Meet our 6 new Global Sport Venture Challenge winners
The Global Sport Institute’s Edson E+I program focus on the future of sport and finding ways to positively impact the world through sport. One of our main goals in this area is to support those who are pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor. We are proud to partner on these efforts with ASU Entrepreneurship + Innovation. Through ASU E+I’s Venture Devils program, we host our very own Global Sport Venture Challenge funding track. GSI offers one-on-one coaching, opportunities for grant funding, and access to a burgeoning network of advisors through strategic relationships and partnerships for qualified ventures.
During this most recent ASU Demo Day, the ventures presented to a judging panel consisting of a variety of industry leaders and executives. They included John Christie from EXOS, Katrina Brumm, owner of Busy Bees Babysitting, Tesh Rao, Sr. Associate AD from Sun Devil Athletics, Trisha Smith from Topgolf, and Brad Schmidgall, CEO of Afinitas.
We are proud and excited to welcome these six new Global Sport Venture Challenge winners to our growing group of funded ventures.
Barrage Striking Sleeve
After searching the market for an effective but affordable boxing system, founder Ricky Johnson of Barrage Training Tech took matters into his own gloves and created the Barrage Striking Sleeve. This technology is an interactive piece that is made to wrap around a hanging or free-standing punching bag. The device has LEDs and pressure sensors that indicate where the user should strike. This innovative technology creates a new way to experience combat training and allows users to improve their accuracy and reaction time while working out.
Accelerated Cycles
Accelerated Cycles is a start-up that creates innovative bike accessories, developed by three engineering students at Arizona State University. Their mission is to make biking safer, more accessible, and more fun for everyone. Their future goals consist of providing a number of different bicycle and transportation-related devices and accessories. Currently, and as demonstrated at their pitch, they are building prototypes for a light-weight mountain bike booster and hope to launch it this year.
FutureForm
FutureForm domestically manufactures activewear that utilizes next-generation materials to bridge the gap between sustainability, performance, and style. Their company is comprised of engineers, fitness enthusiasts, and friends with the goal of developing activewear that not only serves the community, but also the world. FutureForm created a variety of different products for their first successful beta-launch that concluded in September 2019. They plan to grow their product research and development to expand their offerings.
Fair Future Co.
Jeminise Parris, pictured second from the left, at a recent event with the Global Sport Institute.
Fair Future Co. is a company created by ASU Women’s Track and Field athlete Jeminise Parris. Parris, who is originally from Trinidad & Tobago, is working on developing an app for students from the Caribbean who hope to apply to U.S. colleges and universities. She is using her own experiences to develop Fair Future Co. and help students from the Caribbean to gain exposure, make connections, and find a path to the right school.
GoSurf
GoSurf is a mobile application focused on bringing the surfing community together and making all resources in the industry accessible to those in need. The application is a database, service, and review resource for surf camps, instructors, coaches, riders, photographers, videographers, storefronts, and potential sponsors. GoSurf aims to be an innovative app that integrates all parts of the surfing community, something that founder Alexsei Stojanovic has identified as missing in the marketplace.
Stonne
Stonne is a company that has created a new outdoor game that combines cornhole and skipping stones. Their product, Skip nn Hole, is a backyard pool game where pairs of teams try to skip stones across a pool into designated targets. Stonne has already debuted and tested their product at a variety of different locations and events on the ASU campus. They plan to launch and sell their first product soon.
To learn more about the Global Sport Institute’s Innovation Programs, visit our innovation page.
Grant Fogerty is the Entrepreneurial Programs Assistant for the Global Sport Institute. He is a student pursuing his undergraduate degree in Economics from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2020.
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