128 Nate Thompson on Connecting Founders, Teams & Investors in Sports

Nate Thompson is the Founder of Catalyst Sports Ventures, Co-Founder of HTX Sports Tech, and creator of The Lab in Los Angeles, a new hub connecting founders, investors, executives, and athletes across the sports industry.With more than 20 years of experience spanning the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, and collegiate athletics, Nate has built a career around connecting people, ideas, and opportunities. In this episode, he shares how his experience inside professional sports led him to build an ecosystem that helps startups grow, teams innovate, and investors identify emerging opportunities.We discuss the evolution of sports technology, why relationships remain one of the industry's greatest competitive advantages, what founders need to know when selling to teams and leagues, and how The Lab is creating a space where sports, business, and innovation come together. Nate also shares lessons from launching Major Level Creatives, HTX Sports Tech, and Catalyst Sports Ventures, along with his vision for the future of sports entrepreneurship.If you're building a sports startup, investing in sports technology, or looking to better understand how innovation reaches teams and leagues, this is an episode you won't want to miss.