Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert and ad agency WPP have combined to contribute $35M "into a new investment fund they’re calling Courtside Ventures," according to Michael Smith of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The venture capital fund will "work with Bruin Sports Capital in a partnership to invest in early stage technology and media companies with a focus on sports." Bruin Founder & CEO George Pyne will "serve as non-executive chairman for Courtside Ventures and work with a management team to identify investment targets in the sports technology and media sectors." Investments "could range" from six figures up to $3M or so. WPP and Gilbert "helped launch Bruin a year ago with their investments -- WPP put up a third" of the $250M that Bruin raised to start the fund. Gilbert is "characterized as the anchor investor." Courtside’s management team will be based in Detroit and includes NYVC Sports Founder Deepen Parikh, sports analytics company Krossover Founder Vasu Kulkarni and Rockbridge Growth Equity Managing Partner Brian Hermelin, who also serves as a founding partner at Detroit Venture Partners. They will "run Courtside’s day-to-day business, explore business prospects and negotiate investments into companies." Pyne also "brought on" Bedrocket Founder & CEO Brian Bedol and Sports Media Advisors Founder & CEO Doug Perlman, both of whom "will be advisers for Courtside" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/11 issue). In N.Y., Michael de la Merced writes Pyne is "setting up what he calls a third platform for Bruin, investing in all manner of early-stage start-ups that can mesh with sports and entertainment." Parikh said that Courtside's focuses will "include virtual reality, data analytics and e-sports ventures." Pyne credits Gilbert and WPP Founder & CEO Martin Sorrell "with helping to come up with the idea of Courtside." He said that the two "stressed the importance of staying on top of the changing technology landscape" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/11).
