Jeff Matlow is a serial entrepreneur and a crazy triathlete and long-distance runner who found a way to put those passions together in a crazy software startup. He saw an opportunity to create a better registration experience for endurance events like 5Ks, marathons, and triathlons.
In 2008, he sold their first deal to USA Triathlon and set out to build the website and registration platform he envisioned. The company I Am Athlete (now called imATHLETE) went live with their platform and started selling to hundreds, then thousands, of other endurance event managers all over the US. The company grew without big funding and the solution expanded to manage payments, social media promotion, and more.
In 2019 Jeff sold the company to a major endurance event company. Jeff shares the challenges in growing this company and the learnings from trying to grow with a strategic partnership. Like running a marathon or climbing Everest, the journey is hard and how you approach every day is critical.
Best quote from Jeff:
“Whatever your idea is that you’re starting the company with, you’re wrong. It’s not going to work. What it takes is iterating that idea. And that’s what the entrepreneur does.
“It seems obvious, but a lot of people don’t do that. They just think I’ve got a good idea and so everybody’s going to come and buy from me.
“If you’re coming up with an idea for a new company, go talk to your potential customers and see what they want and see if they like it. And if they don’t like it, they’re not going to buy it.”
In this episode, Jeff explains:
- How his experience as a marathoner and triathlete let him to the opportunity to create a better event registration platform
- How he sold his first big customer before he had a product and a website
- Why he didn’t raise any outside money until I Am Athlete was an established market leader
- Why growing a company is like climbing Everest or running a marathon
- His experience selling the company and what worked and didn’t work
- How the modern software startup and investor game is like his first career finding new bands in the music business
I Am Athlete (now imATHLETE) Company Facts
- Founded: 2008
- Description: imATHLETE blends registration, coaching, and e-commerce technology with the social communities inherent in running, triathlon, cycling, and all participatory sports.
- Number of Employees: 39 before being acquired in 2019
- Funding: Bootstrapped with a little angel funding, then customer-funded with revenues and a small loan for 9 years before raising a small equity round in 2017
- Acquisition: Sold to a division of Gannett in 2019 for some cash and founder earnouts
- Location: Santa Monica, California
Links
- Jeff Matlow on LinkedIn
- imATHLETE on LinkedIn
- imATHLETE website
- By Title Only – Jeff’s newsletter
