What to know about the oversubscribed Seed Round from TeamGenius:
- TeamGenius, a Minneapolis-based youth sports evaluation software company, has secured a $1 million seed round
- The round was led by Great North Ventures with additional participation from MATH Venture Partners and Groove Capital
- TeamGenius says it will use the funds to, “…expand upon the company’s core player evaluation product and fuel growth of its new virtual training platform.”
The Quote: Rob Weber, Manager Partner of Great North Ventures
“I’ve been very impressed with TeamGenius and their ability to execute throughout the Covid pandemic. The youth sports industry they serve was hit very hard and they managed to turn out a strong year despite the challenges. In addition to continuing to scale their evaluation product, the addition of a complimentary virtual training platform will accelerate their growth for years to come.”
We recently chatted with Chris Knutson, Co-founder and CEO of TeamGenius, about the raise, the platform, and the increased focus on the virtual training aspect of the business. Don’t miss that conversation on Twenty Minutes!
For more information on TeamGenius and the raise, read the release below.
Minneapolis, MN, August 10, 2021, — TeamGenius, the leading provider of youth sports evaluation software, announced today that it has raised a $1.1 million fundraising round led by Great North Ventures. The company will use the funds to expand upon the company’s core player evaluation product and fuel growth of its new virtual training platform.
Founded in 2016, TeamGenius is the largest provider of youth sports evaluation software, serving more than 500,000 athletes, coaches, and volunteers with its easy-to-use platform for managing tryouts, camps, and player feedback programs.
Identifying a New Market Opportunity
After recognizing a new market opportunity that would accelerate growth and better serve its customers, cofounders Chris Knutson and Todd Larson began preparing to move on it.
“We kept noticing a common theme across youth sports organizations that were using our software,” said Chris Knutson, TeamGenius’ co-founder, and CEO. “A player would receive news that they hadn’t made the top team after tryouts, or get a feedback report from their coach and want to know how they could get better. We’ve always been great at helping players understand what skills they can improve upon, but now we’re building the tools to help them practice and get better at those skills from home.”
Expanding Into At-Home Training
In September 2020, TeamGenius set out to kick-start the foundation of an at-home training app for youth athletes by acquiring a hockey training platform and its virtual training content built and produced by former New Jersey Devils captain Bryce Salvador.
“When TeamGenius shared their vision of helping players act on the feedback they receive with at-home training tools, it aligned perfectly with the xHockeyDevelopment platform I’d been building. It was a no-brainer to team up with them,” said Bryce Salvador. “After 15 years in the NHL, I’ve been focused on helping young hockey players develop to their full potential. This partnership was a great opportunity to pursue that further.”
With a proof of concept and strong initial traction post-acquisition, TeamGenius set out to raise a $1M seed round to accelerate hiring and the development of its new training platform.
Because of the compelling growth opportunity and TeamGenius’s proven ability to execute, existing investors including Great North Ventures committed half of the round, while new investors like MATH Ventures and Groove Capital quickly capitalized on the opportunity, exceeding the initial $1M goal, said Knutson.
“I’ve been very impressed with TeamGenius and their ability to execute throughout the Covid pandemic,” said Rob Weber, Manager Partner, Great North Ventures. “The youth sports industry they serve was hit very hard and they managed to turn out a strong year despite the challenges. In addition to continuing to scale their evaluation product, the addition of a complimentary virtual training platform will accelerate their growth for years to come.”
Later this year, TeamGenius will be launching its at-home training platform, complete with tons of high-quality training content and furthering its expansion into supporting the complete athlete development process.
About TeamGenius
TeamGenius is the leading athlete evaluation software provider for youth sports associations. Founded in 2016, TeamGenius serves over 500,000 youth athletes, coaches, staff, and volunteers with an easy-to-use platform for managing tryouts, clinics, coach and player development programs. TeamGenius is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information, visit https://teamgenius.com.
