We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Gotfredsen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After nearly two decades at ESPN developing high-impact marketing platforms for marquee events like Monday Night Football, the NBA Finals, and the College Football Playoff—working with powerhouse brands like Nike, Toyota, Google, and Sony PlayStation—I recognized a major white space: women’s sports.

In 2022, well before the Caitlin Clark phenomenon took over the WNBA, there were strong signals that the women’s sports landscape was primed for explosive growth. I knew I could take the strategic know-how I had built in men’s sports and channel it into something purpose-driven: helping brands authentically and meaningfully connect with women’s sports leagues, athletes, and fans.

That’s why I launched Trailblazing Sports Group in Los Angeles—home to Angel City FC and the LA Sparks. We are committed to accelerating investment in women’s sports through innovative partnerships. One of our most exciting recent projects was with QuickBooks, where we partnered with World Cup champions Tobin Heath and Christen Press to bring their RE-CAP Show podcast to life with a live event at Watch Me—a women’s sports bar in Long Beach.

Watch the QuickBooks Power Moves collaboration here: https://www.sheknows.com/special-series/quickbooks-power-moves/

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

We were the first commercial partnerships firm dedicated exclusively to women’s sports, so in building the business we didn’t have a model or a playbook to use. In a way that was helpful as we built the business based on what we thought the industry needed vs what was done before, but in other ways it was difficult because some people couldn’t understand our model and the potential.

We leaned on past relationships to get into doors and bounced ideas off our network and community to see what would resonate in the marketplace. Some ideas stuck, others were quickly dismissed, but we quickly learned being flexible and open to new opportunities and ideas would be the key to our success.

I have heard being an entrepreneur is like throwing yourself off a cliff, and I couldn’t agree more. I left ESPN after 18 years to create something net new without much of a parachute. It’s been the hardest and most humbling thing I have ever done, yet the most rewarding. My two daughters see me building this company and changing the game for female athletes and women’s sports and it makes those 2am nights all worth it!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a new entrepreneur, we LOVE supporting small business around LA. As a mom AND a sports fan, here’s a three-day weekend itinerary that we’d take visitors to:

On Friday night we’d head to the LA Sparks games to check out the new Courtside Club and watch stars like Kelsey Plum get the W!

On Saturday morning we’d hit the bike path from Marina Del Ray to Santa Monica and then stop at Bay Cities for a Godmother (best sandwich in LA!). That night we’ll head to an ACFC game and sit in the Sunset Deck – the biggest party in women’s soccer.

Sunday morning, we’ll wake up and head to Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach with our lab, and then grab a late lunch and catch a game at Watch Me Sports Bar (LA’s first women’s sports bar). To end the weekend, we’ll head to one of our favorite dinner spots in Westwood, Violet, owned by local entrepreneur, Dana Slatkin for their famous French Onion soup and Le Double Smash Burger! Sounds perfect doesn’t it?!?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without my family, and especially the support of my husband, there would be no Trailblazing Sports Group. As an entrepreneur, sharing the household, child raising duties with a true partner is invaluable. He lived in LA before I moved from SF to start our lives and raise our family here, and I always look to him to get me out of our Westwood neighborhood and take me to best dive & tiki bars in Los Feliz & Silverlake!

Website: https://www.trailblazingsports.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trailblazingsportsgroup/posts/?feedView=all

Image Credits
Courtesy of Sara Gotfreson

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