Ep. 26 Interview with Ishveen Anand of OpenSponsorship.com

Ishveen Anand is the founder and CEO OpenSponsorship, a two-sided marketplace connecting brands to the worlds’ largest network of sponsorship opportunities in professional sports. Ishveen, a graduate of Oxford University, is of Indian-British origin and now lives in New York. She was included in the Forbes 30under30 sports list in 2015 and OpenSponsorship was named a finalist in the 2015 Sports Technology Awards.

Ishveen Anand – Show Notes

What is your background/what motivated you?

Ishveen says sports allowed her to find her independence as well as develop her communication and leadership skills.

“I’ve always valued what sports gives to an individual”

What were the major roadblocks?

She says that just figuring out how to start her company and fill the need of her clients, without wasting time and money, was her biggest roadblock. She always looks for problems to solve, then builds her business to address the needs of her client.

What do you enjoy the most?

Ishveen enjoys helping her clients do what they thought wouldn’t be possible. Seeing the benefits her service provides to them is something that she loves.

What do you wish you knew then that you know now?

She feels that many entrepreneurs get trapped in the thought that they must meet a lot of people when starting, even before they really know what they’re doing. If she could go back, she would delay some meetings she had early on. Not only would this help make a better impression at the start, but also would have saved her lots of time in her business.

“Your time is so precious when you’re building something. Those precious moments at the beginning of the business should really be focused on creating something.”

She now feels that she’s a lot more honed in on her company’s story, and the message that she wants to convey.

What is your biggest challenge now?

Ishveen says just getting out there and having people notice them enough to understand what they’re doing in the marketplace is her biggest challenge.

“It’s such a noise-filled environment”

How do you stay on the cutting-edge?

She subscribes to the newsletters that are relevant in her industry, as well as listening to podcasts, to stay on the cutting-edge. Ishveen is also part of an accelerator in San Francisco and she actively watches what is happening in other industries in terms of pricing and branding.

“There are tools out there to help you; as a business owner, you’re quite isolated”

What are your most impactful books/resources?

“Blue Ocean Strategy” (Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim); The Stanford Series (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”) and “StartUp” (podcast)

Who is your ideal client?

Her company represents athletes, trainers, coaches and anyone involved in sports (65 different sports ranging from dancing to the NFL). As well, Ishveen feels that any business at all can benefit by having an athlete represent them.

Businesses can post their needs (RFP) on the website (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”) for $399/month, with a 30% discount for listeners of The FitPro Industry Podcast.

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.OpenSponsorship.com
Stanford Speaker Series (http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/stanford-gsb-experience/academic/guest-speakers/global-series)

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