David Gow, CEO of Gow Media

If you are looking for someone to invest $100 M or so in your venture, talk to David Gow.

I recently talked to David about his new blank check company, created through a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Corp) IPO with the NASDAQ raising $115 million. SPACs have been all the rage over the last 24 months, with over 850 of them taken public. Once they are public they usually have 18 months to find an acquisition. With that type of short fuse timeline, there are many out there shopping for the right companies to fit their investment target.

First off, how exactly does a SPAC work? As David recounts, it’s the opposite of the typical money raising process which involves an operating entity, a business it grows up, and becomes large enough to then go public, or list on an exchange like the NASDAQ and raise a lot of capital through an IPO. “In the SPAC world, it’s backward. We’ve created a hollow company listed with NASDAQ that can raise a lot of capital. But now we’ve got to go find the operating business. And that’s why it’s often referred to as ‘a blank check company.’ We’ve been given over $100 million to go identify and acquire or merge with a great operating business. Our special purpose is sports tech.” 

With so much private equity currently available, why would you go this route? As David sees it, the opportunity brings together capital, a board which has great expertise and that public stock. “For some businesses, having a public stock creates a great currency for additional acquisitions. So we are a time and cost efficient way for a private entity to get to the public realm.” He has a point there. The planes, trains and automobiles of the roadshow process and all the filings required for an IPO are not for the faint of heart or wallet.

So what is his SPAC looking for (contact me if you want in!) are companies where technology is innovating the sports industry: eSports; health and wellness including wearable devices and businesses like Peloton which are both software and hardware; fan engagement including smart stadium technologies and fantasy and gambling. 

David is also the CEO of Gow Media, the largest media company in Texas with properties like SportMap Radio Network, 2 ESPN local stations, a lifestyle site, an automotive and a sports site. He is particularly bullish on esports because the business models are still being defined and he and Gow Media can play an active role in that. As college athletes become able to monetize their name, image and likeness, he plans to build a platform to connect athletes with brands. NFTs also hold huge promise when connected to athletes.

One thing that David believes is a big part of fueling innovation in start-ups in his region is The Cannon, which provides support infrastructure and colocation of support resources. The Cannon offers “an angel network of investors, a mentor network, shared services of fractional CMOs and CFOs to help businesses who couldn’t afford a full time employee community building programs when somebody gets a big VC round.” Being on of the cofounders and board member of one of the largest incubators in the world, 1871 in Chicago, I can attest to how essential this sort of support is.