Icon Source closed a $1.6 million seed round. The funding will support the company’s expansion as it adds to its sales team, improves its digital platform and prepares to facilitate deals for college athletes on July 1, 2021.
Participants in the round included previous and new investors, including Hawke Ventures.
The company’s mobile application and AI-powered platform pairs athletes and brands based on social audience demographics and the ability to run organic searches based on schedule, demographics, sports, and personal interests. Icon Source’s launch is expected to take advantage of NIL compensation laws going into effect.
“We were overwhelmed by the interest we received this round,” said Chase Garrett, founder and CEO of Icon Source. “Given the significant changes taking place this year with NIL laws, we made the decision to postpone our Series A round for another year and capped our funding. We’re incredibly confident with our platform and position as the leader in the athlete marketing industry and are excited to expand our capabilities into the college level.”
“The global sports sponsorship market is a $48.5B industry that is currently limited to the top 1% of companies, agencies and athletes. This disparity will only be elevated once college athletes have the opportunity to be compensated fairly,” adds Garrett. “There’s a tremendous market out there for brands to connect with athletes seamlessly and affordably, and we’re the only single-source marketplace equipped to handle deals from start to finish.”
Photo courtesy Icon Source
