Sports Technology Company Teamworks Closes $65 Million Series E Round, Looks To Integrate Recent Acquisitions

Zach Maurides was an offensive lineman on the Duke football team in 2005 when he founded Teamworks. Maurides went on to note that the Blue Devils have strong coaches, trainers, nutritionists, mentors, sports scientists and a number of highly trained and qualified professionals working to help athletes succeed on and off the field.

However, it was difficult for these people to communicate and coordinate schedules, so Maurides and his start-up created software to accommodate everyone more effectively and efficiently. Until 2019, with the exception of one small acquisition, Teamworks has grown organically. But over the past four years, Teamworks' ambitions have grown by making several acquisitions, raising funds to fuel its vision and expanding its customer base to hundreds of professional, collegiate and Olympic sports teams in nearly 20 countries, as well as in the army. and first responders.

Late last month, Teamworks closed a $65 million Series E round, its largest to date. This brings total funding to $165 million and follows the $50 million Series D round the company announced in June 2022.

Teamworks CEO Maurides declined to disclose the company's valuation after the Series E round led by Dragoneer Investment Group, a San Francisco-based firm that invests in technology companies. But Maurides noted that the valuation had doubled after a Series D led by Delta-V Capital, a Boulder, Colo.-based firm. that focuses on software investments.

Maurides said Teamworks closed the Series E round in less than 90 days, which is rare at a time when venture capitalists and other investors are spending more time evaluating opportunities.

"We know very well how difficult it is for many people to raise funds today," Maurides said. “I think what makes the difference for us is that we are first and foremost the open market leader in our industry. Second, we are still growing very quickly. And then, thirdly, we want very efficient capital. I think if you're those three things, I don't think it's a hard market to pick right now."

He added: "We have very good conditions, similar to our previous tournaments, so we are very happy with the result."

Teamworks used some of its recent funding to acquire ARMS Software, a company that works with more than 400 university athletic departments, primarily in the areas of NCAA compliance, recruiting management and camp operations.

The deal comes months after Teamworks announced the acquisition of Smartabase, Retain, NextPlay and Grafted under separate agreements. Smartbase is designed for sports academics to identify and develop talent, while Retain is used by schools to track academic advisors and support services. Grafted and NextPlay, on the other hand, are early-stage companies aimed at helping athletes transition to life after graduation or the end of their playing careers.

Teamworks made its first major acquisition in October 2019, when it acquired INFLCR, a company that allows athletes to post in-game photos to their social media feeds. Since then, INFLCR has become the premier name, image and likeness (NIL) platform, helping more than 70,000 athletes qualify for NIL contracts and overseeing those contracts to ensure eligibility for more than 3,500 varsity teams.

In October 2021, Teamworks acquired Notemeal, a startup focused on sports nutrition. Dietitians use Notemeal to create meal plans for athletes, track their nutrition, and order meals from institutional cafeterias. In October 2022, Teamworks acquired Whistle Recruiting and RecruitSuite, software companies focused on college recruiting.

"We tried to identify the groups in this industry that are doing the best in each category," Maurides said. "We've realized that to really revitalize this industry, to build all the technologies that are going to be needed to digitize this industry, the best way to get to the end state of full digitization of what's coming out of this industry is really about big teams, big companies, all the areas that we think need to be addressed." focused teams that hire great people."

Most of the companies that bought Teamworks kept their brands and names. Teamworks sells products as a complete package, package or a la carte from certain offers.

While most of the company's customers are sports organizations and leagues, Teamworks spans other industries, including the military and first responders.

"What they all have in common is that they are industries built around human assets, really unique and expensive human assets," Maurides said. "These are industries that invest heavily in health, wellness and performance."

Over the past year, Teamworks has been active in building its products through acquisitions, but Maurides doesn't expect to make any other deals in the coming months.

"I think we're going to take some time to digest this over the next couple of quarters to make sure we integrate the teams and the products well," Maurides said. "We have a list of people that we think are going to be exceptional when it comes to hiring, but I would definitely say for the foreseeable future. I think we're just going to focus on digesting (acquired companies).

Find a tactician? Maybe luck? We are football - Level 2 October