A new Vancouver-based startup wants to help professional and collegiate-level athletes with their next big career move.
Free Agent is developing an online career marketplace that connects athletes with potential employers for their post-sport careers. The startup recently opened a waitlist for companies and athletes to sign up for a closed beta test of the platform.
“As a former athlete and having owned a recruitment company, I’ve witnessed firsthand the incredible potential that athletes bring to corporate settings.”
Kirsten Toth, Free Agent
The startup, which has already secured $500,000 CAD in funding, is led by CEO, founder, and professional hockey player Kirsten Toth, who believes that Free Agent can solve a major pain point for athletes and employers.
“Transitioning out of sport is arguably one of the most difficult challenges an athlete will face in their lifetime,” Toth said in a statement. “Athletes often lack a professional network outside of their sport and are challenged with figuring out their next career path.”
Toth also believes athletes possess many sought-after attributes that employers look for, such as teamwork, leadership, and perseverance. She wants Free Agent to help streamline the recruitment process for companies seeking out those skills.
Toth has some experience in this area. At the age of 17, she won a national hockey championship while playing for the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame boarding school in Saskatchewan. She later received a scholarship to the University of Alberta, where she played three seasons before transferring to the University of British Columbia to complete her collegiate playing career.
After university, Toth started playing roller hockey, and in her second season was recruited to play for Team Canada, with which she participated at the World Skate Games in Argentina in 2022 and most recently at the World Skate Games in Italy earlier this year. Outside of her athletic career, Toth has worked in the recruitment sector, founding her first company, Ekanite Consulting, in 2019.
“My motivation for creating Free Agent stems from my unique perspective at the intersection of sports and business,” Toth said in a statement sent to BetaKit. “As a former athlete and having owned a recruitment company, I’ve witnessed firsthand the incredible potential that athletes bring to corporate settings.”
Free Agent’s platform is designed for college-level, professional, and retired athletes. Once launched, the platform will offer resources for those entering the workforce, including training, mentorship, and job connections. The startup hopes to offer capabilities similar to that of LinkedIn.
In a statement, Free Agent said it raised $500,000 CAD in pre-seed funding last month from a group of collegiate, professional and Olympic athletes. The startup has over 25 athletes on its cap table, including six Olympians. A spokesperson for the startup said the funding is being used to get Free Agent’s minimum viable product to market.
“Companies are constantly seeking individuals with strong leadership skills, teamwork abilities, and a drive for excellence. Athletes embody these qualities inherently,” Free Agent advisor and sports industry executive Eric Mastalir said in a statement. Mastalir has held leadership roles in the National Hockey League, National Football League, and National Basketball Association, and is a former collegiate athlete.
“By creating this dedicated platform, Free Agent is offering businesses a streamlined way to tap into this exceptional talent pool, potentially revolutionizing their workforce and organizational culture.”
Free Agent’s waitlist for athletes and companies is now open, and the startup is set to launch a closed beta test by the end of the year.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Alora Griffiths.