or an emerging one, you need to step out of your comfort zone and take risks. While it may not always work out, you may just find yourself in the Super Bowl.