Athletic Ventures is a technology-focused venture capital fund founded by elite athletes who bring the same discipline, competitive drive, and performance mindset from sport to investing.
We back champion founders building category-defining companies in sport, health and technology.
Our priority is to generate outsized returns for our investors, while creating educational opportunities for our athletes along the way.
We are seeking to invest in companies that share the following characteristics:
Our fast-growing athlete community is comprised of 500+ elite athletes from 25+ sporting codes in multiple geographies.
Elite athletes add unique and strategic value to our portfolio companies by leveraging their personal brands and networks in sales and marketing activities.
We enhance existing marketing strategies through social media, brand ambassadorships, and paid marketing campaigns. Our athletes also drive sales efforts by connecting founders with prospective customers from their expansive networks - we open doors where others can’t.
Our athletes also support our Founders in non-investment endeavours, whether that be with nutritional advice, sporting tickets, memorabilia or presenting at company events on high performance and culture. We love our athletes, and it’s clear our Founders do to.
“It’s so energising to have a new type of investor in Australia with a different mindset. As a group of athletes, Athletic Ventures brings many decades of experience operating in high performance environments, which we’ve enjoyed learning from and sharing with our team."
"We have an exceptional relationship with the AV team who are not just passive investors but add value to our business in a really meaningful way. It's an absolute pleasure working with these guys and we're excited about the future."
"AV brings real star power to the businesses they back, and we saw a spike in media as a result of their involvement. Our executives, wider team, right through to our retailers thought it was amazing to have elite athletes from multiple sporting codes come in to support our next phase of growth. We’re so excited for the journey together.”
“Athletic Ventures offers something completely unique in venture, and add so much to our business. It has been extremely valuable having AV alongside us as we scale, and even more importantly, a lot of fun.”
"Our team loved it when we announced we have a community of elite athletes investing in Hnry and AV has been strategic about suggesting ambassadors, generating additional earned media and provided ongoing social media support."
“The AV team are consistently one of our most supportive investors. From promoting us on social media, to opening doors and making intros to potential customers, speaking to our team on high performance, and even giving us sporting tickets to gift to team or customers...we have loved having them on our journey.”
"The AV team has an elite mentality that translates well to super fast-growing businesses. We love having them as a sounding board for product strategy, sponsorships, and healthcare thinking."
“We know athletes are obsessive and competitive. That's exactly the energy you want backing you on your cap table, and you feel it as you build globally. Athletic Ventures has a genuine point of difference in the VC market.”
“Athletic Ventures has been an exceptional partner to Pano AI. Their support in Australia — particularly helping us amplify our mission through PR and their athlete network — has made a meaningful difference as we continue to expand in the region.”
