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Jump Forward is a technology company that presented its innovative product on Season 1 of Shark Tank. Their offering is a software platform aimed at streamlining and optimizing the recruiting process in college athletics.
The system is designed to bridge the communication gap between high school athletes, their coaches, and college recruiters. The platform’s primary features include athlete profiles, real-time notifications, and data-driven analytics.
The athlete profiles contain detailed information about the athlete’s academic and athletic performances, complete with videos and stats. This aids college recruiters by providing all the necessary information in one consolidated space.
It ensures that recruiters are always aware of a prospective athlete’s progress. Any significant performance improvement, academic achievement, or even an injury can be tracked. The data-driven analytics offer an in-depth insight into an athlete’s potential and suitability for a particular college team.
Jump Forward is a good choice for several reasons. First, it greatly reduces the time and effort of recruiting athletes and recruiters. Recruiters can easily find and assess potential candidates, while athletes can promote themselves and stay on top of recruitment opportunities. Second, it promotes transparency and honesty in the process.
All data is easily accessible and verifiable, reducing the chance of misinformation or misunderstanding. Lastly, the platform’s analytics tool can help make more accurate predictions about an athlete’s potential, leading to better recruitment decisions.
Jump Forward offers a technological solution that enhances communication, reduces administrative burdens, and improves decision-making in the college athletic recruiting process.
| Company Name | Jump Forward |
| Entrepreneur | Brian Duggan And Adam McCombs |
| Product / Business | Online service to assist athletes, parents, coaches, and college administrators with college recruiting |
| Investment Asking For | $150,000 for 10% equity in Jump Forward |
| Final Deal | $600,000 for 50% equity in Jump Forward |
| Shark | Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary |
| Jump Forward Episode | Season 1, Episode 10 |
| Jump Forward Business Status | In Business (Acquired) |
| Jump Forward Website | Visit Website |
| Jump Forward Net Worth | $5 Million |
What Is Jump Forward?
Jump Forward is a comprehensive platform designed specifically for athletic recruitment. It provides tools for coaches, athletes, and parents to streamline the recruitment process, making it easier and more efficient.
Jump Forward provides coaches with tools for managing recruitment information, contacting prospective athletes, and tracking their performance. Athletes can use the platform to showcase their skills, connect with coaches, and manage their recruitment process.
Parents can also use the platform to keep track of their child’s recruitment progress. The platform is highly versatile, with features that can be tailored to meet the needs of different sports and levels of competition.
Jump Forward is a platform that provides tools and services for athletic departments. Their solutions include:
- Recruiting tools: These tools help track prospective student-athletes, manage their data and communication, and organize the recruitment process.
- Compliance solutions: Jump Forward offers a complete compliance solution for athletic departments to manage rules education, monitoring, and reporting.
- Camp Management: The platform also provides tools for managing sports camps, including registration, payment processing, and participant communication.
- Ticketing solutions: Jump Forward offers an integrated ticketing solution for athletic events.
- Fundraising solutions: Their platform includes tools for managing fundraising events and campaigns, tracking donors and donations, and reporting on fundraising efforts.
Jump Forward aims to streamline the operations of athletic departments and help them manage their tasks more efficiently.
Who Is The Founder Of Jump Forward?
Jump Forward was co-founded by Adam McCombs and Brian Duggan. Both McCombs and Duggan have backgrounds in sports and technology, which they combined to create Jump Forward.
Adam McCombs has a background in software development and has held various leadership roles within the tech industry.
Before co-founding Jump Forward, he was involved in several successful startups where he honed his product development and business strategy skills.
On the other hand, Brian Duggan has a strong background in athletics and sports management. Before Jump Forward, he worked in athletic departments at multiple universities, where he had first-hand experience with the inefficiencies in the college recruiting process.
The idea for Jump Forward was conceived when McCombs and Downs noticed the inefficiencies in the college sports recruiting process.
McCombs’ understanding of technology and Downs’ knowledge of the college athletics environment allowed them to identify the need for a comprehensive solution to streamline the process.
They recognized the potential for a digital platform that could centralize information, simplify communications, and provide analytics to improve decision-making in college athletic recruitment.
Before appearing on Shark Tank, Jump Forward steadily gained traction and significantly impacted the college sports recruiting process. Many high school athletes and college recruiters used the software platform, changing how these two groups communicated.
Jump Forward has managed to simplify the complex and often overwhelming process of college sports recruitment, making it more efficient and accessible.
However, the company was looking for further investment to expand its offerings and reach, which led them to pitch their idea on Shark Tank.
How Was The Shark Tank Pitch Of Jump Forward?
The Shark Tank pitch of Jump Forward was captivating, delivered by founders Adam McCombs and Brian Duggan. They walked onto the stage seeking a $150,000 investment for a 10% stake in their company, valuing Jump Forward at $1.5 million.
Jump Forward, as they explained, is a digital platform that enables high school athletes to create profiles with their pictures, videos, and statistics, allowing them to market themselves to colleges.
The platform also helps colleges find suitable athletes while ensuring strict NCAA rules and regulations are followed.
Adam and Brian highlighted the struggle of talented athletes who go unnoticed during high school recruiting, sharing that prominent figures like Dwyane Wade, Jerry Rice, and Ben Wallace were overlooked in their high school years.
Their platform, Jump Forward, intends to rectify this by empowering athletes and their parents to take control of the recruiting process.
The Sharks showed considerable interest, with Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec leading the charge.
Kevin O’Leary first questioned the platform’s revenue model, to which Brian Duggan replied that colleges pay an annual subscription fee and additional charges for maintenance and consultation.
Barbara Corcoran, Kevin Harrington, and Daymond John expressed their concerns about the risks and complexity associated with the technology business, with all three deciding not to invest.
Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec, however, remained interested. They were impressed with the founders’ backgrounds – both were former Ernst & Young employees, and Adam had worked for Cisco Systems for eight years.
Kevin initially offered $200,000 for a 20% stake, followed by Robert, who offered $300,000 for a 35% stake.
To the founders’ surprise, Kevin and Robert decided to join forces instead of bidding against each other. They proposed a joint offer of $400,000 for a 50% stake in Jump Forward.
Despite Brian and Adam’s hesitations about giving up half their company, Kevin and Robert insisted on the 50% stake, raising their offer to $600,000.
Brian Duggan tried to negotiate the equity stake down or the investment up to $750,000, but the Sharks held firm on their terms. Eventually, Brian and Adam accepted the joint offer of $600,000 for a 50% stake in Jump Forward.
Post Shark Tank, Jump Forward has seen significant growth. Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec’s investment and guidance helped Jump Forward develop its platform and expand its user base to over 150,000 users and 150 college athletic departments.
Final Deal: Kevin O’Leary And Robert Herjavec agreed to invest $600,000 for 50% equity in Jump Forward.
Did Jump Forward Get an Investment on Shark Tank?
Yes, JumpForward received an investment in Shark Tank. Brian Duggan and Adam McCombs pitched their website and mobile app that streamlined the college athlete recruitment process.
They asked for $150,000 in exchange for 10% equity. After receiving offers from several sharks and engaging in a bidding war, they ultimately accepted an offer of $600,000 for 50% equity from Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec.
What Happened To Jump Forward After Shark Tank?
JumpForward, after appearing on Shark Tank, experienced significant success even though the deal with the sharks didn’t pan out. The business saw considerable growth after its appearance on the show, particularly in its mobile app segment. This growth was exemplified by an impressive subscription renewal rate of 99%.
In the ensuing years, JumpForward was acquired by Active Network in 2016, although the transaction specifics, including the purchase price, were not publicly disclosed.
Jump Forward saw significant growth. The investment from Sharks Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec gave the company the boost it needed to expand.
Jump Forward used the $600,000 investment to scale its operations, improve its technological infrastructure, and broaden its marketing efforts.
The company’s primary service – a platform for student-athletes to showcase their skills and get noticed by colleges and universities – gained traction quickly.
Their customer base grew exponentially, with their service reaching more than 150 college athletic departments. They also boasted an impressive 99% annual subscription renewal rate, indicating high customer satisfaction.
The company’s growth didn’t stop there. As of 2023, Jump Forward had 20,000+ coaches, 350+ institutions, 255,000+ student-athletes, and 16 million recruiting profiles.
In terms of financials, Jump Forward experienced steady revenue growth. According to sources, the company’s revenue in the last five years has been around $3 million to $5 million. In 2019, the company reported a revenue of $4.8 million, expected to increase in 2020.
Despite facing competition from other players in the market like Arms, Front Rush, Field Level, Captain U, Scout Force, Corgi Bytes, Brain Train, and Tudor Collegiate Strategies, Jump Forward held its own and remained competitive.
Jump Forward has thrived since its appearance on Shark Tank. The company has successfully grown its user base and financials while continuing to provide a valuable service for student-athletes and colleges alike.
The co-founders of JumpForward, Brian and Adam, subsequently made a successful exit from the company, which is often the goal for many entrepreneurs who start businesses.
Therefore, while the initial objective of securing an investment in Shark Tank wasn’t achieved, JumpForward could leverage the exposure to ultimately succeed in the competitive business environment.
Jump Forward Shark Tank Update
Jump Forward, a company providing online and mobile technology to aid in athlete recruitment appeared on the popular television show Shark Tank in 2009.
Founders Brian Duggan and Adam McCombs pitched their idea to the ‘Sharks,’ successful investors looking to invest in potentially profitable businesses.
During the pitch, Duggan and McCombs initially asked for $150,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in Jump Forward. However, they ended up securing a deal with Sharks Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary, who agreed to invest $600,000 in exchange for a 50% stake in the company.
After their appearance on Shark Tank, Jump Forward experienced significant growth and expansion. They improved their software and continued enhancing their services, already being utilized by over 150 collegiate athletic departments nationwide.
The company also developed a mobile app to complement its web-based platform, making it more accessible.
Their website was updated, and the service became available on all Android, iOS, and Blackberry devices. Despite some criticisms about the cost of using the service not being explicitly mentioned, there was a lot of praise for the application.
By the end of 2021, Jump Forward had amassed more than twenty thousand coaches, three hundred fifty thousand schools, over two hundred fifty thousand student-athletes, and sixteen million recruiting profiles. In terms of financial growth, by 2022, the company had an annual turnover of $5 million.
However, it’s important to note that the deal with the Sharks fell through after the show and was never officially completed. Despite this setback, Jump Forward continued its upward trajectory.
In 2016, Active Network acquired Jump Forward. While Duggan and McCombs left the company after its acquisition, Jump Forward continues to operate and provide services to semi-professional collegiate athletes.
As of 2023, Brian Duggan is the founder and CEO of Livly – a provider of modern software for residential properties – while Adam McCombs is the Chief Product Officer of Vantaca, LLC – a community management software provider.
Jump Forward has grown immensely since its appearance on Shark Tank. The exposure from the show helped them expand their user base and improve their services, leading to a successful acquisition and a significant increase in their net worth. Although the founders have moved on to other ventures, Jump Forward thrives in the market.
Is Jump Forward Still In Business?
JumpForward, the company that aimed to streamline the recruitment process for high school athletes aiming for college, is no longer in business as an independent entity.
However, this does not mean that the company failed. Quite the contrary, JumpForward was successful enough to draw the attention of a larger company, Active Network.
Active Network, a global marketplace for activities and events, acquired JumpForward in 2016. The details of the acquisition were not disclosed to the public.
JumpForward no longer exists as a standalone business, but its technology and services are likely integrated into Active Network’s services.
Therefore, while you may not see the JumpForward name in headlines, its impact continues through Active Network. The founders, Brian Duggan and Adam McCombs can be proud of their achievements and the legacy their company leaves behind in the world of athlete recruitment.
What Is the Net Worth Of Jump Forward?
According to our research, the net worth of Jump Forward is estimated to be $5 million. The valuation of Jump Forward was $1.2 million after securing an investment from Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec on Shark Tank.
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