Incubatee JOHAN Sports is making giant leaps forwards. What started out as a winning idea in the 2013 European Satellite Navigation Competition is now a blooming business with international customers and new investors. The start-up company in sports tracking technology can truly be called one of ESA BIC Noordwijk’s success stories.
Although JOHAN’s founder Jelle Reichert says he doesn’t like buzzwords, his company does make use of several of the most popular trends on the market today: Internet of Things, sports tracking and, of course, space – in the shape of GNSS-based positioning.
JOHAN’s trackers ready to go © JOHAN Sports
Tracking players’ movements
In little over two years’ time, JOHAN has equipped more than 20 Dutch soccer and field hockey teams with small trackers that allow JOHAN’s sport scientist and the teams’ coaches to adapt training schemes to the personal needs and goals of each player and avoid injuries.
In May, JOHAN signed a major international contract with the Champions Soccer League USA, which will equip 50 teams with tracking technology over the next year.
In December JOHAN added Dutch soccer club ADO Den Haag to its customers © JOHAN Sports
Investments
During the incubation period, JOHAN launched a successful crowdfunding campaign, raising 150.000 euros in a few days. Also, SBIC Participations included JOHAN in its portfolio.
JOHAN has now secured a half million euro investment by entrepreneur and sports enthusiast Peter Barnhoorn through Simba BV. With this investment, JOHAN hopes to be able to attract new staff in order to provide services to at least 50 sports teams by next year.
