Deepen Parikh - Partner - Courtside Ventures

Deepen Parikh, a partner at Courtside Ventures, believes that sport touches numerous industries, geographies, and demographics - that sport is no longer fully focused on single sports organizations such as the NFL and that demographic. At Courtside, they see sports as a subset of media and media is something that everyone consumes every day, through sports, audio, fitness, or esports. His company wants to invest in brands that have a strong impact on the sports ecosystem. Whether it be the Drone Racing League where they are developing a sport from scratch; the Athletic, where subscription sports reporting is breaking away from the traditional mediums; or RebelMail, an interactive email platform which he sees as having a large play around the sports industry through the email medium. At Courtside, sports are viewed holistically, broader than just teams and leagues. They investigate how consumers are acting at any level of sports. Deepen’s career advice would be not to focus on quick money but instead on three things; if you are good at what you are doing, if there is longevity in the career, and if you enjoy doing it. Financial rewards will come down the road. When you are young and starting your career is when you can afford to take risks but it will be far more difficult later on down the road. This edition of the Forty Under 40 Spotlight Podcast, featuring interviews with winners of Sports Business Journal's prestigious Forty Under 40 Award, is brought to you by Turnkey Search.