(Charleston, SC): Carry, a sports fan engagement company that facilitates funding for up-and-coming professional golfers, introduced its second class of golfers earlier this month. With this class, Carry is raising capital for the 10 pros via an SEC-registered public crowdfunding campaign from “Fan Investors” who love golf. The minimum commitment is only $250, with higher priced tiers for those who want more exclusive experiences and perks.
Carry was founded in 2021 to bring financial innovation to “early-stage” professional golfers, while also providing a fun and rewarding opportunity to a broad segment of the sport’s fan base through a unique angel investing model. In addition to potential returns, Carry’s model provides those who invest in the group’s careers with “inside-the-ropes” type experiences, including access to exclusive golf retreats and a wide range of perks and product discounts from brand partners. In exchange for the upfront funding, Carry’s golfers are responsible for sharing tournament updates, attending investor events, and returning a percentage of their gross, on-course earnings, whenever they compete in tournaments with total purses of at least $1.5 million.
“We learned a lot over the past year through our initial pilot program. Clearly, funding is a prerequisite for these athletes to train and compete to their fullest. It doesn’t matter how talented they are – if they can’t afford essential costs like entry fees, travel, caddies, and practice facility access, then their odds of reaching the top tours are significantly less,” said Donnie Dotson, CEO and Founder of Carry. “We also learned fans of the game want to be part of players’ journeys to the top tours. Economic incentives are always going to be there at some level of course. But for most, our model resonates because of the overall experience. Amateur players get to live vicariously through talented young pros. There are also the bragging rights that come with being early to support golfers who could become household names.”
Donnie remains quick to point out that investing in promising golfers is nothing new, but that these opportunities have typically been reserved for club members of select “19th-hole syndicates” or solo enterprises that are often predatory towards players. Carry is taking the lessons learned from proven, equitable models – as well as its own pilot program – and improving upon them, providing golfers and Fan Investors with the peace of mind that come from aligned incentives, clear contract terms, and a secure and regulator-compliant technological infrastructure.
With the announcement, Carry revealed the 10 golfers that make up the 2023 Cohort. Their collective resumes include NCAA individual and team national championships, college All-Americans, major championship appearances, and two US Women’s Amateur trophies.
- Alana Uriell
- Brett White
- Chandler Blanchet
- Graysen Huff
- Hannah Gregg
- Kaitlin Milligan
- Kristen Gillman
- Quinn Riley
- Sarah Rhee
- Tyler Collet
Carry is not alone in its efforts to support rising pro golfers. The company has partnered with an impressive group of golf brands who share Carry’s ethos and who have committed to providing product discounts and perks to Carry’s Fan Investors. Current brand partners include:
- Blue Tees Golf (blueteesgolf.com)
- Circles (drawmorecircles.com)
- Club Champion (clubchampion.com)
- Fairways to Heaven Golf (https://f2hgolf.com)
- Inward Half (https://inwardhalf.com)
- OptiShot (optishotgolf.com)
- Piper Golf (https://piper.golf)
- Taylor Jordan Golf (tjgolfusa.com)
About Carry
Carry is a leading fan engagement platform for supporting “early-stage” professional golfers. Carry is led by Founder and CEO, Donnie Dotson, who has a diverse background of experience, including business development and investing roles at Sportradar and Goldman Sachs, and as a former Marine and CIA-trained Operations Officer within the US Intelligence Community. In addition to an impressive advisory board, Donnie has assembled a talented initial team of golf performance, product, and content experts to push forward with the next phase of Carry.
Learn more at https://www.invest.carry.golf or on Instagram @knowyourcarry.
Disclosures
Read the Offering information carefully before investing. It contains details of the issuer’s business, risks, charges, expenses, and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a Form C and Offering Memorandum at https://www.invest.carry.golf/. Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest. Companies seeking startup investment through equity crowdfunding tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace.
Media Contact:
Alyson Johnson
alyson@gillygroup.com
973.886.7884
