On May 21 and 22, the Investor Forum, took place as part of the Padel World Summit, an event that was recognized as a success by attendees and participants. It was the first time such an event was organized in the world of padel, bringing together startups, established companies, investment funds, and business angels interested in supporting the numerous and interesting projects presented there.
The Investor Forum featured over 60 investors from 21 different nationalities, 16 startups—competing for the Startup of the Year award at the -Padel World Summit Awards- and more than 160 attendees who enjoyed two days of activities including presentations, roundtables, networking moments, and demonstrations on the court set up in the Investor Forum, which was the first prototype court from the co-branding between the Portico Sport brand and HEAD.
The event opened with a dynamic activity bringing together startups and investors, where they met and shared goals and needs. Following this meeting, the investors selected three finalist startups for the Startup of the Year award: Padel Link, Clutch and Aiball. Ultimately, Aiball won the award, thanks to its innovative analysis system that, through cameras installed on the court and Artificial Intelligence, offers recommendations, statistics, and a video summary of the match played.
Regarding the roundtables, in the first one, Guillermo Maldonado (Portico Sport), Luis Parras (MCH Private Equity), and Alejo Vidal Cuadras (BD-Capital) discussed why it is worth investing in padel. This roundtable was followed by eight more panels with 25 speakers, addressing other significant topics such as successful investment strategies in padel, the challenges of investing in emerging countries, identifying opportunities worldwide, and a special session on the keys to the success and growth of this sport in the United States.
Networking moments occurred throughout the two days of the Investor Forum. Particularly beneficial were the meals organized in the Investor Forum area on both Tuesday, the 21st, and Wednesday, the 22nd, as well as the one-on-one sessions between startups and investors, facilitated by the app developed by the organization to schedule meetings and advance negotiations.
Attendees and participants highlighted the quality and quantity of activities organized at the Investor Forum and were already looking forward to the future second edition.
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