The Business of Play/Brian Litvack - LeagueApps, Youth Sports, The Anxious Generation ~ Spark of Ages Ep 24 - Spark of Ages

Episode Transcript
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Rajiv Parikh (00:07):
Hello and welcome to the Spark of Ages podcast.
Today we're talkingwith Brian Litvack, co founder
of LeagueApps, a companybased out of
New York, which is dedicatedto empowering youth sports
leaders, owners, operators,and admins who dedicate their
lives to the players and game,especially investing in the
people that make it happen.
Brian has been operating andbuilding in this space since he

(00:27):
graduated from the Universityof Michigan, an awesome school.
Go Wolverines.
Yeah, yeah.
Go Wolverines.
My son and daughter inlaw both went there.
And our producer.
So it's too many.
I'm surrounded by

Sandeep Parikh (00:40):
Wolverines and none of you look
like Hugh Jackman.
So.
But

Brian attended the Ross School of Business
as an undergrad, and overthe last decade, he built
the gaps into a company thatsupports over 300, 300, not
300, 3000 sports organizations.
I was working on 300, 000.
Probably 300, 000 teamsafter this episode, after
he gets the spark of ages,bump, it'll be 300, 000.

(01:07):
It'll be 300, 000, but maybe Icould definitely see probably
300, 000 teams, maybe 3 millionteams he's processed over
5 billion in transactions.
It's reached over10 million players.
Parents and coaches andimpacted 250, 000 kids
through the nonprofitfund play organization.
And just a name drop.

(01:27):
A few of LeagueApps investorsare MLB Major League
Baseball, Julie Foudy, DavidRobinson, the LA Dodgers, Shane
Battier, and Swin Cash.
Some of the key takeaways youcan expect from this episode.
It's a lineup.
Yeah, it's an awesome lineup.
The num number one, we're gonnatalk about the problems in youth

(01:47):
sports and how we solve them.
Number two, what theeffect private equity
will have on youth sports.
That'll be an interesting topic.
And numberthree, what LeagueApps
go to market strategy is andhow they authentically drive it.
And I'll throw in a fourth,what drives Brian to be so
successful and engage with therest of the world like this,
Brian, welcome to the show.

(02:09):
Welcome to spark of ages.

Brian Litvack (02:10):
Thank you so much for having me.
Excited to be here today.

I actually played with some of these apps.
Uh, we had a team snap.
When I was, uh, on the boardof directors of the Stanford
soccer club that supportedour youth youth group.
And then eventually we movedto another application.
That's a more local one by Gus.
So it was really cool tomeet and talk with you about
it because I went throughall kinds of stuff, working

(02:35):
with these applications andhow to run a club at scale.
So, um, tell us alittle bit about.
You know, into thestory of what got you to
start, uh, LeagueApps.
Yup.
So

I'm in 2000, all the way back to 2010,
uh, we had been working ona different startup that
was about connecting adultsto play sports with each
other in local communities.
Uh, it was a problem we weretrying to solve for ourselves
where you can find a, uh, anextra player on your softball
team or a tennis partner, ora group to go running with.

(03:10):
Um, and at the time it was,you know, go offline to get out
or go online to get offline,but it was kind of the motto
of helping use technologyto connect people to enjoy,
uh, and experience sport.
And we, we, we wanted to havemore impact and the way we
recognize we could throughsoftware and technology.

(03:31):
Was by helping our super usersand our super users of our
community where the peoplethat actually organize sport
within those communities.
So in every town across theU S there's a, uh, there's
a full community, vibrantcommunity of parents and
kids participating in sports.
And then there's usually a halfdozen to a dozen people who

(03:52):
make it their responsibility.
Sometimes it'stheir full time job.
Sometimes it's volunteerto actually organize
and produce sport.
And we saw them and werecognized no one goes to
college to majors in sportslogistics in local youth
community sports logistics, buta lot of people have incredible
passion and philanthropyand influence to want to be

(04:15):
able to impact and affectsports within communities.
Uh, and we wanted to, andwe recognize the opportunity
to build the tools.
Uh, what I like to say is, youknow, we started this to help
communities organize sports.
Uh, when a decade plus later,we recognize we're a vertical
SaaS payments company.
Uh, but at the,at the core of it.

(04:36):
Was very much taking thismission that we had with our
previous company of creatingamazing sports experiences
and recognizing that byactually being a B2B software
platform for a space that backin 2010, didn't really have
much software, that that'sthe way we can have the most
impact and the most influenceon how sports is organized.
And we've been very fortunatethat, uh, since that time.

(04:59):
Uh, in 2010, we justgradually grown, uh, our,
our, our business and ourorganization, our influence
to Rajiv, as you mentioned,we have over 3000 sports
communities usingLeagueApps to really
be the system ofrecord and power, uh, everything
that happens within theircommunity from registration
and payments to communication,messaging, scheduling, program

(05:21):
management, uh, reportingand analytics, uh, websites
and mobile apps for thecoaches, parents, and players.
Uh, and trying to be that coreoperating system, uh, that a
sports community can use, uh,to allow them to do what they
want to do and what they love todo, which is actually, you know,
create these amazing sportsexperiences and make sports
happen in their community.

That's right.
It's really, so the, sobasically the idea of this is
that if it's totally volunteerrun, there may be a, uh, an
organization and then they, theylet the teams run themselves and
each team would create or use aplatform like yours and Organize
their team that way, right?
They'd have their coaches,the rosters, the game
schedule, who does what, when.

(06:03):
Um, but then, and then there's,but then of course, when you go
to a tournament or something,you got to share expenses.
You got to let people knowabout, uh, buying uniforms
or the, the, uh, the teamparties and all that.
Uh, and that's one level, right?
And then you end up going upanother couple of levels when
you actually have an organ, likea, a club level system, right?

(06:25):
Right.
That's something run by a muchby a central organization.
The staff is paid.
There's, there's all theselevels that you're moving
kids from one team to anotherbased on certain assessments.
So I'm sure it's gotten muchlike, did you start it from
the team level thought ordid you start it from like
the organizational level?

Yeah.
So, so we really tookan approach that the
sports organizer.
In the community is one of themost kind of unsung heroes and
has a thankless job because theyhave to go out and get permits.
And as you mentioneduniforms, and there's a lot
of logistics, they have a lotof volunteers, whether they're
for profit or nonprofit.

(07:05):
And there, if you think aboutit, each weekend, there's
multiple events going onall over the community at
different fields where youhave to get equipments and
you have to deal with familiesand parents and you have to
look at the weather and haveall these considerations and
they didn't, they just didn'treally have much technology.
Build for them to help themachieve this and in many ways

(07:27):
they were the super users asI mentioned of our community
because they were just they werelooking for help with promotion.
They were looking forhelp with website.
They were looking for helpwith attracting players.
So we saw the benefitsthat we want to bring
them is save them time.
Workflow automation.
This is what SAS companiesare really great at, right?

(07:47):
How can we help a sportsoperator just move information
around, collect information,collect payments more
efficiently and effectivelyso they can be on the
field instead of doingadmin tasks all the time.
We wanted them to help themgrow their organization.
So, you know, we wanted to helpthem create a better experience
for the coaches, parents andplayers in their organization.

(08:08):
And we wanted them to helpthem optimize their funds,
whether that is a for profitorganization that's making
the livelihood or whetherit's a nonprofit or a
community organization thatjust wants more funds to
invest back into the program.
So that's where we saw thatsoftware technology and data.
Can have this, you know,more impactful influence
in how sports are organizedwithin communities.

(08:30):
And then what's nice aboutsoftware, you can really scale
that much more than if youwere an operator yourself.
And that's where we've beenable to partner with 3000
sports clubs or organizationsacross the country.

My question is, is how do you, um, do
you have anything in your appor in your operating system
to help these communityorganizers, these super users,
um, sort of protect them frompeople like my brother, these
sideline coaches that yellat the kids to do better.
What's wrong with that?

Is there anything to help them for that?
Come on, this, this iswhat I used to say to kids.
No, this is what I used tosay when I was the coach
and when I became themanager of the team, right?
Uh, the players play,the parents cheer, the
coaches coach, right?
So that's one of the messagesyou have to convey to folks.

Right.
And actually Rajiv is not abig perpetrator of this, but
uh, I've said some stuff.
Okay.
You

know, uh, Cindy, you joke, but the parents,
there were exuberance borderingon irrationality around how to
behave on sidelines of watchingtheir kids sports, uh, in every
community is something that,uh, has room for improvement.
across our society.
And what I like to say isyou can't really sit next to

(09:52):
your kid in school and rootfor them to do well on the
test or live vicariously forhow they do in science lab.
That's right.
But you can dothat in new sports.
And many parents spend asmuch time with their kids
in new sports activitiesfrom the age of four or
five up until high school.
Then any other thing thatthey're doing with their
child, between the childschool and their work.

(10:14):
So it really becomes awhole family experience.
Uh, and I think oftentimes theway parents parent is the way
that they act on the sidelineand the way that they behave.
And, you know, I, I'm part ofsomething called a positive
coaching alliance, whichis just trying to help.
put perspective into most ofyouth sports is really about

(10:36):
character development andself discovery and learning
and having great experiences.
You know, before this show Iwas talking about the producer
of this show was one of myall time favorite teammates.
We played sports togetherin middle school and high
school and those memoriesand those lessons are as
much as I got out of sport.
Uh, as, uh, as you know,competitive accomplishments.

(10:59):
And I think a lot of times in esports today, it's about being
competitive and excelling is thefocus where it should really be
about, uh, development, uh, ofsports skills and life skills.
And then all the amazing thingsthat go with being part of a
team that you could take withyou in your different parts

(11:19):
of groups and organizations.
And I think many of thebest sports operators
want to focus on that.
And one of the things thatwe often work with them is
how do you put your corevalues and the things that
you care about most front andcenter of your organization.
So it's not just about, youknow, winning or competitiveness
or, you know, a path to collegescholarship, which oftentimes

(11:40):
becomes, you know, you mentionedthe show, the problems.
I hate to say theproblems in our problem.
They're just like how you sportshas evolved, and we want to
make sure it continues to evolvewhere as many kids as possible
have positive experiences.
And not evolve in some, youknow, way that just because it's
a fragmented local industry,uh, it's kind of uneven in

(12:00):
those experiences, which, whichsometimes happens and which
we believe with sports andtechnology and data, we can
have impact and influence onhaving a ability to make sure
that those experiences aremore positive for, for all.

It's amazing.
I mean, here's, uh,when I got into it.
And of course, I have four kids.
They're older now.
Um, I just thought this bea, this volunteer thing.
And then it turns out thatthere's professional coaching.
So I got my kid through a Y.
S.
O.
All four kidsactually through a Y.
S.
O.
And then they all wentand did various things.

(12:36):
Three of them went into thequote unquote club system,
and it was just a wholedifferent game, right?
And so you're, yeah.
And it's a different, you'retraveling, you're doing
tournaments every weekend,the coaches talk you into,
uh, from soccer to futsal,uh, you'd end up doing
this whole machine, right?
And so, and then I realizedwith tournaments, it's

(12:58):
actually a big industry.
So as part of my Sanfordsoccer club, we have a
yearly tournament raised aton of money for the club
for scholarships that weuse to pay coaches, right?
Cause we wanted.
Kids from the community to put,you know, from all over the
committee, not community, notjust those with money to play.
So it's a bigger industry.
And I, I say comparedto growing my company,

(13:20):
this was actually easier.
So let me give you somedata and then Brian, you
can supplement the data.

Everyone (13:25):
So

from, I understand sports youth market.
Is a 37.
5 billion industry asof 2022 and is forecast
to grow at a compoundannual growth rate of 9.
2 percent until 2030.
And if you see how muchparents are spending on
it, it's understandable.

(13:45):
In 2021, 50.
7 percent of youth age 6 to17 said they participated in a
sports team, took sports lessonsafter school or on weekends.
So half.
That's right.
In 2019, the U.
S.
Department of Health andHuman Services set a long
term objective of 63 percentof students playing by 2030.

(14:07):
And maybe this additionalmovement, in addition to
what they do in schools,

Sandeep (14:11):
enables that to happen.
So that, that's actually myquestion coming off this data.
Like, I feel likehalf kids play sports.
That's like we can do better.
Like I, I just feel likejust all those things you
mentioned about sports andhow incredible they are.
There's a, but there'sa stigma, right?
Of like being a jock kid versusan art kid versus a whatever.
I wonder if I don't know howyour technology plays into this,

(14:33):
but you know, if this is ableto encourage sort of, Yeah.
Less of that stigma and thenmaybe drive these numbers up
because I mean, there's onlyreally positive benefits to kids
playing sports and team sports.
I personally,

yeah.
So, so one thing we're veryaware of is especially with
iPads and cell phones andyeah, the rise of YouTube and
the internet that kids havemore options now than they did
in the previous generations.
And those things are prettyaddictive and online gaming

(15:07):
figures out how to usealgorithms to help, you know,
keep the attention of kids.
So for what we believeis that sports needs to
continue to be an engagingexperience for kids because
they do have other options.
And that if we can helpthe operators and local
communities figure out howto best leverage technology

(15:27):
to create those, you know,amazing, positive, engaging
experiences, that's what willlead to more participation.
And to Sandeep, your point,everyone should have some type
of sports activity that they canparticipate in and enjoy, right?
Whether you're a supercompetitive, coordinated
athlete or not, that theyshould have different levels

(15:48):
and different sports andthe ability to sample.
Uh, different typesof activities.
What makes one of some of thethings that makes sports unique
is it's, it's, it's both, uh,wellness and, and exercise.
And it has this whole teamcamaraderie, uh, feeling
of, you know, being part ofbelonging of something, right.
Belonging.

(16:08):
And we, we, we longago could have expanded
into other verticals.
Esports are different typesof activities, and we really
wanted to keep the focus onteam sport and go deeper in team
sport because that's where wehave the most passion having.
It's not every partner thatwe have to us isn't just a

(16:29):
customer with an AR score.
It is a community.
That offer sports, and we taketremendous pride in saying
we want to be their partnerforever for the next generation,
the generation after that.
And then when they,when they decide to
partner with LeagueApps.
Uh, the sports in theircommunity is going to be better
or more productive or moreeffective or more inclusive,

(16:52):
uh, than, than not, or than ifthey went a different direction.
And I think that drives a lot.
That's our mission thatdrives a lot of our company.
It's as much, you know,we talk about our revenue
is based off of payments,processing, all kinds of
milestones that we're doingbillions of dollars a year.
But it's really the numberof communities that we serve,
the number of operators.
And then the number offamilies that are using our

(17:14):
platform to have better sportsexperiences, uh, is what
is what kind of thrills andmotivates us to keep on going
and keep on, uh, innovatingon the things that we can do
to help these communities.

That's awesome.
And here's a few more statsjust for, for you, like to
Brian's point, if we got.
The full 63 percent of kidsor 60 plus percent of kids
participating in youth sports,there'd be according to
this is according to the U.
S.
Department of Health andHuman Services, um, 1.
7 million fewer kids with whoare overweight or experience

(17:48):
obesity, about 147, 000fewer cases of diabetes, 59,
000 fewer cases of cancer.
145, 000 fewer cases ofcoronary heart disease.
The economy would benefit80 billion, 26 billion from
medical costs, 53 billionfrom increased productivity.
And they'd live an additional 1.

(18:10):
8 million additional yearquality years of life.
So it's about thatquality of life.
And I think you hit it, Brian,what, you know, I just listened
to a webinar about happinessand happiness is not just
getting, having pleasure.
But sharing it with othersand creating memories,

(18:31):
and really, that's whatyour app enables, right?
It makes the life of thevol, the volunteer or the
professional, or the, thepar, the parents or the
organizer much easier.
Yeah.
So now your company,your company, like
you, uh, started it.
You built it up, you tookan initial round of capital,
and then you just, I, Ithink 2021 is when you,

(18:52):
you raised your series B.

Everyone (18:54):
Yep.

So amazing.
You know, at leastit was announced.
You raised 15 million.
According to crunch base, Iwas able to find you're over
37 million ish plus or minus.
So, um, you know, awesome.
That's obviously based onhitting amazing milestones.
So where do you seeas your growth path?

I think we're still in the early
innings using a sportsanalogy of where we can go.
And one of the reasons why isthat technology is still in
the and software is still inthe early phase of how much
you can really impact theexperiences in youth sports.
And it's still afragmented market.
There's not tech solutionsfor every aspect of it.

(19:35):
It is complicated.
Some of the things that youneed to do to organize sports.
So we look at all of,you know, again, I'll
go back to the problem.
Sometimes it's field space.
Well, how can you buildmarketplaces to help, you know,
make sure all field space isbeing utilized in the right way.

That's a huge problem in many
communities, right?
Like, like.
What are the quality of fields?
I would imagine is alsofinding good fields that
aren't beat up and crappy.
So, uh, at least in a word,uh, in Silicon Valley in a
pretty wealthy community.
Right.
Yeah.
I'll be

talking about all your fields are like
frigging Dodger stadium.
I'm a little betterthan Dodger stadium.
It's like come help LA.
Okay.
It's like Pebble

beach.
No, no.
But like you can either.
It's fairly inexpensive touse the city fields, right?
Which are pretty beat up,or you can buy these feel
private fields or even thecity feels that are, that
are tough turf on them.
They're just, uh, it's a, it'sbecoming to enable kids to play.
It gets harder and harderto find these great fields.

Well, I think it's inefficient.
It's inefficient to match thefields with the right teams.
You know, there's sportslike hockey that you really
want efficiency becausethere's only so many ranks.
Sheets of ice out there, but so,so whether it's efficiency of
field space utilization, whetherit's better coach training,
whether it's better safetycompliance, uh, which is things

(20:56):
from sexual abuse preventionto background checks, like all
of this stuff should be partof the youth sports experience.
You guys, it's great that youboth have great experiences.
And again, the, you know, withAnand, uh, your producer, we've
had great sports experiences.
But it doesn't just happen.
You have to put in theconditions of having the right

(21:17):
operators, the right coaches,and the right conditions to
have a kind of safe, secure,protected environment for
kids to play sports in.
And, and there's stilla lot to be done there.
And we have an ambitious roadmapof things that we want to build.
Again, we're going to lookat it as how to use software,
how to use data to help solvesome of these problems that

(21:40):
in a, in a fragmented market.
That every community kindof does sports on their own.
There's not that manyauthoritative associations
or governing bodies herein the U S it's actually
different than other countries.
That it's, it's really localand it's very much falls
on these local operators tocreate a great experience.
And sometimes you go town bytown, whether you're in the

(22:00):
Bay area, I'm on long Islandor anywhere in the country.
And the sportsexperience is different.
They'll prioritizedifferent sports.
So they'll have differentlevel of qualities, right?
And it's one of thefabrics of communities.
It's one of the last placeswhere people will congregate
on the weekends and see eachother and actually interact.
And no matter what their.
political party is or their,their economic class will

(22:20):
be playing sports together.
So we think that'spretty special.
You know, we, we think wecan be the partner of these
people within the communitieswho make it happen, uh,
in all different ways.

So like what you mentioned one, which is a
really cool idea, uh, creatinga market marketplace for fields.
Are there other capabilitiesthat you're building as part
of that roadmap to scale, uh,more community features or
more, you know, like more.
I know you don't want to tip offyour competition necessarily,
but what direction do you want

to take?
After many years of reallyfocusing on the operator,
we're starting to focus inthe last few years more on the
coaches, parents, and players.
So one of the things we'reactually releasing in the next
month is for, uh, the athletesthemselves to log into the app.
So we built safe messaging,we built, uh, COPA compliance.
We wanted to make sure,though, that the athletes
can interact with each other,interact with their coaches.

(23:10):
In safe and protected waysso that they can get more.
They could be part of theexperience more digitally and
get whether it's training guysor it's, uh, feedback from
coaches or connecting with theother players on their teams
and doing that in a way thatis, uh, It's kind of compliant
with all the safety standardsthat it needs to be to allow

(23:32):
them to have to take theirexperience with them before
and after the game, not justwhen they're at the field.
And what was happeningis we had the parents can
log in and do everything.
But in this world, especiallythose athletes that are 13 to
18, giving them more opportunityto be able to use and engage
with tools to help them, whetherit's utility or more and more

(23:53):
going to go into engagement andhow to enjoy their experience.
We haven't solved evaluationand report cards yet, but
we think that should be partof every sports experience
is where you're gettingprogress reports or progress
evaluations from your coachthroughout the season.
And one thing is to dragon coaches, like if it's
not easy for them to do.
It's just like extra workin an already busy life.

(24:15):
So how can we do thatthrough voice notes?
How can we do that?
If you take a photo andmark it up, how can we do
it through writing the app?
So we're trying, that's one ofthe features that we're trying
to develop is like, what's thereal way of allowing coaches to
quickly give feedback to the,to their athletes and to their
parents so that, you know, athird grader can understand
how they've progressed fromthe beginning of the season

(24:36):
to the end of the season,one of the things that we
really learned during COVID.
So COVID was.
Uh, very difficulttime for our business.
You know, our revenue is allbased on transactions process.
So that basically went down 96%.
And we were always proudthat, that, that youth sports
was recession proof, but wenever took into account, it
was not a pandemic proof.

(24:57):
So what's happened, you know,COVID happens and there's
very little authority andyouth sports operators are
pretty confused of what to do.
Oftentimes county to county,there's different regulations.
Are they allowed to practice?
Are they allowed to, uh,put together programming.
But what came out of covid,which is really special for us,
was how much youth sports issocial and emotional learning

(25:17):
and how imperative it isfor the development of kids.
And that it was no longer likethis extra curricular activity.
In many communities, youthsports came back even before
school came back as somethingthat we have to make sure our
kids are allowed to do for themto kind of live healthy lives.
So I think a lot ofSport should be looked
at as a form of educationand a form of learning.

(25:40):
And it's not quite there yet.
There's not as much compliance.
There's not as much, uh,credentials as there should
be, but, but we look at everycoach as a educator and as
a teacher, and oftentimesthe coach is one of the most
informed, influential or.
Uh, uh, importantrole models for kids.

It's actually one of the few places where you get
truly open and honest feedback.
Um, what I saw with my kids asthey got older and sometimes
the coach would let me hang outin the huddle cause I was, you
know, because I was in the cluband all that, or, or helping
them manage the club was thatthey would, um, Like the things
they would say to my own kidthat I could never get away with

(26:22):
saying, you know, I would hurttheir feelings, but the coach
could literally be like totallyopen with them because they,
the kid knew that this is abouthelping them, helping them win.
They were handling criticismin front of, or constructive
criticism in front of others.
It's just a specialexperience that you, you
don't get in the classroom.
Right.
In many ways you get,you get on the field.

(26:42):
That's really cool.

One of, uh, in our interviewing process, we
look for sports team captainsand I brag that we have the
most sports team captains asa percentage of employees.
It's something like 60 percentof our team has been a sports
team captain at some pointin their life because that's
really to what you justmentioned, you know, how.
How oftentimes teammatesinteract on the sports field

(27:06):
would be so productive ifthey carry that over into the
business world that were openand direct and accountable
and that is so hard to do.
Yes.
And then all that.
It's so obvious in sports andthen, you know, on the field,
it's so easy to say, get back toyour position or like, if you're
tired, go to the sideline.
But in business, uh,it's, it's, it's.

(27:26):
For some reason, not as, uh,uh, not as obvious, but, uh, we
often talk about that parallel.

Well, the goal is not as quite
as immediate, right?
You're like literally talkingabout seconds matter when
you're on the field, right?
Every inch is matter.
So, so you can, you canmake those calls and you
have to make quick calls.
That's why, you know, you'reable to do that versus tying
a bunch of ego into it.
You just gotta be in themoment and you gotta be.

(27:52):
Looking at the wholefield and assessing it
and your place in it.
And that's why I thinkyou're open to that.
Chris.
Yeah, Brian, you'retalking about the pandemic

and actually, you know, how every youth sport
organization's revenue went tozero and the part that's most
difficult about it was notjust the kids and how they were
impacted, but there's a lot ofcoaches that make their living
on sports on youth sports.
It's how they live.
That's their life.
They take care of, they, theyreally care for these kids.
And so.

(28:21):
Luckily for us in our soccerclub, one of the most satisfying
things for me is that becausein my role in the soccer club,
how we ran tournaments, weraised enough capital with that
combined with the government.
PPP program were ableto pay those coaches
during a critical time.
So having a product like yours,which helps people organize much

(28:42):
more effectively can make a hugedifference, especially in tough

times.
One thing I want to pop backto, though, Brian, because you
sort of we're talking aboutmore engagement and letting
the players start to log in,and particularly because we're
talking about youth sports.
You know, I'm wondering howyou sort of toe the line with,
you know, more of this parentalconcern and just larger societal
concern about, you know, Youknow, uh, social media and the

(29:05):
impact that it's having on,on, on kids, uh, you know, and
you're seeing more and more oflike the assembly bill that just
passed in, in, in Californiawith the Phone Free School Act.
And, you know, this pushtowards, hey, let's hold back
on kids on social media becauseof its negative repercussions
to their mental health and,and how it sort of creates this

(29:26):
false, uh, You know, impossiblesort of, uh, model to live
up to and all that stuff.
So I'm wondering how younegotiate, navigate that
as you, as you sort of growyour company into being more,
uh, you know, uh, having theplayers have that access.

Yeah.
So I follow a lotof that closely.
I really liked reading, uh,the anxious generation by
Jonathan Haidt that goes intothe, some of these topics.
I'm reading that right now.
Yeah.
And it's veryappropriate, right.
And some of the lessons it's,it's, but the way I believe it.
Technology can bereally powerful.

(30:00):
Is it if it enables people toget closer to their passions,
and I think that's what's neatabout our relationship with
sport is, by definition, sportis happening, at least how we
define it, in real life, on thefield, is physical activity.
So everything that we're doingis trying to put that front

(30:23):
and center and then helping,uh, kids or families, whether
it's utility, how to get thereor how to commute or how to
communicate our engagementof, you know, interacting
with coaches prepared forthe next game around that
actual event or activity.
So, so it's less, it's less

about like posting, Hey, we won and now
everybody can see my post.
Like, is it, is itless about that?
Uh, you know, or.
I, you know, I'm sort oftrying to get a picture of it.
Um, cause I can imagine thatthat would sort of increase
the anxiety seeing, youknow, everybody doing so well
and you feeling like leftbehind or cause it's more
personal in your interaction

as we go more.
So we've been very focusedand a lot of these apps
are focused on utility.
There's a rain out, Ineed a carpool, I need
to get to the game.
It starts at three 45.
It's at field too.
As we get more toengagement where we're
thinking a lot about.
It's how to enhancethe experience.
So, you know, how can yougive them drills to improve?
How can you let them relivethe moments that, you know,

(31:20):
uh, That are most vivid.
How can they communicateor support each other, uh,
uh, on and off the field.
So we're, we're just goingdown that path because until
you really nail the utilityof helping the parent and
the kid get to the event andactivity, that's what, you
know, if you have four kids,that's the, the weekend schedule
is like the battle, right?

Everyone (31:42):
Yes.

Only once all that's figured out, can
you sit back and say, Oh,let me see those highlights
of my kid or let me, youknow, help him get better
training or do some drillsin the backyard on his own.
But I think we look at it verymuch as how do you connect?
How do you connect kidsto their passion in a
productive and positive way?
I will say there is a lotto be learned from e sports.

(32:04):
E sports borrowed a lotfrom real life sports,
the name itself, right?
Tournaments, teams, uniforms.
But I think what I've learnedfrom e sports is that.
They quickly iterate to what ismost interesting or engaging.
They use data in differentways to help them figure
out the rules of the gameor the way to participate.
Uh, kids are often timesdon't need adult supervision

(32:25):
in order to play inevents or tournaments.
Uh, on some of the gamingplatforms, it's oftentimes like,
uh, quickly, uh, iterating intolike a new version of the game.
So I think there are someof those things that actual
physical sports need tobe more willing and open.

So looking at like engagement metrics
or, or sharing metrics, ormaybe there's a way they
evaluate things, kind ofthumbs up, thumbs down
as a way of building.
We're

trying to help.
We're trying to help a lot ofour, our, our organizations
understand retention.
Like why are kids not playingin first grade when they
played in kindergarten andsoccer or T ball and how can
we send them a message or asurvey or figure some of that
stuff out because you have achurn problem and they look
at me like, what is churn?
Is that like a butter, you know,making device or something?

(33:13):
No, no.
You're losing your kids.
They're quitting or retiringfrom sport at first,
second or third grade.
Because they didn'thave a great experience.
Like, how can welearn from that?
Was it a coach that wasn't good?
Was the field not there?
Was it not, uh, fun enough?
You know, we're spending a lotof time thinking about T ball.
What is the, is thatstill the best game?
Introduction to baseball?

(33:34):
Are there other ways tointroduce kids to baseball?
You know, you, you haveto recognize kids brains
are wired differently now.
And this is what the book says.
And they're used to things likemore data and used to things
like more, Uh, connectivity.
So, uh, a sport like baseballthat is sometimes more
nuanced and, you know, slowerpaced, when, when is it,

(33:55):
you know, uh, appropriateto play nine on nine?
And when should you dorunning bases and home run
derbies for the kids, right?
I think that's hard for anyindividual operator to say, I'm
going to change the rules ofthe game in my league, in my
town, in, you know, in my statewithout having support from,
without having data or videos orsupport or other organizations

(34:18):
around the country are alsogoing to say, we're all, we're
also going to do this because.
Well, you know, we did thisand we saw kids play baseball
every year and didn't churnand didn't leave the program.
So I I think there'sopportunities to innovate and
there's opportunities to createnew types of experience for kids

It's about time that t ball gets
disrupted It's about You know,

it's and there's some good there's
some good formats Thatare trying to do that.
There's one called quickpitch, which is, you know,
different, different rules.
But I think what happens, andthis is a, to the point of
innovation, it's hard for anyone local operator to say,
we're no longer going to doT ball and all the parents,
how can you not do T ball?

(35:01):
Every other communitydoes T ball.
So if you want to, if you wantto innovate in local sports,
you either have to have someonewho's super entrepreneurial and
a visionary, or you have to makeit easier for them to do that.
You have to have more, moreways of helping them say
it's okay to try a differentformat or a different game.
And I think some of thesports that are doing
that are the ones that.

(35:22):
Uh, that are getting ahead.
You know, tennis has done a nicejob where there's red ball and
green ball and there's differentsize courts and like everyone
kind of follows these rules now.
And it's much more appropriatethan having a four year
old trying to play on afull size tennis court.
So I think for every sport,there's ways of reimagining
the experience so that kids canenjoy it at an age appropriate
level so that they they aregetting the most out of it.

(35:46):
Uh, and then as they grow andas they learn, you know, they
can play with different rulesor different size fields.

Yeah.
It's a, it's a great innovation.
I mean, even in soccer,they went, went four V
four, seven V seven, nineV nine, then 11 V 11.
Right.
There's so many, and you canshare those best practices and
experiences because you havea wider platform where you can
show people what worked andmaybe have training videos.
You find that up, like there areinfluencers and athletes that,

(36:12):
you know, That involve itselfwith league app as part of
that, you have that MLB tie up.
Are they, are they helping you?
Are they partnering with you?

Yeah, I think ML, major league baseball,
and I want to speak forthem is very invested in
the future of the game.
And I think they're ableto take a longer term view.
Of what is positive.
And one of the things wework with them a lot on is
their ability to providebaseball experiences in
underserved communities.
So they have a programcalled RBI, which is reviving

(36:43):
baseball in inner cities.
They have, uh, uh, academiesin, in certain communities.
And what they're saying iswe want to expose baseball
to all these differenttypes of communities.
And we've helped themset up, you know, the,
the infrastructure.
Sure.
And work with those operatorsin those communities to
help make it easier forthem to provide baseball.
And they, MLB provides abunch of resources, a bunch

(37:05):
of training, a bunch of like,uh, uh, uh, uniforms and,
and equipment, uh, in orderto help more communities
have opportunities toplay, uh, play baseball.

They've had a huge reduction.
I mean, ever since the heyday ofthe seventies, eighties, right.
Of African American players.
I mean, just likea huge drop off.
Um, and so, I mean, I imaginethat's why they're pursuing
this initiative, right?
Yeah.

What they're doing is saying, if, if, if we
don't get involved, who will?
We have the ability andinfluence to have impact on
how kids participate withthe game and with the sport.
And they're doing that ina bunch of different ways.
And, uh, I think it'sgood for community.
It's good for business.
It's good for the nextgeneration of baseball fans.
Uh, people, kids who playsports are more likely to

(37:52):
be, you know, consumers andfans and, and, uh, of the
sport, uh, moving forward.
So the way to evolve sportsis for those that have the
most, uh, often, and we workwith many of the professional
sports leagues because thoseare the most resource and
the most sophistication.
Often also have the mostability to influence it.

(38:14):
And I think for thepast generation, it was
left to towns and localmunicipalities to run sport.
And what happened is a, a, a, aswell of private enterprising,
entrepreneurial, innovativeindividuals came in and said,
Oh, I could, I care more.
And I'm so passionateabout this.
I want to make it my livelihood.

(38:34):
And rather than beingan educator and a coach
on the side, I'm goingto do this full time.
And they've done a greatjob of like providing
better, more modern sportsexperiences than often the
talent leagues are, are someof the existing organizations.
I think what has happenedis they've often had to go
up market to competitiveand travel and club, because
that is the best thing.
You know, business supportedopportunity, and I think it's

(38:59):
left a little bit of a void,really quality experiences
that are more recreationaland more in town or more on
social emotional development.
And I think that's that thatcan be another opportunity that
I'm eager to see filled by.
Uh, innovators coming inand saying, how do we create
great team experiencesthat don't have to tie into

(39:20):
competitive or travel or, uh,kind of expensive investments
in order to participate.

So Brian, um, part of, so you got into the,
there's multiple levels, right?
There's the moreprofessional organizers.
There's the, there'sthe recreational side.
There's multiple levels.
So when you think aboutit, but you, now you guys
have numbers to hit, right?
You have investors, you havenumbers, you have growth to hit.
You serve the communityas part of that.
What's your go to market?

(39:47):
How do you, how do you enableyour team to hit growth?
What kind of goalsdo you set for them?
And then what kind of marketingstrategies and tactics do
they use to grow the business?

So, so ultimately we believe, you know, we can
partner with all types oforganizations and one of the
things we did, uh, uh, earlyon, and that has really evolved
as we started something calledfun play, uh, with the idea
that any organization thatshared our values and had
great principles should beable to use LeagueApps, whether
they can affordit economically or, or have

(40:19):
budget to invest in it or not.
So, uh, that gives mea lot of pride that.
Any organization can usuallygaps and cost is not going
to get in the way and we'vedeveloped a fun play and we give
a percentage of our revenue andresources to supporting that.
And we have hundreds oforganizations now in our
front play group, and many ofthem are the most inspiring

(40:39):
because those are the onesthat truly are mission
oriented and are doing this.
Uh, without any type of likeprofit motivation or or even,
uh, uh, or even resource tokind of do the things that
they're able to accomplish.
That being said, uh,we, we, we find that the
organizations that recognizethe value of technology.

(41:03):
Are often the onesthat are getting ahead.
Sometimes that's insports, sports like
lacrosse and volleyball.
They're often like quickto recognize what works
and make those investments.
We, we have, uh, we we've,we've recognized over the
years that a direct approach.
Connecting, having a sales andpartnerships team connecting
directly with the operatorswithin the community.

(41:25):
Getting to understand whatthey do and why they do
it is the best way to openup a discussion around how
technology can, uh, can,can help provide a solution.
As you can imagine, they're notsitting around saying, Oh, today
I'm going to do another demo ofanother platform as part of my
job, you know, no, no one thinksthat, but the three questions
I like to ask any operator is,uh, how'd you get into this, you

(41:48):
know, how'd you get in involved?
Uh, what makes your organizationunique and where do you
want your, this organizationto be five years from now?
And I feel like when I askedthose three questions to a
sports, one, they'll openup and you'll just see the
passion and the care, right?
And then two, when they answerthose three questions, you can
usually then connect back tohow better software and a better

(42:09):
partner can help them achievethose goals, can help them be
the unique organization theywant and can help them, you
know, uh, uh, connect back to.
Why they got involved inoperating sports and they all
are so proud of that story,whether it's because a family
member or community or somethingthat they wanted to do.
What I often say is anyonewho's really good at
organizing sports, even ifthey're, you know, doing it

(42:30):
profitably can make a lot moremoney doing something else.
And then no one got intoit because they're like
uncle forced them intoit after college, right.
Or when they went professional,when they started their
professional career,

no, no Indian, no Indian parent ever
said you must be a coach.
Well, at least not, yeah, theysay doctor, a lawyer, engineer,
but they won't say that or insome names case, a comedian.
I mean, not many Indianparents say that,

not a ton.
Yeah, no, that's not,that was never on track.
There's a glow about.
Uh, when they, uh, these Indianparents introduced their kids
and they're a doctor and,uh, uh, an engineer, they're
never like, my son, thepodcast, I just look at him.

(43:18):
He's a great podcaster.
You love his voice.

But you know, you see those parents on
the sideline now and theyare coaching their kids.
Yeah, yeah.
I think we're seeing a lot.
They're acting as refsand they, they know, they
see the value of this.
Uh, of gettinginvolved like that.
So that's some of your,your, like, that's their
sales strategy, right?
Go and understand the goals ofthe different organizations,
open them up, and then getthem into a conversation about
how your capability helps.

(43:42):
And what, what if they alreadyare using someone else?
What if they'reusing one of them?

Once we get them to a demo, which we do
over zoom is about an hour.
Then we are, you know, weknow what our conversion
rates are from there.
So a lot of it is.
Building rapport andrelationship to get them to
open up to share it, wherewe can then better understand
their pain points or wheretheir workflows are collection.
A lot of times theyhave issues collecting.
No one wants to chase downparents who didn't pay for

(44:06):
their kids with sports, right?
So we make a lot of thatseamless and automated to do it
in a way where, you know, it.
The funds get collected in theright way without having to
like show up at people's house.
Uh, what we see is, uh,we go out to fields,
we go to tournaments,we go to conventions,
we go to conferences.
We do a lot ofthought leadership.
We have our next up event comingup in New York city where we'll

(44:29):
have 400 sports operators.
So we'll, we'll, we'll, youknow, our, our sales and
partnership team are mostlyformer athletes, our coaches,
our, uh, Uh, um, uh, sometimeslike volunteers and communities.
So the, the, the most of thoseinitial conversations are a lot
more about the organization andtheir vision for it than around,
you know, functionality, uh,that they need in the platform.

(44:52):
And, and, and we thinkthat's pretty cool, right?
Ultimately we want to bea partner and a teammate
to their organization.
Wanna have slick features,you know, that they
may or may not use.

That's awesome.
So you, you, you have a veryclever way of getting 'em
to learn and then a greatway to get 'em to switch
potentially from otherthings or maybe upgrade.
And uh, it's a smartway to, smart way to go.
To use existing or, orformer players, coaches,
et cetera, to engage.
'cause they can relateto each other easily.

It's time now, Brian.
I mean, this has been funand joyful, but it's now,
it's now time to put, youknow, your metal to the test.
So, uh, welcome back to our, toour dear listeners, our fellow
entrepreneurs, the men and womenthat are in the arena themselves
working on their own businesses.
Uh, we're going toput Brian and Rajiv.
Into the spark tank.

(45:41):
This is where two foundersenter and one will let you
say they might need a littlehelp to find their footing
It's like a start a pitchbut with higher risk of face
planning today We're gonna we'reditching the spreadsheets and
lacing up our sneakers becausewe're putting your knowledge
Brian and Rajiv Of bizarre andunusual sports to the test.
Okay, that's the category inone corner We've got Brian

(46:02):
Litvick, the CEO and cofounder of LeagueApps,
the mastermind behind theyouth sports management platform
that's giving local sportsleaders, the tools they need
to reach the championship.
And in the other corner, we'vegot my brother Rajiv, who's the
guy who's run four marathons,but also managed to throw
out his back while sneezing.
So that's a true story.
I'm rooting for you, Brian.

(46:23):
I, even though.
Even though you're a Yankeesfan, um, but don't worry, I

Brian Litvac (46:30):
tip my hat to you.
I'm about to runmy first five K.
So four marathonsis quite impressive.

Yeah, pretty, pretty awesome.
All right, let's, let's go.
So here, I'm

just, I

see what you're doing.
I see all the answers will

change, you know,

we're going to be serving here.
Here's how this works.
We'd be serving up threedescriptions of unusual sports.
Two of them are true.
One is a total lie, uh,like a rides career.
So let's.
Let's see who can spot thecorked bat, like the one
Bucky Dent definitely used.
Uh, and who's gonna beswinging with the real deal.
Alright, those aremy two Yankees.
Man, those were good.

(47:05):
Those were good disses.
Those were good disses.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you so much.
Uh, round one.
This is about, uh, bizarreand unusual games of the past.
So.
Number one, plunge for distancewas an actual early Olympic
sport where competitorswould dive into a pool and
try to glide underwaterwithout moving their limbs
for as long as possible.

(47:26):
The record was anastonishing 63.
5 meters.
Number two, Scurryball,a popular medieval sport
involving teams of playersriding donkeys and attempting
to herd a flock of geese intoa designated goal using only
their voices and hand gestures.
Number three, during the MughalEmpire in India, Emperor Akbar

(47:51):
had a slife sized Parcheesiboard built in his courtyard
where his courtesans served asgame pieces and moved according
to the rules of giant dice.
Akbar said, Two, twoof these are true.
One of them is false.
One, two, or three.
Here we go.
Wait, wait.
So PL for, or you wannareview, go Plunge for number

(48:12):
one is plunge for distance.
Number two is ScurryBall, the medieval game
with riding donkeys.
And number three isthe uh, Lifesize per
cheesy board in India.
Ready?
3, 2, 1, let's see your answers.
Uh, so Rajiv, you haveguessed Plunge for Distance.
Brian, you have guessedScurryball as the false answer.

(48:34):
Well, guess what,ladies and gentlemen?
Moving out to an early leadis our visitor, Brian Litvag.
Well done, well done.
Yes, Scurryball.
It's not a real sport.
I know it sounds reallyfun to get on a donkey.
Uh, and I feel likecrunch for distance was

like half of my third grade swim class was
going as far as you can in

the water.
So it used to bean Olympic sport.
Crazy.
Um, tug of war wasan Olympic sport too.
Just a little side.
As I was doing myresearch and I was like,
I didn't really like that.

Scurryball is a game that needs to be invented.
It needs to happen.
I think, yeah, it's adifferent form of innovation.
It sounds amazing.

Let's add it to the app.
Yeah.
Uh, I'm a motivated leagueorganizer and how do I

did you invent scurry ball?
Like, where would you read abouta false sport for this game?
This is better than Quidditch.

Okay.
I did.
I did invent scurry ball.
Yes, indeed.
I got some spare donkeys, Brian,if you want to try it out.
Okay, here we go.
Um, all right.
These are wildand unusual games.
That was the past.
Here's, we're nowin the present.
Um, so number one, bossa ballis a mix of volleyball, soccer,
gymnastics, and capoeiraplayed on an inflatable

(49:45):
court with trampolineson each side of the net.
Number two, wife carrying isa sport that originated in
Finland where male competitorsrace while carrying their
wives on their backs.
The winner is determinedby the fastest time.
Statement number three,canine ultimate Frisbee.

(50:06):
Is a sport where humans andtheir furry friends play
Ultimate Frisbee together.
The dogs, of course, arealways the receivers because
they obviously can't throw.
Uh, alright, so those areyour three current sports that
maybe or maybe do not exist.
Number one, bossa ball,the mix of all these
sports with trampolines.
Wife carrying, thesport in Finland.

(50:27):
Or canine Ultimate Frisbee,two of these are true,
one of them is false.
Please, don't throw.
Give me your number, 1, 2, 3.
Okay, so, you both definitelythink that K 9 Ultimate
Frisbee is correct.
Rajiv thoughtbossa ball was not.
And Brian thoughtwife carrying was BS.
Well, guess what?
You are both wrong!So, it turns out, yes, you

(50:49):
can play a rousing game ofbossa ball or wife carrying.
But you cannot, in fact, yet.
I don't know if I didn't,maybe I invented another sport,
playing canine ultimate frisbee.
That's an obvious sport.
No, I think that maybeplayers would get the

dogs messing

with each other.
Maybe that's what it is.
Well, like, how would youget the dog to stop, like,
exactly where they caughtthe ball, or the frisbee?
Anyway, I think itwould be complicated.
They catch it and drop it.
Yeah, I guess it's goodtraining would have to
be a part of it too.
Yeah, that's true.
Brian, why do you think

If you told me husband carrying was the
sport, I would believe itbecause my wife takes care
of everything and helps thefamily get by, so I give her
the credit there, but wifecarrying just seemed like, uh,

Unbelievable.
Archaic

and too, too.
Oh yeah.
Archaic.

I just couldn't imagine it happening in Finland.

Like how would you see it
happening in other places?
Official sport, wife carryingjust seems like something
to escape the escape.
The, you know,elephants are hyenas.

Yeah, exactly.
I think, I think maybethat's how it originated.
And you're right.
I think in 2024, it shouldbe spouse carrying, uh, and,
you know, political coups.
It was spouse

carrying.

It's time to title nine this
thing and like, let's getrepresentation of both sides.
All right.
So maybe that's anotherthing your app can work on.
Right.
So, uh, round three, theseare wild games of the future,
meaning that these are new sortof new sports that involve.
Technology in reallywildly interesting ways
that are happening.
Two of these are happening.
All right.
Um, so number one, the XOgames, those still experimental

(52:25):
athletes have completecompeted in battle bots meets
MMA style competition withXO skeletons that enhance
their physical capabilities.
So if you watch battlebots, you know, now you
put the humans in there,

Everyone (52:37):
that kind of thing,

a statement to.
Is drone racing, drone racing,so pilots navigate high speed
drones through complex obstaclecourses competing for the
fastest time, uh, and theraces are often viewed through
a first person view goggles,giving spectators an immersive
experience as if they'reflying the drones themselves.
Number three is augmentedreality dodgeball.

(52:59):
So AR dodgeball players whereAR headsets that overlay
visual targets and power upsin the real world environment.
This adds a new layer ofstrategy and excitement to
the classic game as playerscan dodge virtual projectiles
and unleash special abilities.
So one of these is false.
Two of them are true.
Again, a quick review.
One is the exoskeleton game.

(53:20):
Two is drone racing.
And three is augmentedreality dodgeball.
Your answer is inthree, two, one.
All right.
Well, you both answeredthe same thing, which
essentially means that Brianis going to be our Victor.
Uh, but you both, you boththought exoskeletons was

(53:40):
the BS push for a winner.
Will you allow Brian?

I mean, this is nepotism at
its worst right here.

I'm not allowing it.
I'm asking the competitor,if you want to, if you want,
if you want, if you want togive them the opportunity.

To get I I'm gonna keep three.
That's okay.
You know what dodge ballyou can take take three.
Dodge has has tiebreaker.
Guess what?
You're gonna

win anyway.
Let him do it.

I thought 3D dodge ball seems so great.
I hope it's a real thing.

I'll go all or nothing and do ar
dodge ball ar dodge ball.
Well guess what, Brian?
You doubly won Exo intelligenceare indeed the false one.
So two to nothing.
You take it Yes.
Ar dodgeball like actuallyexists and I'm telling
you I wanna play this.
This sounds so fun.
It seems great.

That's it.
That's an example ofa more engagement for
already amazing game.

Yeah, exactly.
So they wear these air headsetsand wrist sensors and then
they can interact with virtualenergy balls and shields and
like all these things that youcan power yourself up with, but
you're moving your body around.
You're playing actual dodgeball.
I'm like, I want toplay that tomorrow.
That's awesome.
Um, so very cool, butcongratulations to Brian.
You have entered the arenaand you have, uh, Victor

Everyone (54:52):
Victor.

Well done.
I love when my guests win.

You want to be able to leave this show
with, you know, pride inmy professional career of
operating sports by winningthe sport trivia contest.
So Rajiv, thank youfor going easy on me.
And Sandeep, thank you for,I don't know where you get a
question bank of fake sports,but you, you've done brilliant.

It's the power of, power of, uh,

creativity.
So they've got it.
Creativity.
And I won't tell you that it'salso a part of the power of AI.
But, uh, yeah, a lot of fun.
All right.

So Brian, a few more questions for you.
We'll go really quickbecause I know we're
coming towards the end.
So super quick answers.
Um, we a lot of times weask our guests to name a
historical event or person ormovement that inspires you.
And at what point youmentioned a person named
or mentioned poppy.
What about you up?

You know, my grandfather came to
America as an orphan.
Uh, and he never got thestraight story of how as
a four year old, you geton a ship and go through
Belgium and come to the US.
And it was like a bunch offuzzy details that would like
mystify me my whole childhood,because I was like, I'm not,
I don't get to, you know, aEuropean country by myself.

(56:09):
And I went on to starta shoe manufacturing
business in Brooklynthat my father then ran.
And I three kids andeight grandchildren.
And, uh, I was alwaysjust amazed at that,
that life journey of his.
And I think it always instilledin me, uh, wanting to be an

(56:30):
entrepreneur and wanting tostart something from nothing.
So, uh, that, that was always,always to me, my path, uh,
and much from the influencethat, Uh, he had on my life,
so I'm very fortunate tohave a role model like that.
Um, by the time I knew him, hewas just like an old poppy who

(56:51):
was giving me candy and playingsports and buying me presents.
And it was hard at the timeto like, uh, uh, understand,
like, you know, how hard heworked at life to get to that
point where he could be likea retired, happy grandpa.
Uh, but as I got older, Ijust learned more about, uh,
all the things he did, notjust for himself, but for his

(57:12):
family and, uh, for my father.
And, uh, it alwayskind of rubbed off as.
Uh, I wanted to challenge myselfin ways where I can achieve
some of the things he achievedeven though I was able to grow
up in, in such a fortunate, uh,and loving family and household.

That's awesome.
Uh, okay.
That's a fantastic answer.
I love that.
I was going to say Nelson

Mandela.
We've had a Nelson Mandelaquote in our office, uh,
of every office we've had.
What's it?
What's that

quote?
What's the quote that has the

power to change the world?
It has the power to inspire.
It has the power to unite usin ways that little else does.
Uh, so it's, it'ssuch a powerful thing.
And if you hear his wholestory, not just how he used
rugby, but how he playedsoccer when he was in prison.
And, uh, there's suchconnectivity of sport with,
uh, some of the things thathappened in that country and

(58:02):
how he used that to bringpeople together and unify.
That really is just such agreat depiction of how sports
is so much more than justthe game and how it can kind
of bring people together.
So.
That's a, it's a

beautiful movie.
Uh, that.
That movie of that,it was just a fence.
It got me.
I was in tears watching it.
It was just a, how he was ableto get the country to unite over
rugby, which was a game that wasa symbol of oppression and how
we use that to really change.
Bring the country together,uh, post the revolution there

(58:36):
or post him taking power.
So that's really awesome.

Everyone (58:39):
It's

just incredible.
Okay.
Last one.
Who in your field doyou admire and why?

Trying to figure out if I'm in the youth sports
field, if I'm in the software,uh, sass things, right?
Pick one of each.
What is the industry?
Uh, uh, in, in, in youthsports, there's a journalist
named Tom Ferry who started theAspen Institute Project Play.
And I think he does areally good job of telling
it how it is, what'shappening in these sports.

(59:12):
And then whether it's notgood or bad, he just takes
the intellectual curiosity of,let me explain how this world
and industry has progressed.
And anytime I speak withhim, uh, I learn quite a bit.
And I think he's just kindof put the narrative and
articulation and stellar broughtthought leaders together.
So.
I appreciate that peoplelike him have come into

(59:33):
youth sports and have lookedat what we can do there.
So, uh, check it out.
Project play is, uh, theyhave a summit every year.
Uh, that's, that'spretty awesome and pretty
neat, uh, what they do.
Uh, and then, uh, in thesoftware space, you know, I'm,
uh, I, I, I'm a, uh, a studentin the game for vertical

(59:54):
SAS and how software can bedone in specific industries.
So I love to follow companieslike toast and I've had the
chance to talk to their CEO,my body, uh, which does it in
the fitness and wellness space,uh, and a bunch of others
that just like have such.
To, to what I said before, trulyunderstand that they're serving

(01:00:15):
the market that they're in morethan they're a software company.
Uh, and I want to takea lot of some of the
innovations that they hadand bring that to you sports.
Uh, and that's superexciting to me.
So, uh, there's probably fiveor six CEOs that have spent
time with me in the, in the,you know, the vertical SAS, SMB
software space that, uh, there'sso much to learn from them and
to continue to learn from them.

(01:00:36):
And, uh, uh, there's, uh, uh,there's a wealth of knowledge
out there that's being publishedthese days of, of where else you
can build software for, uh, Youknow, entrepreneurs and SMBs and
people who've never had softwarebefore that can really make a
huge impact in those industries.

Rajiv Parikh (01:00:55):
Yeah, I think what you're talking about with
software, you have to create,even though it's B2B software,
you are, you have to have a veryconsumery type of experience.
And I think you totallynailed it with, uh, with,
you know, toast and,um, You got to know your

Brian Litvack (01:01:11):
customer's problems so deeply and
what it actually means.
And like the features inour platform that are most
valuable are ones that youwould never understand.
It's about someone making atryout team and automatically
being formed on a team and theinformation going with them and
the payment carrying over thatsaves like hundreds of hours
of time and, and aggravation.
So, uh, I think takingpride and just, like, really

(01:01:35):
understanding the space thatyou're in and building software
for that space, uh, is, uh, is,is something that, you know,
when they, when I often getasked what differentiates you,
they want to hear some hugeanswer, like, we have video
highlights that automaticallyget created through AI.
And it's often aboutfeatures that no one would
understand unless you area sports operator yourself.

That's right.
It's the, it's making itsuper easy, super engaging,
enabling the next use.
So, uh, it's hardto do that well.
And so kudos to you forthinking about those types
of applications as well asthe focus on youth sports.
So, um, you know, Brian,really happy to have
you on the show today.
It was a real thrill to learnfrom you and have you there.

(01:02:16):
Kudos to your, to ourproducer Anand for.
Um, you know, thinking aboutyou, one of your best teammates
ever and he must have had asimilar experience to, to wanna
bring him, bring you here.
And so, uh, I, I reallyhope you succeed.
For me, the, for my, youknow, my kids are older, but
that those youth exper youthsoccer or youth sports or

(01:02:37):
dance experiences or choirexperiences with my kids were
my favorite experiences ofjust sitting with them, driving
with them for hours, sometimescoaching 'em on the field.
And, uh, it's great that you've.
Built a platform to make it mucheasier because I've actually
operated that from a leaguelevel and it can make all the
difference in the world andhow you're The satisfaction
of the the satisfaction ofthe organizer and the coach

(01:02:59):
really matters in this sokudos to you Thank you so much.
Brian

Brian Litvack (01:03:04):
Thank you guys All right knocked it

out of the park that was amazing
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the pod, pleasetake a moment to subscribe
To rate it and comment.
You can find uson Apple, Spotify,
YouTube, and everywhere.
Podcasts can be found.

Sandeep Parikh (01:03:24):
This show is produced by myself,
Sandy Parikh and Anand Shahproduction assistance by
Taryn Talley and edited bySean Mara and Aiden McGarvey.
I'm your host,

Rajiv Parikh from position squared and
AI enabled growth marketingcompany based in Silicon Valley.
Come visit us at position2.
com.
This has been an FNF production.
And we'll catch you next time.
Remember folks, be ever curious.

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The Business of Play/Brian Litvack - LeagueApps, Youth Sports, The Anxious Generation ~ Spark of Ages Ep 24

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}The Business of Play/Brian Litvack - LeagueApps, Youth Sports, The Anxious Generation ~ Spark of Ages Ep 24