Dallas—Partners with a deep well of subject matter expertise and capital are on the top of any entrepreneur’s wish list.
Now an accelerator tailored to sports technology startups might be giving those founders a connection to the ultimate in sports and marketing royalty: the Dallas Cowboys.
The new Blue Star Accelerator, aimed at nurturing young tech companies in sports and entertainment, is expected to open up shop after the start of the new year. While details of the accelerator are still being worked out, ultimately the program is expected to be housed at the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco, TX, about 30 miles north of Dallas.
“We haven’t seen how each deal is going to be structured,” says Jerry Mooty, chief business and legal officer with Blue Star Sports, the company that would run the accelerator. “Each one will be looked at on an individual basis. Some may or may not need capital; they may need office space.”
The accelerator is a joint project between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his family and Rob Wechsler, the CEO of Blue Star Sports. Jones, along with Providence Equity Partners, funded the eight-month-old company, which is being set up to be a one-stop shop for youth sports technology needs, including league websites and registration systems. (Providence has sports-related investments in the Ironman Triathlon, Major League Soccer, and Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, among others.)
Since April, Blue Star Sports has been on a buying spree, picking up half a dozen tech startups in sports software and payments systems.
“The Dallas Cowboys organization is dedicated to the development of youth sports at all levels,” Jones said in an April press release announcing the start of Blue Star Sports. “The future lies in the hands of the youth, and working to enhance the participation of young people in sports is very important to us.”
Mooty says that
