NEW ORLEANS – The VC Fast Pitch in New Orleans event, a networking and pitch competition connecting startups with investors, is expanding beyond early-stage startups to include a broader range of sports-related investments in the global sports industry as part of its June 11 program.
Black Dog Venture Partners, which organizes the national VC Fast Pitch series, is hosting the New Orleans event in partnership with The Idea Village, a New Orleans nonprofit focused on startup acceleration and entrepreneurship support.
The Champion Fund, an investment fund focused on the sports industry, will be featured as part of the program, presenting opportunities across professional sports, media and sports technology
Sports Investing Expands Beyond Traditional Venture Deals
The sports economy is a multi-hundred-billion-dollar market undergoing a period of increased investment activity. Private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, which manage investments for wealthy individuals, are deploying capital into team ownership, media rights and sports technology. The Champion Fund was developed to provide a broader range of investors access to these opportunities through a managed portfolio that includes professional franchise exposure, growth-stage sports technology and co-investments.
“The venture community understands conviction investing better than almost anyone,” said Marques Colston, portfolio manager of The Champion Fund. “What we’re presenting at VC Fast Pitch is a thesis built on the same rigor — but applied to an asset class that has been structurally inaccessible. Sports assets generate durable, uncorrelated growth, and we built Champion Fund to help more investors capture it.”
For investors building conviction-driven portfolios, the Champion Fund is positioned as a complementary growth allocation, designed to operate alongside existing strategies rather than replace them.
“Our investors are always looking for what’s next — asset classes and structures that offer differentiation in a portfolio,” said Scott Kelly, CEO of Black Dog Venture Partners. “The Champion Fund brings something we haven’t featured before at VC Fast Pitch: a managed, SEC-registered vehicle that provides access to the sports economy without the concentration risk of a single deal.”
VC Fast Pitch Event Details
When: June 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Shop Workspace, 900 Camp Street, Third Floor New Orleans, LA
Registration: neworleansvcfastpitch.eventbrite.com
Champion Fund Overview
The Champion Fund is an evergreen investment vehicle designed to provide structured access to the global sports economy for both accredited and non-accredited investors. The fund uses a rules-based portfolio approach with exposure to assets across technology, media, real estate, infrastructure and team ownership. Founded by Marques Colston and Nick Edwards, the fund offers a $500 minimum investment, automated onboarding and semi-annual redemption windows.
Black Dog Venture Partners Overview
Black Dog Venture Partners is a business accelerator that provides startups and growth-stage companies with access to funding, business development, executive coaching and strategic growth opportunities through its network of investors and partners. The firm hosts VC Fast Pitch events across the United States, connecting entrepreneurs with investors and strategic partners.
