PlayMaker hosted our first ever community-event, and if we had to describe it in one word? Electric. Thirty women from across sports brands, teams, leagues, and investment funds gathered for an evening that went far beyond networking. It was about strategy, confidence, and owning your seat in the sports industry.

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Why Poker? And Why Women in Sports?

At first glance, poker and sports partnerships might not seem connected. But spend five minutes at the table, and the parallels become obvious.

Poker is about:

• Reading the room
• Making decisions with imperfect information
• Knowing when to take risks and when to fold
• Staying confident under pressure

Sound familiar? These are the exact same skills people use every day while navigating careers in sports business, brand partnerships, and athlete marketing.

Because sports is an industry that requires resilience, adaptability, and strategic thinking, poker becomes more than a game. It is a hands-on lesson in leadership, negotiation, and long-term thinking.

Building A Community

The energy in the room was undeniable. Conversations flowed, new relationships formed organically and the biggest signal of success? People stayed hours past the official end time. That told us everything we needed to know. We didn’t just host an event, we created a space people wanted to be part of.

At PlayMaker, we’re not only building software for sports partnerships. We’re building a community of women shaping the future of the sports industry together. During our poker night, women from different corners of the sports ecosystem connected over shared challenges, career growth, and the excitement of what’s next.

These are the types of rooms where:

• Partnerships are sparked
• Ideas turn into action
• Careers quietly level up

And this is only the beginning.

The PlayMaker Way

PlayMaker exists to make sports partnerships smarter, more strategic, and more human.

We build software for sports partnerships that helps brands and rights holders manage relationships, track deals, and unlock long-term value, but what truly sets PlayMaker apart is our belief that relationships power this industry.

By bringing together women across brands, teams, leagues, and investment funds, we’re creating spaces where real connections form, ideas are exchanged, and careers accelerate. The PlayMaker community is designed to extend beyond platforms and dashboards into rooms, conversations, and moments that move the industry forward.

This event was a reflection of what we’re building every day: a more connected, more inclusive, and more strategic future for sports partnerships.

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