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- Sports Court #87 | NIL x Startups
Sports Court #87 | NIL x Startups
The fastest 3 minutes in name, image and likeness
Tariq Ahmad
October 16, 2023
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Today’s Case
Former Arkansas student-athlete launches startup for NIL Matchmaking
Former University of Arkansas track student-athlete Ayden Owens-Delerme (far left) (Photo Credit: news.uark.edu)
Former Arkansas track star Ayden Owens-Delerme, who competed before and after NIL was in play, has launched a startup that's designed to help college athletes activate and manage their brands.
DapUp, formed in the University of Arkansas’s New Venture Development Program, is a platform that allows businesses to pair up with college athletes, hire them directly and design custom campaigns. Owens-Delerme notes that DapUp "eliminates the friction and ambiguity around brand-athlete partnerships.
Owens-Delerme says his tenure as a student-athlete made him acutely aware of the pain points of athletes, which was critical in making an app that caters to their needs to help them grow their brand.
While the initial launch was limited to University of Arkansas student-athletes, the company is currently raising capital for a national rollout.
The Verdict
Former student-athletes will continue building similar companies
Marketplace leaders such as Opendorse and MOGL were built and currently run by former student-athletes, so they truly understand the nuances of NIL.
By creating “by student-athletes, for student-athletes” platforms, this gives these companies credibility into truly understanding what the student-athlete is looking for related to personal branding and securing NIL deals.
Current student-athletes can take advantage of their unique positions now
Perhaps on a smaller scale, there are opportunities for current college athletes to leverage their skills to create similar NIL platforms and/or services.
Work with teammates or fellow students/classmates, build out a business plan and ideation, then pitch to your team’s coaches and staff for support. This gives you potential buy-in at a higher success rate and an opportunity to test your business.
If your business succeeds, you can scale during your college athletic days and post-graduation. If it doesn’t, chalk it up to experience knowing that you tried to maximize NIL for your teammates.
I help student-athletes with personal branding for NIL deals!
Contact me on how we can work together to present you in the best possible way to brands: [email protected]
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