Founded by the MLB legend alongside billionaire Marc Lore, his Timberwolves co-owner, the company is now valued at more than $100 million as it builds a one-stop shop for fans.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/08/12/alex-rodriguezs-startup-jump-raises-23-million-in-quest-to-be-shopify-for-sports-teams/
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00:00Today on Forbes, Alex Rodriguez's startup, Jump, raises $23 million in quests to be Shopify for sports teams.
00:09When Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian entered the sports world six years ago as the founding control owner of the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC,
00:19he was surprised how resistant to innovative technology the industry remained.
00:23It would be relatively simple, for instance, to offer fans the option to upgrade their tickets in the middle of a game
00:29or order concessions directly to their seats.
00:32But those sort of features were mostly unavailable, and Ohanian found the explanation for the deficiencies just as frustrating.
00:40Ohanian, who expanded his sports involvement by launching women's track and field series Athlos last year, recalls,
00:47quote,
00:48Whenever I ask that question, the answer I usually get from traditional industry experts or veterans is some version of,
00:54well, this is the way it's always been done.
00:56But those norms are starting to change, and Ohanian is betting on one company to help modernize the fan experience.
01:05Last Tuesday, Jump, a ticketing and fan experience platform founded in 2021 by e-commerce billionaire Mark Laurie,
01:13MLB legend Alex Rodriguez, and entrepreneur Jordi Lizer,
01:17announced $23 million in Series A funding, led by Ohanian's venture firm, 776,
01:23with Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures, and Forerunner also participating.
01:29The round pushes the company's total funding to $58 million and pegs its valuation north of $100 million.
01:36Whereas fans typically have to buy tickets, merchandise, and concessions from a slew of vendors,
01:42Jump aims to create a one-stop shop for professional sports teams.
01:46In addition to removing some common headaches, such as managing usernames and passwords across different services,
01:53or tracking down updated event information,
01:55the streamlined experience eliminates pricey ticketing fees and offers features not necessarily found on existing services,
02:02like the option to purchase a large group package.
02:06Lizer, the company's CEO, says,
02:08The easiest way to think about us is we do for sports teams what Shopify does for merchants,
02:14which is we bring it all together in a unified system.
02:18Those services have enticed four professional franchises to date.
02:22In January, Jump signed the NWSL's North Carolina Courage and the United Soccer League's North Carolina FC
02:29as its first clients,
02:31and last month, the company added the NBA and WNBA teams owned by Lorian Rodriguez,
02:36Minnesota's Timberwolves and Lynx.
02:40Jump operates with a software-as-a-service model,
02:42charging teams a licensing fee that varies based on their size,
02:46while also collecting between 1% and 5% of all transactions they generate on the platform.
02:51Forbes estimates the company's annual revenue is currently less than $10 million,
02:56but that represents a fraction of the opportunity at hand.
03:00Ohanian explains that the business lines of professional sports franchises are,
03:04quote,
03:05He also notes the long-term nature of media rights deals and sponsorship arrangements.
03:14Game day revenues, including ticket and concessions sales,
03:17aren't always easy to increase either,
03:19with only so many fans able to attend an event.
03:22That reality has left franchises searching for creative ways to make more money.
03:28Ohanian says, quote,
03:30We have these emerging, ascendant leagues that are growing very quickly,
03:34basically catching up for a bunch of lost time where there was no investment in them,
03:38and those owners get to look at their business from first principles.
03:41These fans are so fired up to support these players,
03:44so fired up to support what these teams represent,
03:46and it's a winning proposition.
03:48Lizer, who previously founded Stella Connect,
03:52a customer service startup that was acquired by Medallia for approximately $100 million in 2020,
03:59started riffing on the fan engagement idea with his co-founders four years ago,
04:03after Laurie and Rodriguez had made a failed bid to buy the New York Mets in 2020.
04:07A discussion around dynamic ticket pricing soon took on a much larger scope
04:11about how new technology could improve the business of a professional sports franchise.
04:16And when Laurie and Rodriguez agreed to buy the Timberwolves and Lynx in 2021
04:20in a three-stage transaction that valued the teams at $1.5 billion,
04:25Jump seemed to have the perfect opportunity to develop its product.
04:29For full coverage, check out Justin Birnbaum's piece on Forbes.com.
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