Durham’s Teamworks bets on Birmingham-based sports media firm

DURHAM — Teamworks, which develops software for athletic institutions, is partnering with an Birmingham-based firm to deliver more software as a service (Saas) solutions to athletes around the world.

The Durham-based startup announced today that it is investing in INFLCR, a software platform for sports teams to store, track and deliver photo and video content to their network of athletes, coaches, former athletes, and other brand ambassadors.

Under the arrangement, Teamworks said it will create the infrastructure for INFLCR “to continue its rapid growth in the athletics industry,” from its headquarters in Alabama. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Athletic organizations like Duke University’s basketball team already use the INFLCR platform to help athletes “amplify both their personal brands as well as their teams’ to drive social engagement across digital platforms.”

Since the INFLCR app launched in 2018, year-over-year athlete social media accounts have seen a 52 percent increase in social media followers, and team social accounts have grown by 21 percent. That includes outliers like Kentucky Football’s 210 percent team social media account growth during their 2018 football season, and student-athletes like Josh Allen seeing more than 1000 percent growth during that same timeframe, Teamworks said.

“We recognized INFLCR’s potential and the synergies between our brands: empowering athletes is at the core of both companies,” Zach Maurides, CEO and founder of Teamworks, said in the release.. “We were in a position similar to INFLCR five years ago and understand the market potential. We’re investing not only in INFLCR, to realize and accelerate their potential growth, but also in athletes and the incredible impact they can have on society.”

Since its launch in 2010, Teamworks has raised more than $21.55 million in funding and now powers more than 2,500 pro and college teams globally – and counting. Among its many clients is the NCAA and its 132 teams in the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

“As a platform to help athletes manage their off-the-field life, Teamworks has been a pioneer in sports SaaS, helping pave the way for newer companies like INFLCR to sell into collegiate and professional sports brands that have new and growing line items in their budget for SaaS products,” the company added in its release.

“The multidimensional investment unlocks INFLCR’s ability to bring its valuable solution to Teamworks’ extensive network. INFLCR has grown rapidly by helping student-athletes build sustainable brands on social media that they can leverage and monetize once they leave college.”