Isiah J. Kacyvenski is an ex- American football linebacker of national football league, an ex-college football player and an MBA student from Harvard. After his retirement from NFL in 2008, he noticed a divide in between sports and fitness companies and the new startups. There was an evident lack of communication between the entrepreneurs and the consumers. High impacting decisions were often made that were not very well informed, thus deepening the divide further. Isiah felt that it was only the sports industry who was suffering from this and nothing was being done to counter this.
He felt that he and his team could bring some understanding to the whole process of sports entrepreneurship. And so, the Sports Innovation Lab was formed.
Kacyvenski paired up with Angela Ruggiero, a four time Olympics ice hockey player, an MBA, and an M.Ed.in sports management, and Joshua Walker, an ex-Forrester executive and an entrepreneur to form the Sports Innovation Lab.
Its purpose is to recognize and assess technological products and services that can aid in the progression of sports and fitness industry. It is an amalgamation of a research platform and advisor network so that companies can make knowledgeable and calculated decisions.
According to Ruggiero, “The conversation is happening now, and everyone understands the power of technology for revenue optimization, player performance, fan activation, sponsorships and making their venues more compatible to use these technologies,” The main goal of Sports Innovation Lab is to assist their clients in understanding how technology can be used in different aspects of sports.
Sports innovation Lab is supposed to work like a hub that grants access to more than 1000 merchants profile across 30 different sectors, all of which fits into four different areas; quantified athlete, immersive media, next generation sponsorship and smart venues. After a licensed subscription, sports professionals will have a direct and thoroughly researched analysis that will help them understand how their companies can fit into this intersection of sports and fitness and technology.
