CoachUp
 | |
| Industry | Privatesports coaching |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
Area served | Nationwide in the US |
Key people | Alex Stone (CEO) Jordan Fliegel (President/Founder) |
| Services | Connects athletes with private coaches |
Number of employees | 24 |
| Website | coachup |
CoachUpis a venture-funded startup company that connects athletes with private coaches.[1][2]
History
[edit]CoachUp was founded in 2011 by former professional basketball playerJordan Fliegelwith engineers Arian Radmand and Gabe Durazo. Its site, CoachUp.com, officially launched on May 9, 2012. The firm is headquartered inBoston.[3]
In November 2012, the firm raised a $2.2 millionseedround led byventure capitalfirms General Catalyst Partners and Breakaway Innovation Group. Along with the two VC firms, angel investors including Dharmesh Shah, Ty Danco and Walt Winshall also took part in the funding. In November 2013, it raised aSeries Around, this time co-led by Point Judith Capital and General Catalyst Partners. Other investors joining this round were Datapoint Capital, Suffolk Equity Partners, Breakaway, as well as angel investorsPaul Englishand Albert Dobron of Providence Equity Partners. In January 2015, it was announced that formerThe Princeton Reviewchief marketing officer John Kelley was appointed as CoachUp's new CEO.[4]In December 2015,Jordan Fliegelleft the company to establish a similar venture.[5]In January 2016, the headquarters of the company was moved to the Mount Ida Campus of theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.[6]
Recognition and partnerships
[edit]In 2011, the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council awarded CoachUp a Golden Ticket to become a member of the CriticalMass entrepreneur community.[7]In March 2012,Jordan Fliegeltook 1st Place at the Microsoft Ultra Light Startup pitch competition inCambridge, MA.[8]Shortly after its launch, CoachUp was selected to participate in theMassChallenge2012 Accelerator Program[9]and was later announced as $50k Gold Winner. Concurrently, the firm joinedTechStarsBoston as a member of the Fall 2012 class.[10] On October 25, 2012,HubSpotCTO and founder Dharmesh Shah invested in CoachUp.[11] On February 22, 2013, CoachUp was named a finalist in the Sports & Fitness category ofBostInno's "50 ON FIRE" Awards.[12]
CoachUp is the official private coaching partner of thePositive Coaching Alliance.[13] the company launched an annual scholarship program for student athletes in June 2013.[14]
Athlete Advisory Council
[edit]CoachUp established their Athlete Advisory Council in early 2014 with the purpose of partnering with current and formerprofessional athletesto improve and develop connections between athletes and coaches. It was announced in May 2014 thatPhiladelphia 76ersCenterNerlens Noeljoined the Athlete Advisory Council. Soon after,Cam Neely,president of theBoston Bruinsbecame its second member. In September 2014, CoachUp announced thatNew England PatriotsWide ReceiverJulian Edelmanjoined the Athlete Advisory Council by releasing a short video of Edelman reading his2009 NFL Draftscouting report.[15]
References
[edit]- ^"CoachUp scores a $2.2M Series A from General Catalyst".PandoDaily.November 14, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 7,2013.
- ^Clark, Patrick (July 15, 2013)."Connecting Tomorrow's All-Stars With Private Coaches".Bloomberg Businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2013.RetrievedJuly 19,2013.
- ^"CoachUp Launches to Connect Athletes with Private Coaches".BetaKit.May 9, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon June 13, 2012.RetrievedJune 14,2012.
- ^Castellanos, Sara (January 8, 2015)."Former Princeton Review exec is now CoachUp's new CEO".Boston Business Journal.RetrievedJanuary 13,2015.
- ^"CoachUp founder leaves to 'duplicate success' with another startup".www.bizjournals.com.Archivedfrom the original on April 13, 2016.RetrievedApril 19,2021.
- ^"CoachUp Becomes First Innovation Space Resident at Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst".Office of News & Media Relations | UMass Amherst.RetrievedApril 19,2021.
- ^"Welcoming CoachUp to CriticalMass!".November 29, 2011.RetrievedJune 14,2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^Van Sack, Jessica (March 23, 2012)."Pitches to VCs heat up; Startups compete".Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2012.RetrievedJune 24,2012.
- ^"MassChallenge Announces Final 26 Startups for 2012".RetrievedJune 14,2012.
- ^Kirsner, Scott (August 23, 2012)."TechStars Boston announces startups accepted into its fall 2012 class".boston.com.RetrievedAugust 24,2012.
- ^Kirsner, Scott (October 25, 2012)."Investor panel at FutureM conference puts $442,000 into five startups: Timbre, NBD Nanotechnologies, Jebbit, CoachUp, and Sidewalk".boston.com.RetrievedNovember 1,2012.
- ^"Introducing the 50 on Fire Finalists For Dining & Retail, Sports & Fitness and Arts & Entertainment".Bostinno.RetrievedFebruary 22,2013.
- ^"Trusted Resources of the Positive Coaching Alliance".Positive Coaching.Archived fromthe originalon August 27, 2012.RetrievedAugust 18,2012.
- ^"CoachUp Announces 3 Annual Scholarships to Help Student-Athletes Advance to College".BostInno.June 10, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon July 29, 2014.RetrievedJuly 11,2013.
- ^"Patriots' Julian Edelman Works Hard to Prove Pre-Draft Scouting Reports Wrong".October 16, 2014.RetrievedOctober 14,2014.