Z80 Labs’ mission is to serve as a catalyst, transforming Buffalo and Western New York into a technology hotbed. By creating an environment that gives entrepreneurs exposure to industry leaders typically available only in New York City or Silicon Valley, Z80 Labs will kick-start entrepreneur-driven tech businesses within an accelerated environment, bolstering the local economy.  Founded by investors, Jordan Levy and Ron Schreiber, to ignite the Internet-based technology sector in Buffalo and Western New York. Z80 Labs will be funded by Softbank Capital, with additional funding from SCP Incubator LLC via a $5 million Innovate NY grant awarded by Governor Cuomo’s Empire State Development (ESD). Corporate support in services and personnel will be provided by The Buffalo News, Campus Labs, PC Business Solutions and Synacor.

Z80 Labs Technology Incubator

Social Starts is a venture capital firm with a data-driven approach to investing in moment-of-inception and Series A financing rounds. The firm prefers to invest in early-stage companies operating in the technology, health tech, internet, and mobile tech sectors.

Social Starts

CoachMePlus

CoachMePlus, a Virtuvia product and a Z80 Labs-backed start-up, is a web-based software application developed to ‘Design, Manage, Track & Report’ the training efforts of an athlete.  CoachMePlus is unique in a few ways; the software can interface with any device, allowing tracking and reporting that's unmatched by any other platform in the space. CoachMePlus can pull data from treadmills, GPS-based devices, heart rate monitors, Tendo, and just about any other device used by coaches and trainers. We can also pull live game data, and cross-reference all of these metrics in to consolidated reports.

CoachMePlus is a fitness performance management platform that assists athletes and coaches in achieving their performance and fitness objectives. It provides a comprehensive range of strength and conditioning tools to help athletes reach their maximum potential. The software enables coaches and fitness specialists to improve the performance of their athletes, enhancing the productivity and talent of their organization's members. CoachMePlus offers personalized training and nutrition tracking, data visualization, and applied sport science to improve human performance. Coaches can plan workouts, copy and distribute exercises across athletes and training groups, track completion, workload, and growth in real-time, and visualize training data through reporting options. As of October 2022, CoachMePlus had partnerships with the US Navy, US Air Force, and other Department of Defense organizations.

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Buffalo startup CoachMePlus raises $1M to continue military partnership, expand to fitness, wellness markets

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Sports Tech

CoachMePlus raises $1 million, prepares to grow in fitness industry

CoachMePlus is a fitness performance management platform that assists athletes and coaches in achieving their performance and fitness objectives. It provides a comprehensive range of strength and conditioning tools to help athletes reach their maximum potential. The software enables coaches and fitness specialists to improve the performance of their athletes, enhancing the productivity and talent of their organization's members. CoachMePlus offers personalized training and nutrition tracking, data visualization, and applied sport science to improve human performance. Coaches can plan workouts, copy and distribute exercises across athletes and training groups, track completion, workload, and growth in real-time, and visualize training data through reporting options. As of October 2022, CoachMePlus had partnerships with the US Navy, US Air Force, and other Department of Defense organizations.
Key customers and partnerships
CoachMePlus serves professional, college, and high school sports leagues, as well as military and tactical organizations. Among its key customers are the US Navy, US Air Force, and other Department of Defense organizations. It has been running programs with the Navy since 2017 to help recruits meet physical fitness standards for enlistment. In 2019, CoachMePlus began working with the Air Force for remote coaching and health promotions for airmen and National Guard members. In 2020, the company secured a five-year, USD 1.4 million contract from the Army to adapt its software for injured and sick soldiers' return to duty or preparation for civilian life.

Hexoskin is a company that manufactures smart clothing, specifically smart shirts that monitor various health metrics. The Hexoskin smart shirts are embedded with textile sensors that can track heart rate, breathing rate, minute ventilation, blood oxygen levels, steps, calories burned, and sleep patterns. The shirts connect to the Hexoskin Connected Health Platform, which collects and transmits the health data securely. Users can view their data in real-time on the Hexoskin app via Bluetooth connectivity.
Hexoskin's smart shirts have been extensively used in scientific research, with over 100 publications featuring them. They are particularly valuable for research in the fields of cardiac, respiratory, activity, stress, cognitive, and sleep studies. Renowned organizations like NASA, SpaceX, and the Canadian Space Agency have employed Hexoskin's technology for research purposes, with the company's Astroskin product receiving the 2022 International Space Station Research Innovation Award for Human Health in Space.
In terms of product offerings, Hexoskin's smart shirts are machine-washable and come with a connected device that provides up to 36 hours of battery life and 100 days of recording capacity. The company's shirts have found applications in various industries, including healthcare, sports and fitness, military and defense, industrial, and entertainment.

Hexoskin

Athos is a technology company that has developed a patented system for smart clothing that measures muscle activity using electromyography (EMG). The Athos garments, which include shirts and shorts, are embedded with sensors that detect the electrical signals produced by muscles during exercise. These signals are transmitted to a core unit that connects to a mobile app, providing real-time feedback on muscle effort, fatigue, and imbalances.
The Athos system is designed to help athletes of all levels optimize their training and performance. By visualizing muscle activation patterns, users can identify areas of weakness, correct form issues, and monitor progress over time. The app includes a library of exercises and leverages AI to provide personalized insights based on the user's muscle data.
Athos was founded in 2012 by Christopher Wiebe and Dhananja Jayalath, two electrical engineering students who recognized the potential of EMG technology to revolutionize fitness tracking. The company's mission is to empower athletes with unprecedented insights into their body's movement and performance, enabling them to train smarter and more effectively.
In October 2020, Athos Group, the parent company of Athos, reported significant growth and expansion in the off-duty law enforcement market through its subsidiary companies, including Summit Off Duty Services and RollKall. RollKall, a comprehensive off-duty staffing solution acquired by Athos Group in May 2020, had powered over 1.97 million hours of off-duty jobs across the country as of October 2020.

Athos

Atavus is a leading sports technology company specializing in tackling education and player safety solutions. Their flagship product, the Atavus Tackle System, offers a comprehensive training program that focuses on developing proper tackling techniques aimed at improving performance and reducing the risk of injuries. This data-driven approach emphasizes shoulder-led tackling, which eliminates unnecessary head contact during tackles, thereby minimizing the likelihood of concussions and other head-related injuries.
The Atavus Tackle System provides coaches with an extensive online library of coaching resources, including drill videos, practice plans, and detailed tackle plans tailored to help players master the shoulder-led technique effectively. By prioritizing fundamentals and skill acquisition, Atavus empowers coaches to instill safe and efficient tackling habits in their athletes from the grassroots level.
Atavus initially started as a rugby skills platform in 2011 before transitioning into the football domain, where it has gained widespread adoption among professional, collegiate, and high school programs. Notable early adopters of the Atavus Tackle System included the Seattle Seahawks, the University of Washington, and Ohio State University football teams. In 2019, Atavus was acquired by Phoenix Sports Partners, a sports technology and data investment fund.
Under the leadership of Kerry Carter, a former professional football player who assumed the role of CEO in January 2024, Atavus has expanded its offerings to include a software-as-a-service model, making its tackling education platform accessible to a wider market. The company has also forged strategic partnerships, such as the one announced with Hudl in April 2024, to combine Atavus' player safety expertise with advanced performance tracking technologies.

Atavus

Rank One is a company specializing in sports team management applications for K-12 athletic directors, certified athletic trainers (ATCs), and coaches. The company's flagship product, Rank One Sport, is a FERPA-compliant platform used by nearly 2,000 K-12 schools across Texas and over 1,000 schools in 25 other states. Rank One Sport offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to meet the needs of Athletic and Fine Arts directors, including schedule management, roster access, student information management, and form handling.
In September 2018, Rank One expanded its offerings with the launch of Rank One Health, a mobile application integrated with Rank One Sport. Developed in collaboration with the Children's Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Rank One Health aims to standardize student-athlete injury documentation nationwide and reduce risk for schools. The app provides a secure communication system between ATCs, team physicians, healthcare providers, and school administrators. It improves reporting and tracking of student-athlete injuries for sports medicine professionals in K-12 school systems. Rank One Health's injury documentation software is based on nationally recognized standards and evaluation methodology recommended by the Children's Health Andrews Institute.
Key customers and partnerships
Rank One's primary customers are K-12 schools, with a strong presence in Texas and 25 other states. The company collaborated with the Children's Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine to develop Rank One Health, leveraging their expertise in pediatric orthopaedics and sports medicine. This partnership aimed to implement a standardized, user-friendly mobile application for managing sports-related injuries in school settings.

Rank One

TeamSnap is a leading provider of sports management software and the online community for everything related to youth sports. Its platform serves as a comprehensive solution for sports organizations, teams, coaches, players, and parents, offering a suite of integrated tools to simplify and streamline various aspects of managing sports programs.
The company's core offering, TeamSnap for Business, is designed to help sports organizations support and grow programs for families and athletes. It provides a centralized workspace where administrators can manage registration, collect signups, organize and collect program fees, launch websites, update content, create and share schedules, communicate with members, source sponsorships, and organize tournaments. This solution caters to organizations of all sizes, from small clubs to large associations.
TeamSnap also offers TeamSnap for Teams, a web and mobile application tailored for coaches, administrators, players, and parents to manage team activities, communication, and logistics. This user-friendly platform simplifies administrative tasks involved in managing a sports team, such as scheduling, communication, and tracking player availability.
Furthermore, TeamSnap for Brands is an innovative suite of products that revolutionizes how brands can engage with families through youth sports. It combines TeamSnap's digital audience of over 25 million youth sports parents, players, coaches, and administrators with its network of sponsorable leagues and tournaments. This offering allows brands to run digital, physical, national, and local campaigns at scale, reaching over 25 million parents, coaches, and athletes, representing more than USD 2.4 trillion in spending power.
In November 2022, TeamSnap acquired LeagueSide, America's leading community sports sponsorship platform, further enhancing its ability to connect brands with youth sports communities both online and in local communities.

TeamSnap

Technology solution providers for sports venues, which includes solutions for stadium management, connectivity and entertainment, and video assistant referee (VAR) technology

Platforms and devices that aid the training process and/or measure player statistics and other metrics, such as health and movement data, to improve player performance

Platforms that assists the management of teams, leagues, tournaments, and other sporting events

Providers of sports data for other sports-related platforms

Online media platforms that distribute sports-related content

Online sports betting platforms and platforms where virtual teams composed of proxies of real players of a professional sport compete based on player performance in actual games

Companies that develop apparel products equipped with technology to track and improve performance

Platforms that enable fans to engage with sports brands and other fans, and developers of solutions such as audience behavior and sentiment analytics, and audience engagement

Some solutions in the "team and league management platforms" segment operate a B2B SaaS model

Used by platforms to simulate real game scenarios in training

Used by platforms to spot trends in tactics, athlete performance, and training

Some stadium tech solutions and training support/performance analytics solutions offer a certain level of personalization

CoachMePlus

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