The Problem Every Youth Sports Founder Faces
Here's the exit dilemma nobody in youth sports tech talks about openly: you build a software company that coaches, clubs, and parents depend on. It works. It grows. And then what?
The two most common options are a venture-backed growth sprint that changes everything about your business, or a private equity buyout that puts you on a five-year countdown to a flip. In both scenarios, the founder's original mission tends to get squeezed out somewhere between the term sheet and the quarterly board meeting.
Banyan Software, a U.S.-headquartered firm with a global presence and over 100 companies in its portfolio, thinks there should be a third option. They buy software businesses and never sell them. No fund timeline. No exit clock. No pressure to gut what's already working.
Yonatan Ghebremedhin is the person leading that search in sports. A former basketball scout turned Business Development Manager at Banyan, he spends his days studying the youth sports tech landscape, meeting founders, and looking for the company that fits Banyan's next permanent acquisition. The firm already owns RinkNet, the hockey scouting platform used by most NHL teams. Now they want to go deeper into youth sports.
The Anti-PE Playbook
Here's where Banyan's model gets interesting for anyone watching the youth sports space.
The typical private equity approach in sports tech follows a familiar script: acquire a company, push for aggressive year-over-year growth, optimize the financials, and exit within a set window. The clock is always ticking, and the pressure flows downhill to the customers, the employees, and ultimately the kids and parents who use the product.
Banyan calls itself a "permanent home acquirer," and that distinction matters more than it sounds. There's no fund with a five-year timeline. No pressure to flip. No investors showing up every quarter demanding growth-at-all-costs metrics. And this isn't a small operation making the claim. Banyan has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies five years running, with a global footprint spanning multiple continents.
Instead, Banyan operates on a principle it calls "accountable autonomy." The companies it acquires keep their brands. The CEOs keep decision-making authority. An operating partner works as a board-level strategic advisor, but the founder still runs the show because they know their market better than anyone at Banyan's headquarters.
"We don't pretend like we know the market better than the CEO," Ghebremedhin says. "But we do know how to run a successful software business. So we go hand-in-hand with that."
What's Already in the Portfolio
Banyan's sports and recreation portfolio gives a window into the types of companies they target.
RinkNet is the most recognizable name. The hockey scouting platform is used by the majority of NHL teams and has become a standard tool across hockey's talent pipeline. Banyan acquired it and left it alone to do what it already did well.
Beyond RinkNet, the portfolio includes Intelligenz, an ERP system for public recreation facilities based in Canada; Intuitive, a UK-based platform in the same space; and Camis, a campground management software company. Each one is niche. Each one has a loyal customer base. None of them are trying to be everything to everyone.
That's the pattern. Banyan looks for software companies that dominate a specific corner of sports and recreation, serve their customers exceptionally well, and have the kind of sticky retention that makes recurring revenue predictable.
It also helps that Banyan brings real infrastructure to the table. The firm launched an AI initiative across its entire portfolio in 2025, running hands-on workshops and growth enablement programs that have driven 2-10x productivity gains at some companies. And through the Banyan Software Foundation, backed by a $100 million commitment of stock, the company invests in workforce development and social impact alongside its business operations.
The Youth Sports Gap
Despite the existing portfolio, Ghebremedhin is open about the fact that Banyan hasn't found the right pure-play youth sports software acquisition yet. They've looked at plenty. Nothing has checked every box.
"We've been trying to grow in youth sports software, but just haven't found kind of the right opportunity," he says. "But we've looked at a bunch."
What does the "right opportunity" look like? A company with a clear niche: think registration platforms for basketball leagues, scheduling software for travel teams, or communication tools for club sports organizations. Something with strong market share, low churn, and a founder who wants a transition that doesn't gut what they've built.
Why This Model Matters for Youth Sports
The youth sports industry is consolidating fast. That's not inherently good or bad. But the way consolidation happens matters a lot, especially when the end user is a 12-year-old and the customer is their parent.
Ghebremedhin sees it clearly: "A lot of that time, that passion almost gets exploited because everything becomes, hey, you need to pay to have access to this and that."
The PE approach can accelerate that problem. When investors need a return in five years, the founder's original mission tends to take a back seat to the balance sheet. Prices go up. Customer service goes down. The community that built the product starts looking for alternatives.
Banyan is positioning itself as the third option. Not a VC that demands rapid growth. Not a PE firm that flips in five years. A permanent owner that lets the business stay what it is, while giving it the resources to get better.
It's worth noting: Banyan claims 100% referenceability across its entire portfolio of 100+ companies. That means every single founder who has sold to Banyan would recommend the experience. In the world of M&A, that's almost unheard of.
What to Watch
Banyan hasn't made its next youth sports acquisition yet. But they're actively looking, and the profile is clear: niche software, loyal customers, strong retention, and a founder ready for a transition that respects what they've built.
For founders in the youth sports tech space who are starting to think about an exit, Banyan might be a name worth knowing. For investors watching the consolidation wave, the "permanent home" model raises an interesting question: what happens when the acquirer is never planning to leave?
If you're running a youth sports software company and want to learn more about what a partnership with Banyan looks like, or if you're just curious about their model, reach out to Yonatan directly:
Yonatan Ghebremedhin Business Development Manager, Banyan Software
Email: yghebremedhin@banyansoftware.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yonatan-ghebremedhin
To learn more about Banyan Software and its growing portfolio, visit banyansoftware.com.
