Sean and I Launching in San Francisco
On February 2nd, 2023, Chasing Greatness Mentorship Inc. officially launched in San Francisco, California at the Military Veteran Startup Conference. It was an incredible experience and a moment that I will never forget. I always had a dream that I was going to launch a large company someday; however, I would have never guessed that this dream was going to occur when I was 25 years old. That is what makes life exciting. You never know what the road will be ahead, but as long as you try to have a positive impact on people and you are passionate about you do, things always work out for the better.
So, I am going to give you a little behind the scenes of what happened in San Francisco, the lead up to the launch, and where we are planning on heading. So, to start, the lead up to the launch was an absolute journey. From an idea that started at West Point in May of 2021 with Joshua Park and John Zimmerman, to a company that has developed on the banks of the Charles River at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, we are ready to really change the NIL landscape and make our mark in the sports industry.
After a challenging path during my first year MIT, I decided to change the name of our old company (former known as Mercsin) to Chasing Greatness Mentorship Inc. It is actually a cool story about the “Chasing Greatness” theme. “Chasing Greatness” is written on the walls of the Army Wrestling room, and I would look up at the wall every day during my time at West Point. I had incredible mentors at West Point and realized the invaluable experience that comes from mentorship. I figured that the name of our company should be the Chasing Greatness Mentorship Inc. or, CGM. CGM aims to coach and empower division one athletes to be good mentors for high school students who strive to be in their shoes someday.
So now, on to the launch. Our team was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in the MIT Fuse startup accelerator to prep our company for the launch and to be successful in the future. Some of our mentors included Bill Aulet, Paul Cheek, and Kosta Ligris. They really helped us prepare for our launch and to make this company sustainable. Speaking of “us”, please look at the image below for our current CGM team.
On February 1st, Sean Woods and I flew out to San Francisco for the launch. We were slotted five minutes of airtime at the Military Veteran Startup Conference to launch our company. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Tim Hsia and Brendan Aronson for giving us the opportunity to launch in San Francisco at the MilVet StartUp.
Now that the launch is over, it is time to really hit the ground running. We are looking to raise $75,000 before I graduate in from MIT in June 2023. We are currently valued at $11 million. I truly believe that this company will surpass the $200 million mark, but for now, I think it is best that we have a conservative estimate on our valuation.
But as I tell my friends, family, and colleagues, my definition of success isn’t about money. It’s about my ability to inspire others to chase their dreams. Money will come and go. Impact and legacy will stay with people forever. That is what we are about. Creating a legacy of athletes that will inspire the next generation of college athletes. I am confident that we will achieve that goal, and I ask that you support us in any way you can.
Sean and I are now back in Boston, grinding at the MIT Martin Trust Center and the Harvard Innovation Lab. We are ready to really rock this thing and make a difference in the lives of college athletes, high school athletes, and parents. All the hype around our company is great; however, I will not be satisfied until we deliver value to our customers and get results. The bottom line is if we don’t generate value and customers, this company will fail. All of the hype, high valuation, and TAM are great - don’t get me wrong. But for me, right now the main focus is to generate a ton of value, revenue, and happy customers.
We appreciate you following our journey and for what will come. For now, it’s time to chase greatness. It’s what we do every day and that will never stop. Time to inspire the next generation of athletes!
- Ryan and the CGM Team