Part 2: Game Plan
Fourscore client Game Plan has continued to thrive since our last Client Tell in January 2018. In fact, Game Plan merged with InXAthlete in February 2021, bringing the two powerhouse companies together under one brand.
Game Plan offers online courses for student athletes – including courses like Sexual Violence Prevention and Sports Wagering, which students are required to complete before competing in NCAA athletics. Athletes can complete these, plus virtual classes on subjects like financial management and racial reconciliation, on their own time and at their own pace.
While Game Plan focused on developing a robust e-learning platform, InXAthlete centered more on job placement prior to the merger.
How it started
InXAthlete was created in 2016 by two Lehigh University student athletes, Max Wessell and Cody Ferraro. After spending their collegiate years balancing their studies and sports, they had no time left for internships or networking at job fairs – the traditional means their non-athlete peers used to secure positions after graduation. Like many of their teammates, they found themselves stumped with little leads and no way to stand out among the stacks of resumes on sites like LinkedIn and Indeed.
“Student athletes develop time management skills, diligence and the ability to manage failure – soft skills employers find desirable. But there was no streamlined way to connect these employers to graduating student athletes,” Wessell explains. He and Ferraro developed a best-in-class system to help athletes get jobs, and their company grew exponentially.
They began conversation with the Game Plan team in 2020.
“We knew about the incredible things Game Plan was doing in terms of e-learning, and we decided we’d be stronger together. Now we can fully engage both athletes and employers,” says Wessell.
How it’s going
Now, Game Plan serves 80,000 active student athletes, 180 universities, and more than 100 employers. Additionally, the NBA and NFL use Game Plan for their athletes’ e-learning requirements.
Through Game Plan, student athletes have been hired for jobs in fields like account management, sales, and HR – working for companies such as Wells Fargo, IBM, and Novus Surgical. Student athletes also have access to professionals at these companies through Game Plan’s mentoring program.
Fourscore led Game Plan through the merger, which involved Wessell and the InXAthlete team raising capital to buy shares and merge InXaAthlete and Game Plan, and continues to represent the combined company, all now Game Plan going forward.
“After we closed, we were so impressed with the job Fourscore did that we decided to keep them as counsel for the entire company,” Wessell says. Both companies were able to retain all of their employees through the merger.
Wessell is confident about the future – for Game Plan, athletes and employers alike.
“We want to continue to grow our business aggressively, guiding student athletes through their journeys and toward fulfilling careers where their soft skills are appreciated,” he says.
“Game Plan is already synonymous with athlete education. Now we want to be synonymous with student athlete employment.”
To learn more, visit WeAreGamePlan.com.
