Fusion's software helps teams understand how exactly players are exerting their energyFUSION SPORT
Fusion Sport has been a leading provider of human performance software for hundreds of sports organizations across the world for the last decade. And while Fusion is well-entrenched in Olympic sports, soccer and rugby internationally, the tech company in the last several years has successfully begun to enter North American sports, most notably through partnerships in pro basketball. The Spurs became Fusion’s first NBA client five years ago, and now the company has deals with six teams and the league itself, as well as USA Basketball. Fusion provides clients with software to manage the player performance data it gathers. While some teams keep these services in-house, many are choosing to turn to companies like Fusion, especially as player health and load management become bigger league issues. Fusion co-Founder & CEO Markus Deutsch believes the company’s Smartabase software can help teams be progressive in managing fatigue and can assist in bringing medical advice and analytics together. “You've got the analytics group, which tend to sit in the front office, and they pore over all the game statistics, almost that moneyball approach. And on the other side, you've got the high-performance staff, who tend to look at all the medical data and load data,” Deutsch noted. “Traditionally those two things are completely separate -- they don't really talk to each other.” And that is where Fusion can play a big part. “The more progressive clubs that we work with are actually starting to finally bring those data sets together,” Deutsch said.
BUSINESS PLAN: Fusion has a North American HQ in Boulder, Colo., and Deutsch hopes his company can keep adding NBA clients, potentially two or three new teams each season. Annual contracts typically range from $35,000-40,000. Fusion makes most of its revenue from contracts outside the top-tier pro sports, but Deutsch admits those premier relationships are great reference points for the company. “The great thing is we never lose them,” he said. Deutsch said he often gets two or three investor inquiries a week, and while Fusion is not looking for a large financial commitment at the moment, Deutsch did acknowledge that could be the next step within a few years as the business grows. Fusion’s employee total has tripled from about 30 to 90 in the last several years.
