# TJ Ross

> TJ Ross is the co-founder and co-CEO of Splash Sports, a peer-to-peer sports gaming platform he built with Joel Milton by acquiring and merging established brands like RunYourPool and OfficeFootballPool into a single home for survivor pools, pick'em, one & done and tiers contests. The platform now serves more than two million players and 80,000 commissioners. A Bay Area native who grew up with sports at the center of family life, Ross studied finance and entrepreneurship at USC before working in technology investment banking at Raymond James and Houlihan Lokey, founding the maker marketplace 43Layers, and leading strategic partnerships at STRV. He describes his work as building products that gather people around shared passions, and treats community, authenticity and enjoying the journey as the real measures of success.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Splash Sports
- **Organizations:** Splash Sports (Splash Inc.), Jock MKT, 43Layers, STRV, 500 Startups, Houlihan Lokey, Raymond James
- **From:** San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's Degree, Business Finance and Entrepreneurship, USC Marshall School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded and co-leads Splash Sports, a peer-to-peer sports gaming platform with a reported 9-figure valuation., Grew Splash Sports to more than 2 million players and 80,000 commissioners., Acquired and merged two long-running category brands, RunYourPool and OfficeFootballPool, into a single modern platform.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated from USC Marshall School of Business with a degree in business finance and entrepreneurship after starting a t-shirt business in college.
- **2009** — Entered technology investment banking in San Francisco at Raymond James and Houlihan Lokey following the 2008 financial crisis, advising on $1B+ in transactions.
- **2010s** — Founded and served as CEO of 43Layers, an online marketplace connecting designers and makers, part of 500 Startups Batch 14, where he met future co-founder Joel Milton.
- **2010s** — Led strategic partnerships as Director at STRV, a design and engineering firm for mobile and web applications.
- **2020** — Co-founded Jock MKT, a daily fantasy sports app modeled as a stock market where users bid on and trade shares of players around live games.
- **2021** — Co-founded Splash Sports with Joel Milton to modernize peer-to-peer sports gaming among friends and groups.
- **2021** — Jock MKT raised roughly $10 million in venture funding for its sports stock market model.
- **2023** — Splash Sports acquired and merged established pool brands RunYourPool and OfficeFootballPool; Jock MKT wound down and migrated customers to Splash Sports.
- **2025** — Splash Sports raised a Series B (roughly $14.5M latest tranche), reaching a reported 9-figure valuation and total funding near $39M.
- **2026** — Featured in Authority Magazine on cultivating digital community; Splash Sports surpasses 2M+ players and 80K commissioners.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and co-leads Splash Sports, a peer-to-peer sports gaming platform with a reported 9-figure valuation.
- Grew Splash Sports to more than 2 million players and 80,000 commissioners.
- Acquired and merged two long-running category brands, RunYourPool and OfficeFootballPool, into a single modern platform.
- Co-founded Jock MKT, which raised roughly $10M for a novel sports stock-market model, and wound it down in an orderly transition to Splash Sports.
- Founded the maker marketplace 43Layers through 500 Startups Batch 14.
- Advised on more than $1B in technology transactions during his investment banking career.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Featured in Authority Magazine on how to cultivate connection and community in a digital world.
- **2025-10** — Splash Sports closed a Series B financing round, its most recent raise.

## Links

- Website: https://splashsports.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tjross2411
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jockmkt
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjross/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jockmkt

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tj-ross
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-24