Gurugram-based Flow Sports Life badminton and football academy has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures, a Gurugram-based angel investment firm.
With this funding, the startup will focus on expanding the team, operations and marketing, technology development, and infrastructure improvements, the release notes.
Why has IPV invested in Flow Sports Life?
Flow Sports Life said it aims to transform one million children into lifelong athletes and reshape India’s sports culture through advanced coaching in badminton and football.
The startup is aimed at producing at least four Olympians by 2032, supported by technical innovations such as AI-powered match analytics, leaderboards for athlete ranking and engagement, comprehensive training analytics, and efficient facility management through a dedicated app.
Currently, It has three centres across Delhi-NCR and has raised funds for expansion and athlete-focused technology development.
Madhukar Bhardwaj, Sr. Vice President, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Sports has always been an integral part of India. Our country has produced some of the finest badminton players in recent years, like PV Sindhu, Sania Nehwal, Srikanth K. Idambi, etc., and holds great potential to have a larger number of Olympians across genres considering India has a large youth population.
Madhukar said Flow Sports Life is actively extending its support to the athletes with the best tech-enabled coaching facility and aims to inculcate sports among children and produce at least four Olympians in the coming years.
Who are the founders?
Flow Sports Life was founded by Amit Mongia and Sumit Garg. Amit Mongia, with a background in economics and management, has had a successful career in sales and distribution and rose to Director of Sales at Avon India.
On the other hand, Sumit Garg is an SRCC graduate and has been a state champion in the Badminton Under-15 and Under-18 categories in Haryana and represented the state of Haryana in the India Nationals for Badminton from 1992 to 1994.
Flow Sports Life said it has seen significant growth and expansion in its operations over recent years. In FY22, the startup was solely focused on badminton, overseeing one centre and catering to 150 athletes. Since then, it has diversified its focus to include football, now operating three centres and serving 325 athletes.
It claims to have witnessed a 150% YoY revenue increase in FY23 compared to FY22 and runs one of the most profitable pay-and-play facilities in Gurgaon.
The current landscape of the global sports industry
The global sports industry is on a trajectory of substantial growth, with a market value of $388.3 billion in 2020 and an expected surge to $599.9 billion by 2025, driven by a 3.4% CAGR since 2015. This market is characterised by two primary segments: spectator sports, accounting for 28%, and participatory sports, occupying 72%.
Geographically, North America leads the way, representing 35.0% of the total global sports market in 2020. In India, the sports market, worth $27 billion in 2020, is poised for remarkable expansion, projected to reach $100 billion by 2027, boasting an impressive CAGR of 21%.
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