Image credit:
Munich Trade Fair
Start-up at the ISPO 2024
Image credit:
Munich Trade Fair
07/09/2025

Voices of the Industry: How start-ups are shaping the future of the sports industry

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"Start-ups are rays of hope in a retail sector that is constantly having to reinvent itself." Katja Mendel, Retail Format Manager Outdoor Division at SPORT 2000, hits the nail on the head: in a continuously developing market, the demand for start-ups and new, innovative concepts is constantly increasing. The international market for start-ups in the sports industry is growing rapidly. In the sports tech sector alone, around USD 4.4 billion was invested in 647 private placements in 2024. Industry experts such as Reiner Gerstner (Schöffel) and Jiskia Reis (EIT Health) are convinced that start-ups are a driving force behind the further development of the sports industry.

ISPO also recognizes this potential and, with ISPO Brandnew, not only offers start-ups a platform to present their ideas to investors, but also gives investors the opportunity to be the first to discover the next big brands. Even globally renowned brands such as GoPro and Headis began their journey as start-ups at ISPO Brandnew.

The sports industry is looking for innovation - and is finding it in start-ups. This is particularly evident in the sports tech sector. According to Drake Star (2024), USD 4.4 billion was invested in sports tech start-ups via 647 private placements last year alone. According to Precedence Research, the market volume for sports tech currently stands at USD 17.8 billion (2024) and is set to grow to USD 118 billion by 2034. This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 20.8 %. Start-ups are therefore no longer a marginal phenomenon, but a key driver for the future of the industry.

Grafik über Start-ups im Sport Tech Markt
The demand for start-ups in the sports tech sector is constantly increasing.
Image credit:
Drake Star / Precedence Research
Katja Mendel

Retail Format Manager Outdoor Division, SPORT 2000

Katja Mendel auf der ISPO 2024
Image credit:
Messe München

Start-ups are a ray of hope, they are hope-bearers in a business that constantly has to reinvent itself.

Jiskia rice

Lead Entrepreneurship EIT Health

Jiskia Reis auf der ISPO Munich
Image credit:
Messe München GmbH

And in the case of health care, we always look to invest and also support start-ups that will be changing the next 10 to 20 years in Europe. So our motto is to make European lives better.

Reiner Gerstner

Senior Vice President Marketing, Schöffel

Reiner Gerstner auf der ISPO 2024
Image credit:
Messe München

It stands out that seven of the first ten brands of the world's most valuable brands are in the memory field of garages, where someone once screwed something together. All these big companies, whether Google or Apple or Amazon, started as start-ups and now belong to the ten largest and most valuable companies in the world.

Ralf Kerkeling

Initiator Startrampe, freelance sports and outdoor journalist

Ralf Kerkeling

Last year I was here at ISPO and there is a start-up area which is getting bigger and bigger. It is very important as it has been mentioned before: the industry needs startups as a driving force to keep it going.

Nick Woodman

Founder, GoPro

Nick Woodman spricht über das Erfolgsgeheimnis von GoPro.
Nick Woodman spricht über das Erfolgsgeheimnis von GoPro.
Image credit:
Youtube/Reddit

Being present at ISPO helped us meet new potential business partners and GoPro customers from all areas of the sports world. The ISPO Brandnew Village was a great starting point! "It was a great and exciting experience, and I was able to share my thoughts and experiences with other start-ups.

René Wegner

Managing Director, Headis

René Wegner is the inventor of the trend sport Headis
René Wegner is the inventor of the trend sport Headis
Image credit:
Imago

Winning ISPO Brandnew has consistently brought us a lot of brand awareness. The first time in 2010, we went in with a prototype, looking for manufacturers and distribution partners, which we found here.

Sven Schröllkamp

Marketing Manager, Ryzon

Sven Schröllkamp im Porträt
Image credit:
Ryzon

Participating in the ISPO Brandnew finals significantly helped raise awareness of our brand. We received many attractive inquiries. [...] It really helped build a certain level of trust with the target audience.

Erik Englund

Founder and Managing Director, Boardie

Winning ISPO Brandnew has brought us several advantages, such as new customers, business contacts, and a lot of great press.