The Upside Newsletter

Today we have the honor of interviewing Jamie Tout, GM of the New Zealand Campus of Innovation & sports , a shared resource campus where multiple teams such as the New Zealand All Blacks, Swedish women football team have been training. The New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) is a world-class high-performance facility designed to support elite athletes, teams, and organizations. Loca...

This week we have the honor to interview again a group of sports performance executives to talk about the latest trends in the world of sports performance and rehabilitation. * Jason Han, the former head of rehabilitation at LAFC (MLS). Jason is also the head of business development in North America at OneBase health. * Michael Messer, the head of rehabilitation at Nashville SC (MLS). * Dr Derek L...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Pierre Barrieu, the director of performance for the Canadian national men soccer team , and a technical advisor for the UEFA and also works as a freelancer for the FIFA. Credits: Audrey Magny Pierre Barrieu is a highly respected sports performance expert with extensive experience in elite soccer. Originally from France, he has worked with multiple national t...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Eric Renaghan, Executive Director of Sport Performance at the University of Miami a top NCAA organization. Eric Renaghan leverages 15 years of elite sport experience to advance evidence-based athletic development programming for Miami Football and Track & Field. His career includes serving as Head of Sport Performance for the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Lo...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Dr Duncan French the SVP of the UFC performance institute. Duncan has 25 years of experience working with athletes from over 40 different professional and Olympic sports. As the Senior Vice President of the UFC Performance Institute, Duncan is responsible for directing high performance services to 700 UFC fighters globally, and managing three state-of-the-ar...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Drew Lukes, the sr PT at Duke University and the head of sports science for Duke’s women soccer team. 📝Show Notes: Through this interview, we touched on his background, and his role at Duke University. We also touched on what his typical day looks like. We also discussed his approach towards innovation and biofeedback, and how important technologies are to...

Dear colleague, This week I sat down with David Daoud , CEO of Compliance Standards to share my thoughts on the sports tech market, the various segments (Performance tech Vs fan engagement, AI), the latest trends, my favorite technologies, the average tech budgets by leagues (NBA, MLS, etc..), the sports leagues that are hard to break into and more. You can listen to the audio interview by clickin...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Dr Trent Nessler, a sports physical therapist, with an expertise in ACL injuries and Mixed Martial Art. Trent Nessler, PT, MPT, DPT is owner of The Athlete Lab, a sports rehab facility specializing in ACL rehab, MMA/ BJJ and mature athletes. The Athlete Lab is an operating research facility and one of the few in the US specializing in ACL Return to Play & MM...

Here is a recap on their past investments: KB Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage companies at the intersection of sports, media, and entertainment technology. Based in Chicago, the firm primarily backs startups leveraging innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, gaming, and digital media to transform the sports industry. KB Partne...

This week we had the honor to interview again a group of sports performance experts. * Jordan Troester, PhD, Director of sports performance and sports science at the University of Oregon (UO) , a top NCAA organization. * Drew Lukes, Senior PT at Duke University and the head of sports science for Duke university’s women soccer team , a top NCAA team. * Pierre Barrieu, Director of performance for th...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Dr Andy Barr, president of Quantum Movement , a leading biomechanics and movement analysis and training software for practitioners working in sports to help them make more accurate decisions and allow them to get better training outcomes with athletes.  Andy has worked in the NBA and professional soccer for 25 years. He has worked for teams such as New York...

This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA. You can read the full transcript of the podcast interview with Ron located at the top of this blog post. Here are som...

Today as part of our continued effort to bring more awareness on female athletes, teams and associated trends related to female athletes, we have the honor to interview a group of female sports performance experts: * Allison Schmitt, a 10 time Olympic medalist and multiple world champion in swimming (Team USA), and consultant with Orreco a leading sports data company. * Mélanie Pauli, Best Player...

This week we had the honor to interview again a group of sports performance experts. * Dr Marco Nunez, the former head athletic trainer of the LA Lakers (NBA). * Alexi Pianosi, the head S&C coach of the Colorado avalanche (NHL). * Adam Quigley, an experienced athletic trainer in the MLS (LA Galaxy), NFL (The Saints) & US Soccer national teams. You can read the full transcript of the podcast interv...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Joe Dolcetti, CEO of Lila a leading wearable resistance Movement technology company with AI coaching. Lila’s flagship product, called Exogen, is an exoskeleton designed to bring traditional resistance training into wearable form. It’s modular compression-based sportswear that allows athletes to add light, customizable weights anywhere on their body. This ena...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Jordan Troester, PhD, the director of sports performance and sports science at the University of Oregon (UO) , a top NCAA organization. He overseas the high performance teams across 20 sports and 500 student athletes at UO. Jordan is passionate about creating professional development pathways for future high performance practitioners in North America and he...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Trond Are Gjone, CEO of Fishbuddy , a leading company revolutionizing the fishing business. Fishbuddy gives fishermen a better shot at catching fish. They have 861,000 downloads. What they do is not crowd-sourcing information about where other people catch fish; instead, they tell fishermen where the best fishermen would like to go fishing. One of the key id...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Brian liebenberg, Former French international rugby player and CEO of Catch and Think a leading brain training tool for teams and athletes. Picture: Brian Liebenberg The Catch and Think method combines cognitive training with specialized ‘Catch and Think’ balls designed to boost mental performance. The idea is to enhance attentional skills, decision-making,...

Here is below the logos of LEAD ’s portfolio startups: Source: LEAD LEAD is a global venture corporation dedicated to enhancing lives through sports and health tech. With a family of funds investing across all stages of venture and a cutting-edge advisory division, we have expanded on the traditional Venture Capital model. We are a leading collective of global investors, innovators, and athletes,...

This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA. You can read the full transcript of the podcast interview with Ron located at the top of this blog post. Here are som...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Pierre Vespignani, CEO of EZTM , an AMS platform that can be used by the performance and medical staff of clubs. Pierre is the former physio of the Olympique de Marseille a top Ligue 1 team. EZTM built an Athlete Management System (AMS) platform. Unlike many existing solutions, it was created to address specific gaps we identified in the international market...

This week we had the honor to interview again a group of sports performance experts. * Andrea Hudy, the director of sports performance for the University of Connecticut (UCONN)’s women basketball team , a top NCAA team. * Drew Lukes, Senior PT at Duke University and the head of sports science for Duke university’s women soccer team , a top NCAA team. * Michael Messer, the head of rehabilitation fo...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Tony Verutti, CEO of Betterguards Technology, a leading injury prevention and recovery technology company. Betterguards Technology was born from the idea of giving athletes all of their performance and mobility while also offering them protection. Traditional braces have been the same for decades—rigid, uncomfortable, and often weakening the ankle over time....

This week we had the honor to interview again a group of sports performance experts. * Pierre Barrieu, the director of performance for the Canadian men national soccer team. * Alexi Pianosi, the head S&C coach for the Colorado avalanche (NHL team). * Adam Quigley, an experienced athletic trainer in the MLS (LA Galaxy), NFL (Saints) & US Soccer national teams. You can read the full transcript of th...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Stefan van der Fluit, CEO of FLOWBIO , a leading company that deletes dehydration for athletes. FLOWBIO’s product, the S1, uses cutting-edge technology like microfluidics to isolate sweat in a clean environment off the skin surface. This allows them to measure sodium concentration in sweat far more accurately than existing methods. The FLOWBIO system also in...