WNJ Ventures LAUUNCH! Incubation Program Cohort 2 Graduate: The Grind
🗒 The Grind: Amateur & Youth sports activity and community building platform
The Grind (https://www.thegrind-app.com/) vision is to become a leading platform in the youth and amateur sports sector, to drive positive impact and foster community bond.
With their current product suite being a sports activity marketplace and organiser software tool, their eventual goal is to redefined the landscape of amateur sports engagement, connecting players with organizers and fostering vibrant sports communities.
🚀 LAUUNCH! Incubation Program: The Grind’s Journey
As part of the LAUUNCH! Incubation Program cohort 2, The Grind benefited from extensive support during the ideation phase, including go-to-market strategy and pitch advisory.
The Grind were fast-tracked into the incubation program of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park to further accelerate their business growth. They are also participants of the Hong Kong Tech 300 Seed Fund.
📈 WNJ’s Sector Analysis: Amateur & Youth Sports
Sports has always been a fundamental part of health & wellness, education and community engagement. Schools, governments, corporates and social impact institutes are the established ecosystem players, but we see tech brands and investors beginning to emerge into the scene (JP Morgan just established a sports investment banking division at the time of this article).
And the economic value is not limited to the top level. While top sports franchises in the U.S. and Europe are valued at more than US$400 billion in total (source: JP Morgan), the youth and amateur sports alone is estimated to be valued at US$40 billion and expected to grow at 9% annually (source: Forbes and Wintergreen Research). Technology and innovation continues to be an emerging trend in the sports sector, from AI, hardware, to sports wearables and software.
⏭️ The Next Phase
Post-graduation, The Grind is preparing to enter a new phase in their go-to-market strategy, focusing on a dual approach of brand engagement and product penetration, while staying true to their mission to connect players and organizers to enhance sports engagement and community building.
WNJ Ventures open up a new chapter in our collaboration with The Grind in our capacity as a strategic advisor with the team and taking a more active role in driving their growth.
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