I've been on the sideline.
Now I build what moves the ball.

Alay is a sports industry professional with 7+ years across sports sponsorship, B2B SaaS, and global event operations. He comes from a background that blends sponsorship strategy, sports marketing & platform development.

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THE JOURNEY

01

IU Athletics LogoIndiana University, Bloomington

The Foundation

Graduated with a B.S. in Sports Marketing & Management.

Marketing Intern, I.U. Athletics
⁍ Built a marketing campaign targeting international students to drive attendance at IU Football & Basketball games. 
⁍ Coordinated live sponsor activations at IU Athletics events, and produced the Annual Report for IU Athletics' Marketing budget.

Extracurricular
⁍ Operations Officer, International Soccer Club
⁍ External Relations Manager, AIESEC
"I didn't just study sports marketing — I ran activations, managed operations, and built campaigns before I had a business card. That's where the hands-on mentality started"
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02

US Soccer LogoUS Soccer

The Global Stage

FIFA Women's World Cup 2019
⁍ Executed commercial delivery of Visa, Nike & Volkswagen across multiple match-day activations in Chicago, ensuring full adherence to contractual rights & compliance.
 
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
⁍ Served as the primary operational liaison for 93 international federations during the tournament by coordinating International Travel Clearance & FIFA governance protocols.
"The World Cup taught me how sport and commerce intersect at the very top. I've been reverse-engineering that for the industry ever since."
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03

SponsorUnited LogoSponsorUnited

The Data Machine

⁍ Helped build the commercial intelligence layer behind the SPND AI platform — tracking $13B+ in sponsorship deals across sports.
⁍ Led the MLS, NWSL, and USL verticals across 50+ teams.
⁍ Managed a team of 7 market managers and 15+ scouts.
⁍ Drove a 75% year-over-year increase in MLS tracked deals by rebuilding the scouting methodology from scratch and creating a direct feedback loop between data ops and the sales team.
"Five years turning messy sports data into something sales teams could walk into a room with. That's where I learned what reliable actually means."
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04

Vega Sports LogoVEGA Sports Intelligence

The Build

⁍ Joined a sports-data startup with strong product conviction but no commercial infrastructure. 
⁍ In a 4-month engagement, defined 3 ICPs, designed the onboarding workflow around how each customer type actually adopts the product, and built a repeatable commercial operating rhythm
⁍ Ran weekly syncs with the COO, CRO, and CTO to pressure-test every assumption before it hit the market.
"This is what I do — I build the commercial foundation from zero. If the plumbing isn't there, I lay it."
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In sponsorship deals tracked
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YoY growth in MLS tracked deals
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partners managed
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Years DEEP

THE WORK

SPONSORUNITED DATA OPS

75% YoY Growth in MLS Tracked Deals

Problem

MLS was our highest-demand league — but we were capturing maybe half the actual market activity. The sales team was walking into client rooms with incomplete intelligence and losing credibility.

What I Did

  • ‣Overhauled and standardized the entire scouting methodology for identifying, categorizing, and validating deals.
  • ‣Implemented a structured calendar cycle (4 seasonal games) to guarantee data accuracy and prevent missed partner announcements.
  • ‣Established cross-functional syncs with the sales team to identify friction points and integrate insights back into scouting.

Result

75% YoY increase in MLS tracked deals. The vertical became one of the most complete datasets on the platform — giving AEs sharper positioning in both renewals and new logo conversations.

VEGA SPORTS INTELLEGENCE STARTUP GTM

Building GTM from Scratch in 4 Months

Problem

Strong product conviction, zero repeatable commercial infrastructure. 

What I Did

  • ‣Conducted founder discovery to analyze early wins and identify where sales stalled.
  • ‣Defined 3 distinct ICPs, mapping pain points and buying triggers.
  • ‣Designed a user-centric onboarding workflow based on adoption behavior.
  • ‣Established weekly feedback loops with leadership to pressure-test the strategy.

Result

In 4 months: a repeatable GTM playbook, documented flow, and commercial operating rhythm. Converted first 4 pilots.

SPONSORUNITED VERTICAL SCALING

SCALING 4 SPORTS VERTICALS INTO FULL INTELLIGENCE PIPELINES

Problem

NA Soccer, NA Cricket, Major League Rugby, and Drone Racing League were either underbuilt or had no infrastructure at all.

What I Did

  • ‣Engineered custom build paths across four distinct sports verticals.
  • ‣NA Soccer: Scaled coverage breadth and consistency across multiple leagues (MLS, NWSL, USL, US Soccer).
  • ‣NA Cricket: Built a primary source network from scratch due to a scale of public data.
  • ‣MLR: Delivered granular, deal-level details required by niche buyers.
  • ‣DRL: Established an entirely new tracking framework from scratch for an asset with no existing sponsorship comparables.

Result

All four became full sponsorship intelligence pipelines used in active sales cycles. Different build paths, same outcome — structured, reliable data that gave AEs a reason to open and close conversations in those spaces.

If you're looking for an opportunity, you're really looking for a person.

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