The Power of Reach and Impact

Last month, Evolv was fortunate to win two significant sports industry awards.  As part of Sports Business Journal’s annual Tech Week event in New York City, Evolv Express® was named “Best in Fan Experience Technology” and “Best in Sports Technology” for 2024.  In the former category, Express was selected from a pool of 97 total candidates and four other finalists.  These finalists represented a sports industry A-list:  NASCAR, NBA, NHL, and USGA.  The latter category is akin to a “best in show” award and was selected from 34 finalists in six categories.  Here too, Express was selected over a who’s-who of tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Verizon and numerous cutting-edge startups.  In both cases, the decisions were made by a panel of some 30 independent judges drawn from throughout the industry.

It's obviously very personally gratifying to win these awards, and it was a real thrill to step to the podium twice to collect a trophy in recognition of the accomplishment.  Those of us in the sports world know that SBJ is the industry standard, and that these awards do really mean something.  I must also stress that while I was the one on stage, these awards are a collective achievement of 300-plus Evolvers.  

How did Evolv earn this recognition over some of tech and sports’ most well-established giants and most interesting newcomers?  I think the answer comes down to reach and impact.  As we’ve emphasized for some time, Express really is unique in sports tech in that its benefits positively impact virtually every guest at every event.  After all, every attendee must pass through security screening upon entry.  The same can’t be said of most other sports tech offerings, which only target or appeal to a sub-set of the total addressable audience.  With a dual mission of safer and more convenient experiences at live events, this universal reach is part of our core product strategy and value proposition, because neither safety nor fan experience can afford a weak link or missing piece

Going deeper, I think another contributing factor in the selection was Evolv’s rapid growth.  We’re quickly approaching 50 pro and collegiate sports customers in the U.S., and we’re in active discussions with many more teams, events, and properties.  Tech adoption – in sports and many other sectors – tends to follow a curve, from the “early adopters” to the “laggards.”  Evolv is fortunate that many leading sports organizations have wanted to be early adopters of our transformative solution.

On behalf of Evolv, I thank those organizations for their trust.  This recognition really belongs as much to them as it does to us, because collectively we’re setting a standard of venue security and guest experience that truly is award-worthy and benefits all.