Sports Venture
Prepare to lead in venture capital and sports innovation. Gain investment deal attribution by collaborating with top investors and industry leaders. Build the financial, analytical, and negotiation skills needed to succeed as a strategic investor.
Level Up Your Skills
Engage in weekly live sessions reviewing real startups from Seed to Growth stage, with a focus on Series A and B. Sessions are hosted in San Francisco and are available virtually. Unlock a library of past startup pitches, VC masterclasses, and fireside chats with sports industry leaders and institutional investors. In addition to technical training, you'll receive resume and LinkedIn coaching, mock interviews, mentorship, and connections to career opportunities in venture capital.
By the end of the program, you'll be able to:
- Professionalize investment strategies and deal sourcing
- Conduct due diligence and investment evaluation
- Decide which investment deals to consider and invest in
- Draw on a network of the sport industry’s venture capital professionals
The Investment Apprenticeship Model
At the heart of the program is the apprenticeship model, where you'll join active investment teams led by experienced investors who have deployed over $9B across 20+ unicorns. Participate in weekly partner and management meetings, conduct diligence, build investment theses, and present live to Investment Committees. You may also receive profit-sharing on successful investments.
Join a Global Cohort
Each cohort includes up to 50 rising professionals from around the world. Ideal participants include:
- Professional athletes and sport industry executives
- Emerging fund managers and VC/PE associates
- Angel investors, family offices, corporate innovators, and accelerators
- Startup founders looking to become investor-operators
I’ve gotten more hands-on experience than I could ever have imagined. After 11 weeks, it felt like we’ve been here for 11 months! We were able to go through the entire investment process from deal sourcing, due diligence, to making investments, and we developed critical skills you can only get by doing the job of a VC.”
Yvonne Okafor Co-founder, A&A Collective
The Sports Venture Capital Accelerator Team
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J. Skyler (Sky) Fernandes is ranked as a Powerlist 100 VC and is the founder, chairman, and general partner of VU, a global venture capital and private equity investment fund with offices in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Munich, and Sao Paulo. VU’s senior investment partners have been early investors in over 25 unicorns, with over 20 multi-billion exits, including SpaceX, OpenAI, Figure AI, Beyond Meat, FabFitFun, Facebook (Meta), Twitter (X), Uber, Flyr Labs, Oculus, Oscar, Palantir, Tyme Group, Wayflyer, and Wish.
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Hany Syed is a private equity and venture capital professional with experience as both an investor and a founder. He founded Lens Of Sport (formerly Athleta-Ed) in 2018 alongside a world-class team, backed by investors and advisors who are global leaders in education, sports, media, and technology. Lens Of Sport was initially incubated through his venture capital education platform developed at Bridge Technology Capital. Previously, he was part of the founding team of a UAE-based private equity firm backed by major investment groups, where he led a wide range of transactions across social infrastructure sectors — including education, health, security, and defense.
Accelerator Weekly Schedule
| Week(s) | Event | Days | Time (PT) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Venture Capital Masterclass, including Sport Industry Discussion | Monday to Friday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
| Week 2 | Startup Madness: Approximately 60 Startup Pitches, including Sport Industry Discussion | Tuesday to Friday | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | |
| Weeks 2-11 | Weekly Partners Meetings: Each vertical team presents 1-2 opportunities | Monday | 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | |
| Weeks 2-11 | Weekly Management Meetings: 1 hour meetings per vertical team with management team to discuss theses and due diligence efforts | Wednesday | 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. | |
| Weeks 2-11 | Weekly Sports Venture Capital Investor Accelerator Meetings: All cohort members join a meeting led by Lens of Sport to discuss deal flow and sports theses across opportunities | Friday | 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. | |
| Weeks 2-11 | Weekly Vertical Team Meetings: Each vertical team discusses and selects 1-2 opportunities to bring to the next Partners Meeting | Friday | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | |
| Weeks 3-10 | 8 Advanced Venture Capital Modules and 8 Sport Industry Fireside Chats | Tuesday and Thursday | 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. | |
| Week 11 | Reverse Demonstration Day and Napa trip | Wednesday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
How to Apply
The Sports Venture Professional Certificate is offered each quarter, with cohorts starting in January, April, June, and September each year. The fee per certificate is $15,000.
For application assistance, please contact Jenna Fernandes, Head of Admissions for Venture University in the US, Europe & LatAm, at jenna@vufund.vc. The application process, billing, investments, and accelerator schedule are managed by Venture University.