sportstech
(3)
Tony Verutti
Tony Verutti is the CEO of Betterguards Technology, a German sports-tech company whose adaptive ankle brace uses a micro-hydraulic piston that stays loose during play and locks in a split second when the ankle rolls, then releases. A lifelong athlete who tore his ACL four times and grew up in a physical therapist's household, he took the top job in April 2023 and pushed the product into the NBA, NFL, NCAA and Olympic teams, backed by the NBA's Launchpad program. His pitch: athletes shouldn't trade mobility for protection, and gear should be built on science, not tradition.
Luke Zaientz
Luke Zaientz is the co-founder and CEO of OTTO SPORT AI, a Minneapolis-based startup building an AI-powered operating system for the messy, multi-billion-dollar world of youth sports. He has spent more than a decade turning the unglamorous back-office of clubs, leagues and tournaments into real businesses: he co-founded Reigning Champs (parent of NCSA College Recruiting), grew it past $200M in annual revenue through ten acquisitions, and saw it sell to IMG Academy and later to EQT in a deal valued at $1.2B. Before sports he co-founded RMG Networks and took it to IPO with Kleiner Perkins backing, and launched Match.com Events from zero to half a million attendees. In January 2026 OTTO SPORT AI launched with a $16.5M seed round co-led by Mamba Growth Equity and Rally Ventures, where Zaientz is also an operating partner.
Rocky Collis
Rocky Collis is the co-founder and CEO of Mustard, a sports technology company that uses computer vision and AI to put world-class coaching in a phone. A former Cornell pitcher drafted by the Seattle Mariners, he detoured through Georgetown Law and big-firm litigation before teaming up with legendary throwing coach Dr. Tom House, mental-performance coach Jason Goldsmith, and his brother Luke to build an app that gives any kid the kind of mechanics analysis once reserved for Tom Brady and Nolan Ryan. Mustard has raised roughly $5.45M-$6M from backers including Mark Cuban, Ronnie Lott, and Justin Rose, and has expanded from pitching into golf through a partnership with Golf Digest.