Traction Capital has invested $500,000 in a Rochester, MN company that is revolutionizing the way football coaches around the country – from youth to professional – are running practices. The Minneapolis venture capital firm is excited to take the lead on GoRout’s seed round of funding geared towards growing the company.
GoRout is a high-tech startup that uses its unique devices and self-designed software to deliver football practices that are 3 times more efficient than traditional practices. Using GoRout’s technology, coaches can design practice plans ahead of time and send plays to the players in real-time – eliminating the need to huddle in-between plays and maximizing the volume of reps teams can run in a standard practice time.
“Our biggest competition is the status quo,” says Mike Rolih, founder of GoRout. “Nobody is doing what we are doing yet, and the results speak for themselves. Across our customer base – including many Power 5 Division-I Football programs – we have a winning percentage over .700. We guarantee that we will make your team’s practices more efficient using our technology.”
The GoRout devices are primarily used by scout teams during a practice. Scout teams serve the purpose of emulating the upcoming opponent of the team, giving the first-team players reps against offensive and defensive looks they can expect to face during that week’s game. This type of preparation is vital to a team’s success.
Teams that do not use the GoRout system are usually requiring scout teams to study and use hand-written play cards that need to be created each week ahead of the upcoming game. This method requires many stoppages in the flow of practice as each play requires a new huddle and break to run, resulting in ample wasted time and interruptions.
The focus over the next year and beyond will be to get the product in the hands of more coaches and expand into new sports. Mike’s vision for GoRout includes revolutionizing how all sports teams practice.
Key features of GoRout’s platform include:
- Ability to upload play cards into the software ahead of each week’s practice and design the practice plan.
- Devices the players wear on their waste that allows them to view the plays without having to huddle or break.
- Coach’s ability to send plays throughout practice to the players’ devices using the GoRout app.
Traction Capital and GoRout are excited by the opportunity to focus on the company’s growth with the investment. The principals at Traction Capital will help the GoRout team implement business and growth processes, add to their team, and ramp up sales to get the product in more programs across the country. “We are excited by Mike’s progress to-date in building this company, and even more excited to help them reach another level. The team at GoRout is A+ and we believe they are ready to grow and grow fast,” says Shane Erickson, founder and Managing Partner of Traction Capital.
About GoRout
GoRout is a Rochester, MN company that strives to revolutionize the way sports teams practice. Founder Mike Rolih has combined experience as a player and coach with the technical know-how to execute on a vision of more efficient practices. GoRout’s software and devices make practices 3 times more efficient, helping teams around the country improve their performances on game day.
For more information, please visit: https://www.gorout.com/
About Traction Capital
Traction Capital is a Minneapolis venture capital and private equity hybrid fund on a mission to help entrepreneurs get what they want for the greater good. The principles at Traction Capital achieve this goal by making investments in and acquisitions of companies in the “capital gap” – a place where funding is often vital, but less available. Traction Capital uses its entrepreneurial approach and investor base to better connect with its portfolio founders as they work together towards a common goal.