SponsorUnited, a data analytics hub founded by Stamford native Bob Lynch, has been slowly pulling back the curtain on the multibillion-dollar sponsorship industry, providing users with valuable insights into sponsorship deals. Lynch, a marketing veteran, saw a need for easier access to information on sponsors and sports teams after heading up sponsorship efforts for the Miami Dolphins and Brooklyn Nets. The sponsorship industry and the endorsement industry were growing like a weed, but it was all very opaque, he said. This realization planted the seed for his company.
Early Days of SponsorUnited
In 2016, Lynch realized the information he sought out was hard to come by in all professional sports. He thought there was an opportunity to start a company and bring value to this industry, but he was uncertain about pursuing it. It wasn’t until he had five years with the Dolphins and a year with the Nets that he decided to take the plunge. Lynch founded SponsorUnited in 2018 and has since grown the company to 175 employees. The subscription-based platform offers users access to information on 350,000 sponsors, including Walmart, Wells Fargo, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, and over 75,000 organizations that generate revenue from sponsorship deals.
- Sports teams and leagues, such as the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers, and the NFL, are among the company’s users.
- PepsiCo, Verizon, and Anheuser-Busch are also part of the platform.
Early Growth and Funding
SponsorUnited’s early growth has attracted investors and other attention. The company raised $35 million from Boston-based private equity firm Spectrum Equity in 2022, and was named the sixth-fastest growing private business in Connecticut, according to Inc.’s annual 5000 list. SponsorUnited grew its revenue by 507% over a three-year period ending in 2023.
| Revenue Growth (2020-2023) | % Growth |
|---|---|
| $X million | 507% |
Scouting the Competition
To launch his business, Lynch recruited college students from across the country majoring in sports management to take videos and photos of sponsor signage and displays at local stadiums. These “scouts” were tasked with teaching the industry and learning from them, while also collecting sponsorship data. “I had created an infrastructure of kids in every city with smartphones, so I could essentially do this at no cost at scale, getting hundreds of people, he said. The biggest expense at the time was buying tickets to the games, and trying to live with a newborn and a 2-year-old.
SPND: Revolutionizing Sponsorship Transparency
SponsorUnited launched a new tech platform called SPND, which stands for sponsorship prices of negotiated deals. The AI-backed service provides financial terms for over $13.3 billion in actual sponsorship deals, empowering users to make smarter, faster decisions.
“Smarter, faster decisions” is a phrase used by Lynch to describe the impact of SponsorUnited’s technology on the sponsorship industry. He believes that the company’s data provides users with a comprehensive view of sponsorship and media partnerships across sports, entertainment, and lifestyle, enabling them to understand category and industry trends in real time.
- Paula Beadle, founder and CEO of the Sponsorship Marketing Association, believes that SponsorUnited is the first company to offer this level of detail on estimated transaction prices of sponsorship deals.
- “This kind of intelligence empowers smarter, faster decisions. It’s likely SponsorUnited has become the Redfin of the sponsorship industry,”
A New Era of Sponsorship Transparency
SponsorUnited has made significant strides in breaking down the barriers of sponsorship transparency. By providing users with valuable insights into sponsorship deals, the company is revolutionizing the way businesses approach sponsorship, enabling them to make informed decisions and drive results. In conclusion, SponsorUnited is a game-changer in the sponsorship industry. With its cutting-edge technology and vast repository of sponsorship data, the company is empowering users to make smarter, faster decisions, driving the industry forward with increased transparency and innovation.