A message from Opendorse Co-Founders Adi Kunalic and Blake Lawrence.
We have Standup every Monday. This is a special time for Opendorse as the entire company comes together on Zoom to shout out team members, look ahead to upcoming projects, spotlight birthdays and work anniversaries, and be together as a group. We always hype up wins from the previous week.
We celebrated an important milestone during a Standup before the holiday: 100,000 athletes
As we discussed the landmark and how far we’ve come, our longtime Head of College Partnerships Tim Pederson dropped an old Tweet in the Zoom chat. It was a throwback to when we reached 10,000 athletes. The Tweet was dated November 14, 2019 – three years prior, to the day.
It took six years and two weeks (2,204 days) for Opendorse to reach 10,000 athlete users. That’s an average of 4.5 new athlete users a day during that time (7+ years). Then, it took exactly three years (1,065 days) to add the last 90,000 – an average of 84.5 new athlete users every day since 2019.
There are lots of cliches about steady growth. Focus on the process. Chop wood. Get 1% better every day. But it’s really all about consistent excellence – showing up and being all in every day. No excuses, just results. You need great team and great partners with a shared belief and vision.
Back in 2019, Opendorse’s team of 16 celebrated at our Lincoln HQ with gold “10,000” balloons. (Not 10,000 actual balloons, but five balloons that spelled out 10,000 – you get the point). Last month, our team of 101 was spread out across the county on Zoom, reflecting upon how far we’ve come and the role everyone on the call played in helping Opendorse get there. It was especially meaningful for those who had been part of both days. There were no balloons, cupcakes, or mimosas this time around, though. It was a round of applause, rocket ship emojis in the Zoom chat, and a speech from Derek Peterson, SVP of Operations since the early days.
On the 2019 November 14, Derek sent a prophetic Tweet: “When I started at @opendorse, 10K was a number that represented our entire professional athlete endorsement world. As we’ve started working with high schools and colleges, and moved to help athletes internationally, it’s now just a jumping off point. I’m so proud of our team for reaching this point, but I’m even more excited for what’s next.”
It was a back to business after Standup. Derek’s old Tweet is relevant again. It’s time to work toward the next big checkpoint.
Not even a year and a half into the NIL era of college sports, student-athletes from every Power 5 school have had a deal opportunity through Opendorse. It’s a perfect 65-for-65 for P5s. Go bigger and at least one student-athlete from 340-of-350 NCAA Division I schools have had at least one deal offer through Opendorse since July 1, 2021.
We are proud of our association-wide partnerships with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and conferences like the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and Horizon League, plus the support we provide to all other athletes – from preps to Paralympians to pros.
It’s one thing for users to exist with an email sitting in a database, but it’s another for them find value in the products they’re using. We’re excited athletes are taking advantage of their NIL opportunity – and honored they’re using Opendorse as their business management platform. Opendorse athletes are making life-changing money from fans, brands, sponsors, and donors each and every day.
A few weeks ago on November 4, in fact, athletes earned $1,000,000 on Opendorse – a new single day record. The previous single-day record broken three days before.
We’re proud of the relationships we’ve forged with athletes and partners. We’re glad they find value in what our team has built and continues to perfect. The vision that we set from day one — Help Every Athlete — is coming true.
We alternate leading Standup each week. The structure is the same – memes are guaranteed – and we can count on the team to bring the energy. There is nothing like the Opendorse Zoom chat.
Think of the funniest friend you have – witty, clever, smart. But that friend isn’t just hilarious. They’re intelligent, driven, hard-working, and tremendously skilled in their field.
Now imagine having a whole team of friends like that. There are different characters and experiences, but it all comes together. We all wake up every morning and work toward the same goals.
This milestone is about the Opendorse team. Thank you for your endless hard work and making it a blast every day. We will keep building something great with people we care about.
This milestone is about our partners. Thank you for putting your belief in Opendorse. We will keep delivering for you.
This milestone is about athletes. Thank you for putting your trust in Opendorse. We will keep you at the center of everything we do.
On to the next 100,000! 🚀
