Follow the Money, Episode 4: Talking Tech, Sports, and Private Capital With Sam McCleery and Alysse Soll

Follow the Money, Episode 4: Talking Tech, Sports, and Private Capital With Sam McCleery and Alysse SollSoll, the industry vet and CEO Advisory of underdog venture team, discusses innovation and the growing impact of private capital in sportsBy SVG Staff

Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 8:57 am

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Welcome to the Sports Video Group's new interview series, Follow the Money, designed to help SVG members and sponsors have a deeper understanding of the sports-media rights, technology-investment, and financial communities. Hosted by Sam McCleery, an Emmy Award-winning executive who has worked for ESPN, Cablevision, Adidas, Prince Tennis, and Under Armour, each episode will feature experts in the sports-innovation and investment community discussing a wide range of topics.

The financial growth across live sports is notable, but what does it mean for the future of sports in the U.S. and how does that growth affect our broadcast side of the house?

On Episode 4 of Follow the Money, host Sam McCleery speaks with Alysse Soll, the CEO Advisory of underdog venture team, about the current landscape of technology and sports. What makes now a good time to be a sports technology vendor? What's her advice for those companies in the early stages of their life cycles? And what private capital being a growing slice of the sports business pie could mean for the future.

WATCH: Follow the Money, Episode 4 - Alysse Soll

Soll leads the investment arm of underdog venture towards key investments across the sports landscape - from human performance, fan engagement, analytics, microbetting, smart arena, Web3, blockchain technology and more - to drive the growth and sustainability of the global sports ecosystem. She works with startups from investment, to advisory, and through growth.

Soll is a 17-year veteran of the National Hockey League, launching the San Jose Sharks in 1990, where she pioneered fan acquisition platforms adopted by all NHL teams and other North American professional leagues. Prior to her role at underdog venture team, she was President of NewModel Advisory, a boutique sports innovation consultancy which connects sports tech start ups with sports properties across the globe.

She was recognized by Sports Business Journal as one of the 2022 Power Players in Sports Technology. She is an Angel investor, capital fundraiser and M&A for sports tech startups (pre-seed through Series A), and a certified (Series 7, Series 63) FINRA registered representative. She is actively engaged as an advisor across the startup sports technology ecosystem and serves as a judge and mentor for Sports Tech and Innovation Accelerators across North America and internationally.

For future episodes of Follow the Money and to watch other original interviews from Sports Video Group, visit our free video platform, SVG PLAY.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/01/22/follow-the-money-episode-4-talk...
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