Sports’ Leading Scheduling Solution, Fastbreak, Now Rolling Up Youth-Focused SaaS Platforms

Sports’ Leading Scheduling Solution, Fastbreak, Now Rolling Up Youth-Focused SaaS Platforms

Fastbreak.ai has brought unprecedented efficiency and scalability to the complex task of creating sports league schedules (think: countless variables and multiple stakeholders), and established AI-enhanced scheduling as sports’ new industry standard in the process. 

The company, which uses advanced machine learning and proprietary mathematical techniques to streamline and optimize the schedule creation process, first secured the responsibility for a big five league –the NHL– in June ‘23. The NBA, along with the WNBA, G League, and NBA 2K League, signed on the following month as part of NBA Equity’s investment in its seed round. 

MLS, the AHL, the SEC, and Big East are all now using the Software as a Service (or SaaS) platform too. And most recently, TMRW Sports announced a multi-year tie-up with the company. 

“We’re committed to innovation and utilizing best-in-class technologies to move our business, [including TGL], forward. Partnering with Fastbreak reflects that with its AI-powered scheduling platform creating the most efficient and engaging schedules for sports leagues,” Joey Brander (founding team and VP, corporate development, TMRW Sports) said.

But Fastbreak’s ambitions extend beyond top tier properties. The company is now focusing efforts on assisting leagues further down the value chain with their scheduling needs–and it is building out a broader logistics platform for youth sports tournament operators.

“In many cases, the logistical challenges of grassroots programs are greater than professional leagues when you start considering travel, facilities, tournament composition, and ticketing,” John Stewart (CEO, Fastbreak) said. “Our youth-focused platform, Fastbreak Compete, will bring professional grade scheduling, logistics, and AI capabilities to that market as part of a complete tournament management solution.”

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Sports scheduling has historically been a grueling, manual endeavor involving countless spreadsheets, late-night meetings, and imperfect trade-offs. And the instinct-driven process often takes longer to complete than anticipated creating problems for those tasked with marketing schedule releases and maximizing season ticket renewals.

John Stewart, Dr. Chris Groer, and Dr. Tim Carnes set out to change that in 2022. The trio’s mission was to create a world-class scheduling optimization tool for pro properties.

But what sets Fastbreak apart from competing schedule makers is that its cloud-based SaaS platform was built specifically for sports rights owners. The company’s unique hybrid optimization approach enables it to adapt to the specific needs of leagues across levels and markets. 

Well, that and advanced tech capable of managing –and balancing– a multitude of complex variables including club performance, travel logistics, the desire to maximize revenue and/or fan engagement, and player health and safety. It can seamlessly integrate team requests, historical schedules, venue availability, and TV network demands into the equation too. 

By creating a single source of scheduling truth, Fastbreak eliminates the need for multiple dashboards and fragmented reports and saves its clients countless hours and much angst.

"The platform enables leagues to create the best possible schedules while balancing hundreds of priorities from various stakeholders. Users enjoy an interactive experience that allows them to evaluate quality, and the impact of their decisions, in real-time," Stewart said.

Fastbreak raised $8mm on a SAFE this past July to underwrite a pair of strategic acquisitions that would aid its growth ambitions. Charlotte Fund, the NHL, and GTM Fund (which also participated in the company’s $5.2mm seed round) wrote the largest checks.

The first purchase came in early September. This wasn't just a business deal, though—it was a formal declaration of intent.

"Adding Optimal Planning Solutions immediately made us the world leader in professional sports league scheduling," Stewart said.

Optimal brought along decades of industry expertise and a long list of clients across the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Fastbreak was also able to add talent, including chief scheduling officer Rick Stone, to the team with that acquisition. And the purchase enabled the company to combine Optimal Planning's proven scheduling methodologies with its advanced AI capabilities.

"There is now no other organization with our level of capability or equivalent market presence," Stewart said. 

Fastbreak continued to build on its momentum in the weeks that followed with the purchase of Tourney Pro, since rebranded as Fastbreak Compete. Adding the prominent youth sports tournament management solution to the portfolio provided it with an entree into club and rec level sports.

And then earlier this week, the company doubled down on the youth space with its acquisition of SEQL (to be rebranded as Fastbreak Connect). The ‘Impact as a Service’ provider supports youth athletes from underserved communities by furnishing them with life-changing resources from consumer brands, leagues, and municipalities. 

Why does a fast-growing startup that counts the NBA, NHL, and MLS as clients want to play in youth sports? The rapidly growing market is projected to be worth $69.4 billion by 2030. 

And there are lucrative opportunities for Fastbreak to capitalize on that demo beyond just game scheduling. For context, facilitating bookings of roughly one million hotel night stays would bring in at least $10mm in incremental revenue. The company is working to integrate logistical components of the travel experience into its youth-centric platform.

Looking ahead, Fastbreak plans to lean further into strategic acquisitions and will try to deepen its relationships with marquee clients to keep the top line growing.

The company is also in the process of developing a new tool that will allow clubs across the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS to optimize their scouts’ schedules. Fastbreak Scouting is set to be the first of several optimization products designed for professional sports franchises.

By consolidating the market and partnering with high-profile clients Fastbreak has quickly established itself as the 800-pound gorilla in the scheduling space. By further diversifying its offerings and building an ecosystem of sports logistics solutions for clients at every level of play, the company hopes it can position itself for an even brighter future.

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