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SFU Alumni Launch Online Platform to Help High School Athletes Access Post-Secondary Athletic Programs and Scholarships
Thursday, October 17, 2019Company Profile | Follow Company
SFU track and field alumni create online platform to help high school athletes access more post-secondary athletic opportunities
High school athletes across Canada can now make better decisions about their athletic futures
Burnaby, BC, October 17, 2019--(T-Net)--SFU alumni Alexandre Paré and Brett Montrose just launched Streamline Athletes, an online platform connecting high-school student athletes to an extensive database of U.S. and Canadian post-secondary athletic and academic programs and scholarships.
Montrose, co-founder and managing director of operations, says the startup "strives to give high school athletes and their families the information they need to find opportunities and make confident decisions about their academic and athletic futures. Our vision is to empower athletes for a life without limits."
Currently, he says, "there are more than 1.3 million high-school track and field athletes around the world, but only five percent end up competing at university." Streamline Athletes, he says, can improve on that percentage.
The platform outlines the many scholarship and walk-on options available for athletes of all levels, tackling the misconception that only elite athletes can pursue post-secondary athletics.
On the platform, athletes can create a profile identifying their performance results, financial budget, academic information, and additional accomplishments. Users can then browse and filter through university programs, access team pages, and connect directly with collegiate coaches. Parents and guardians can also create an account to support in the recruiting process.
Paul Trustham, parent of a student-athlete says, "Streamline Athletes has been extremely helpful in navigating the plethora of universities for our son. Their website has fantastic information when researching universities."
Uniquely, Streamline Athletes dives deep into track and field data—offering a sport-specific approach that understands the distinct needs of a middle-distance runner versus a football quarterback, for example. And while the fledgling platform currently provides just track and field-specific information, they continue to include more analytical tools for both athletes and coaches.
Current users say Streamline Athletes' secret sauce is their sport-specific focus.
Nick Kucey, user and track athlete says, "It really separates Streamline Athletes from the rest of the university recruitment platforms."
The company also supports university coaches in their recruitment process by pairing coaches with athletes who meet recruitment standards and are more likely to accept an offer.
Paré, co-founder and managing director of strategy says, "On average, coaches reach out to 40 to 50 athletes, meet with 15 individuals, and schedule campus visits with five candidates before signing just one of these athletes to their team." Streamline Athletes takes care of the top recruitment funnel so coaches can spend their recruiting time with highly interested recruits instead of 15 or 45 uninterested athletes.
Paré is also a certified coach under Athletics Canada and the National Coaching Association of Canada.
The company founders are life-long track athletes who competed in high school and met on Simon Fraser University's National Collegiate Athletic Association track team.
They were inspired to create a new solution for student athletes after witnessing the many hurdles young athletes faced when trying to find the best post-secondary school options. The founders say roadblocks in the current recruitment system often result in a high post-secondary transfer rate and missed opportunities to pursue both athletics and education.
The company is currently incubated at Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection® at SFU Surrey, where the founders receive mentorship and have a private office for their team. The founders also won the SFU Alumni award at the 2019 Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize, SFU's largest entrepreneurship competition.
Montrose is a founding member of Startup Surrey, a consortium of local technology entrepreneurs and organizations in Surrey, B.C.
In the past year, the Streamline Athletes team has hired on eight employees, comprising developers, sales leads, data analysts, and finance/accounting administration.
Additionally, the platform continues to expand, recently adding more than 300 new post-secondary institutions to its roster as well as account functionality for parents and guardians. In the future, they hope to expand their services beyond track and field, while retaining a sport-specific approach.
FAST FACTS:
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ABOUT SFU'S COAST CAPITAL SAVINGS VENTURE CONNECTION:
Since 2008, SFU Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection program at SFU has been providing support for SFU early-stage ventures, from initial idea to business validation. Venture Connection offers an early-stage business incubator, mentorship, co-op work terms, competitions, networking, speaker events, workshops, seminars and other business resources. SFU's flagship entrepreneurship program has supported more than 10,000 individuals from the SFU community, ranging from students, staff and faculty to recent alumni, and has provided startup services to more than 230 early ventures.
ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY:
As Canada's engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today's problems. With campuses in British Columbia's three largest cities - Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey - SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 35,000 students. The university now boasts more than 160,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.
Contact:
Pauline Leoncio, Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection, Simon Fraser University, 778.387.0923, vc_comms@sfu.ca
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