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From the Fairway to the Boardroom: Lessons Building & Exiting a Sports Tech Startup - Spencer Dennis
Published 2 months ago
Description
Most entrepreneurs don’t set out to build unicorns. They’re just solving a problem they understand—until that solution turns into a business, then a company, and eventually a set of decisions they never expected to face: growth, capital, pressure, and exit.
Today’s episode is about what really happens after the dream collides with reality.
On this episode of The Reluctant Entrepreneur, I’m joined by Spencer Dennis—a former competitive golfer and coach who didn’t plan on becoming a tech founder, but went on to build, scale, and exit a global sports technology company.
Spencer’s journey took him from coaching athletes on the fairway to navigating boardrooms, venture capital, growth expectations, and acquisition decisions that many founders misunderstand until they’re living them.
We’ll also be talking about his provocatively titled book, How to F*ck a Unicorn, and why he chose such a blunt name to describe the myths, mistakes, and hard truths surrounding startups, unicorn thinking, and exits.
This conversation isn’t about hype or highlight reels. It’s about what building a real company actually looks like—the tradeoffs, the pressure, and the lessons that only show up when the stakes are real.
If you’re building something, scaling something, or questioning whether the path you’re on matches the outcome you actually want, this episode will give you a grounded, experience-based perspective.
Spencer's Company:
CoachNow
https://coachnow.com
Spencer's Book:
How to F*ck a Unicorn
https://tinyurl.com/375b25tx
During the interview, Spencer recommended the following book:
The Talent Code
https://tinyurl.com/9jffs3ub
Today’s episode is about what really happens after the dream collides with reality.
On this episode of The Reluctant Entrepreneur, I’m joined by Spencer Dennis—a former competitive golfer and coach who didn’t plan on becoming a tech founder, but went on to build, scale, and exit a global sports technology company.
Spencer’s journey took him from coaching athletes on the fairway to navigating boardrooms, venture capital, growth expectations, and acquisition decisions that many founders misunderstand until they’re living them.
We’ll also be talking about his provocatively titled book, How to F*ck a Unicorn, and why he chose such a blunt name to describe the myths, mistakes, and hard truths surrounding startups, unicorn thinking, and exits.
This conversation isn’t about hype or highlight reels. It’s about what building a real company actually looks like—the tradeoffs, the pressure, and the lessons that only show up when the stakes are real.
If you’re building something, scaling something, or questioning whether the path you’re on matches the outcome you actually want, this episode will give you a grounded, experience-based perspective.
Spencer's Company:
CoachNow
https://coachnow.com
Spencer's Book:
How to F*ck a Unicorn
https://tinyurl.com/375b25tx
During the interview, Spencer recommended the following book:
The Talent Code
https://tinyurl.com/9jffs3ub