A note from Bob and SDSI Newsletter - June 30, 2016
/It's been a busy two months, hard on the heels of the Amgen Tour of California and the Bill Walton statue dedication. Elsewhere in the newsletter you will find the run down on the new Star Brand Award and Capital Forum that went with it. We had six member companies “pitching” our celebrity panel. Kudos to the all…the presentations were really tight and compelling. If an agent from Shark Tank swooped in at the last minute and asked if any of the presenting companies could be ready for national Shark Tank in 5 minutes, the answer would have been a universal “YES!” Everyone was really well prepped…the celebrity judges were fun…and VerifiR and Hookit took home the Star Brand award. Sully Sullivan was the host and he brought the film crew from his Big Biz Show with him…cannot wait to see the final video!
61, $47,500,000, 89% and 400…quick, what are these numbers? The answer is metrics of our SDSI Springboard Grads. 61 graduates have raised $47.5M, 89% of all grads are still in business and they have created 400 jobs since they launched their companies. Amazing. The current SDSI Springboard application period is 98% closed but if you have a strong candidate, call Renne asap. This is the best “deal” in sports business. Cost? Zero, but you got to be an SDSI member.
Now that I think about it, June actually was a great month…I was really into the Chew n Chat meet up at AmericanWave Machines. Pretty awesome to see your favorite wave type generated before your very eyes…no paddling required! Our hosts, Bruce and Marie McFarland, gave us an awesome demo and also started a conversation about the Destination Resort of the Future. Imagine Sea World replaced with a resort that has a wave pool by AmericanWave Machines, an indoor skydiving tunnel like Airborne, a climbing wall from Mesa Rim, a cool skate facility like the Mission Valley YMCA skate park, BMX track, coffee bar from Lofty Coffee…you get the picture. It’s not a fantasy…there are plans around the world to make these types of new destinations reality. Among the parties interested in the space is the one and only Jimmy Buffet, recently described by the NYT as the “Patron Saint of the Unconcerned!” I don’t know about that but he has his recreational business figured out. Maybe we could arrange a trade out!
~Bob
