diving into women's sports, the seasonal buzz of marathon running, & my first founder interview
It’s May! Just minutes ago, I finished my last undergraduate college exam today. It’s crazy to think how fast the past three years have gone by, and I couldn’t have done it without an incredible support system. This month’s newsletter covers a range of topics, specifically highlighting women’s sports and marathon running. I also had the opportunity to interview a consumer founder, who is building a super amazing platform for international students.🚀
Startup Events & News
A list of startup events happening in May — let’s get you plugged into the Minnesota startup ecosystem♥️
5/8 - Founder’s Day
5/15 - Working Wednesday
5/15 - Spring 2024 Beta Showcase
5/15 - Bridging Futures: An Evening Celebrating Youth Entrepreneurship
5/21 - Founder’s Live
5/22 - NASA Mashup Lab Finale Event
Here’s today’s breakdown:
Macro Trends: rising viewership for women’s sports
Micro Trends: Poppi’s Coachella Collab, The crisis for marathon running
Interview highlights from Ariana Davarpanah, founder of Iscicle
What’s Happening in Consumer
From a Macro View
macroeconomic consumer trends, shifts in consumer behavior, industry deep dives
Rise in Viewership and Sponsorships in Women’s Sports
The beginning of April marked the end of the 2024 NBA and WNBA tournaments. The WNBA, in particular, received a large amount of attention due to rising star Caitlin Clark. We all remember the Instagram post from NBC News that shared that the Iowa vs. LSU game was watched by more than 12 million viewers on ESPN, becoming the most-watched college basketball game ever. This was an incredible example, followed by many others, of women’s sports getting the attention it deserves.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup also had record-breaking stats, with nearly 2 million fans attending the 64 games at the tournament.
One reason for increased viewership is broader access to women’s sports. Sports media companies are doing a better job of including regular programming of women’s sports to spark interest and drive attention. Brands are also investing in sponsorships for women’s sports games and individual players. Golf and tennis, specifically, are leading in sponsorships. They are the first two women’s sports to receive more than 1,000 sponsorships. Brands are not only supporting leagues but also individual players. I’ll never forget Serena William’s long-standing partnership with Nike that had her wearing bold, bright colors at every tournament. She, along with notable players like Coco Gauff and Angel Reese, will pave the way for more groundbreaking female players to disrupt the sports industry.
Quick shoutout to The Athlete Economy, a substack about that shares how the intersection of startups, athletes, and investors are shaping the sports industry. One article highlights a few consumer startups that are investing in women’s sports through products and technologies - give it a quick read if you are a startup founder or investor!
From a Micro View
micro-trends, with a glimpse into the Gen Z world
Poppi’s Coachella Campaign Takes a New Approach
Poppi, a health soda that promotes a low-sugar, prebiotic-filled alternative to regular soda, has garnered $116M in revenue in 2023 and has raised $40M across two funding rounds. The bold, eye-catching brand has captured millions of gen z and millenial consumers through social media and influencers. Because Coachella is a lucrative market for brands to reach people, Poppi took this as an opportunity to craft a strategic marketing campaign with an influencer
Poppi partnered with Alix Earle and, instead of sending a group of influencers to a house, the brand gave Alix a house decorated in Poppi-themed colors in light of its new lemon-lime flavor. Over the course of Earle’s Coachella trip, Alix posted 20 videos and almost half of them included a Poppi drink. This resulted in a 200% increase in sales.
While honing in on one influencer is uncommon, if the influencer is at the peak of their career, the brand can attract notable attention with a massive campaign.
Is everyone running now? Welcome to marathon season.
It seems like every other TikTok I watch is either someone training for a marathon or actually running a marathon. As a 21-year old, it seems like I’m slacking for not planning to run a marathon soon. The Atlantic talks about the 20-something crisis that urges this demographic to run a marathon, coining this the “quarter-life crisis marathon”. Transitioning from the business of college to a monotonous post-grad life might be the kickstarter to picking up an active hobby. It’s a transition to independence and maturity, which could prompt people to choose hobbies that enforce discipline and a sense of control with themselves. The same article supports this sentiment, sharing that people in this stage of their lives may be feeling logically and existentially disoriented.
However, while it seems like 20-year olds are a popular marathon demographic, the largest demographic is the 30-39 year old range. And only 0.05% of the US population have actually run a marathon. Therefore, my TikTok algorithm is leading me to believe that there are more marathon runners out there than there actually is.
Health and wellness startups are jumping on the running trend by sponsoring run clubs. While these sponsorships and giveaways do not translate to direct revenue, it sparks conversation about the brand to get the word out. Vuori Brands and Glowbar are mature startups that have sponsored events with Slow Girl Run Club in 2023.
My First Consumer Founder Interview
I had the most amazing conversation with a consumer founder just last week. In addition to sharing information about the consumer sector from multiple angles, I also hope to build a community around early-stage founders operating in this space.
My first interview was with Ariana Davarpanah, founder of Iscicle. Below are my highlights:
Iscicle is an online social platform for international students to seek community and share resources (Think LinkedIn for international students).
🏠👨👩👧 Davarpanah’s immigrated from Iran to Germany to the Bay Area, where she spent her childhood and college years. She went to a local community college, where she initially planned to study immigration law because she should empathize with the hardships of living in the US as a first-gen immigrant. Her interest in entrepreneurship piqued when she transferred to Stanford. Throughout the rest of her undergraduate career, she did pro-bono consulting for international students and transfer admissions. Eventually, she and a friend started Iscicle with a friend to support international students through a social network platform.
💼👩🏻💼 She was working on Iscicle on the side during her full-time job at Robinhood. While she had an underlying passion to pursue her startup full-time, like most immigrants, she wanted to prove to herself and her parents that she could secure a competitive job with a large company. Her time at Robinhood was instrumental in shaping her entrepreneurial experiences. She worked in a department that was actually a fintech startup acquired by Robinhood. Through this role, she gained operational skills to support the startup’s transition to a bigger company.
👩🏻💻🧑🏻💻 In November 2023, she quit her job at Robinhood and is now working on Iscicle full-time. Right now, her role focuses on growth, specifically by addressing customer issues and using social media channels to expand. With supportive parents and a good founder network, she feels confident in her decision to leave a secure job and build a platform for a community she is so deeply connected to.
What I’m Working On
Other than better time management, I plan to schedule more consumer founder interviews to build out the interview section of my newsletter. I also am looking forward to talking to thought leaders in the consumer space to hear how their views came to be and how they inform decisions.
As I continue to prioritize Consumer Girl, I want to hone in on my mission to share knowledge in a way that benefits founders, investors, partners, and other stakeholders with a vested interest in the growth of this sector.
If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading!
Sanjana