keith morrison

Deepen Parikh knew he struck gold early in the first year of Courtside Ventures’ existence when his parents kept reminding him: “You’re so lucky to work in the field you’ve been in love with all your life.”

Parikh, along with powerful backers in Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, George Pyne’s Bruin Sports Capital and British advertising company WPP, has helped the venture capital fund in just two years become a selective yet big-betting firm helping several well-known entities take significant leaps. 

Look no further than The Athletic, the subscription-based website that quickly is on its way to becoming the next generation’s go-to site for local sports coverage in 23 markets. Courtside Ventures recently participated in a third funding round of $20 million for The Athletic.

“With the folks we have we felt we have a competitive advantage of not only seeing the best deals across the industry, but more importantly being able to analyze, identify and then back both the best entrepreneurs and ideas,” Parikh said of Courtside’s fast start.

Other growing properties that have partnered with Courtside include the Drone Racing League, which has relationships with household names like Amazon and BMW while having its races broadcast by the likes of ESPN2 and Sky Sports; tech platform LiveLike; and livestreaming platform Beam, which has since become Microsoft’s gaming service.

In total, Parikh has helped direct Courtside Ventures to over 20 early-stage investments in sports tech companies, and he has a sense this is just the beginning.

“We had to build a brand quite quickly. And it was up to us to really identify and go deep in our networks to find other investors. We had to describe just how comfortable we can be as a fund,” Parikh said.

“It’s a challenge, but the game of venture is not for the faint of heart.”

— Thomas Leary