Spirito said his firm and the companies it invests in are well-prepared for the short-termMARC BRYAN-BROWN
Continued innovation in the sports marketplace means there will be massive opportunities for investing in sports going forward, according to Sapphire Ventures Managing Dir Michael Spirito. "If you have all the subsets of what constitutes global sports media and entertainment, it's a trillion-dollar business," said Spirito, speaking at the '19 Dealmakers in Sports conference. "It's hundreds of billions of dollars in media rights. It's $90 billion worth of global sponsorship money. It is everything that constitutes digital and touches that market." He added, "You look at some of the smaller areas in the esports area and that's only a $2-3 billion business right now, but that's certainly growing. It's all driving this one trillion-dollar global marketplace in which we all work, and we all see what the long-term forces are that are going to keep people interested in sports." Spirito also said his firm and the companies it invests in are well-prepared for the short-term. "The cycle for any disruption usually takes a little bit longer in the venture marketplace," he said. "We want to make sure that our companies are funded. We want to make sure our companies are well-positioned strategically. We want to make sure they're as well positioned as possible to raise that next level of financing or do that deal that's going to take them to the next level."
MORE TO COME: LiveLike CEO & co-Founder Miheer Walavalkar also is bullish about innovation in sports. "There's a lot of opportunity right now," he said. "Not just with the big tech guys who are coming into the space ... but from the innovation space and sports tech companies that are either springing up right now." Walavalkar: "There's a tremendous amount of distribution in the market because everyone needs innovative products." However, he did say there will likely have to be some consolidation in the marketplace over the next two years as cash flow into these new sports tech companies slows.
