In recent years lacrosse has become increasingly popular across the US. Once a sport almost exclusive to the east coast, lacrosse programs have been cropping up at both the high school and collegiate levels across the country. Additionally, two professional women’s leagues were founded in the past five years, pointing to the sport’s development and adoption outside of schools.

Despite large incumbents dabbling in the lacrosse equipment space (Nike, Under Armour, etc.), there remains to be a clear and consistent winner unique to the sport. Many teams struggle with custom gear that is outdated and cumbersome. At the youth level, team managers (frequently parents and coaches) have to dedicate large amounts of time to uniform and gear logistics in order to ensure that their team is properly outfitted. However, this time sink distracts them from their true goal of developing young players. Lacrosse is in need of a dedicated and reliable equipment supplier who can solve this persistent problem.

Signature Lacrosse is a lacrosse equipment manufacturer and retailer. Signature Lacrosse has not only broken into a specialized marketplace but has done so in a differentiated way. It is evident that each of the products was designed by a team that is deeply familiar with the sport and set out to solve common lacrosse frustrations. For example, a traditional lacrosse goal must be hand-strung to a frame. Recognizing this time-consuming process, the Signature team patented a quick connect goal that bypasses stringing. 

Another niche problem players face is factory strung sticks. Many large incumbents lack the sport-specific knowledge and craftsmanship to string sticks to a player’s liking. Many lacrosse athletes — especially at the collegiate level — end up spending additional money to restring new sticks to their exact specifications and create a better pocket. Signature Lacrosse does not have this problem. The stringing on the Signature line of sticks was clearly designed by a player with deep knowledge of the game and stringing conventions. 

Finally, significant thought went into the Signature Lacrosse ball. Founder Dan Soviero mentioned meeting with a rubber chemist to craft a product to his exact specifications. And this paid off, as the Signature Lacrosse ball is the official ball of both the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL).

In addition to lacrosse equipment, Signature Lacrosse also offers customizable uniforms and fan gear. Lacrosse teams can also partner with Signature to create online team stores where fans and players can buy team-specific clothing and items.

Signature Lacrosse is led by founder and CEO Dan Soviero. Soviero has extensive experience in the sport of lacrosse as a player, coach, and now entrepreneur. He studied accounting and finance at the University of Tampa.

Head of Sourcing Brian Bohn brings plenty of leadership experience to the table as the former President of Mobility Engineering and Director of Global Business Development at IC Intracom.

Madeline Lewis serves as Head of Compliance and has experience founding her own company in 2017 in addition to serving as Executive Director for several youth programs in the Florida area.

As mentioned, the sport of lacrosse is only gaining in popularity. From a market standpoint, “in 2019, the global sports equipment market was valued at approximately 126.23 billion U.S. dollars and was forecast to reach a value of 148.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2023.” Though the Signature team could only realistically capture a portion of this broader addressable market, the obtainable market size likely sits around $50-$75M. Specifically, “in 2019, wholesale sales of lacrosse sticks amounted to about 42.3 million U.S. dollars.” However, this represents only a portion of the Signature product line, which also includes balls, goals, and uniforms. This product diversity broadens the company’s potential market capture.

Signature Lacrosse offers a direct-to-consumer business model with products on its website as well as Amazon. The team revealed the average gross margin on its product line sits at 40 percent for 2020.

In addition to D2C product offerings, Signature Lacrosse has established a team store partner program that streamlines the uniform and gear process. Not only does the company design and manufacture custom fan gear and uniforms, but it also deals with site set-up, shipping, and customer service. 

The Signature uniforms are all produced domestically and with a 100% replacement guarantee. Furthermore, Signature sticks have a lifetime warranty — the first in the sport. 

• A number of verticals: Signature Lacrosse offers a comprehensive line of state of the art products specific to the sport of lacrosse. But it is the innovation with regards to uniforms and outfitting that makes the company truly stand out. This vertical drastically improves the company’s potential scalability.
• Impressive partnerships and traction: The Signature ball is the official ball of both with NLL and WPLL and was chosen as the official ball for the FIL World Lacrosse Championships. With over $2M in revenue for the most recent fiscal year, this serves as a solid launchpad for the company’s continued success.
• Explosive market growth: The sport of lacrosse has seen explosive growth in the past decade and shows no signs of slowing (see below, ©Statista 2020). The recent addition of professional leagues has only drawn more attention to the community. In addition, there are 396 total men’s NCAA teams and 525 total NCAA women’s teams, with new programs added each year. Despite there being large incumbents servicing this growing market, few tailor to the niche needs of seasoned players well versed in the intricacies of the sport. 

• Product differentiation: In a sport that has been around since the 17th century, Signature Lacrosse found a way to differentiate. The team has clearly done their research and understands the problems of the sport and the consequent market firsthand. Everything from the goal to the game balls is tailored to the needs of the sport, even solving age-old problems that seem to come with it.

After extensively reviewing the offering and speaking with founder Dan Soviero, Signature Lacrosse has been rated a Deal To watch. The sport of lacrosse is in need of an equipment provider with this understanding of the wants and needs of players. The huge and growing market is primed for a company to establish itself as the go-to supplier of lacrosse gear. The traction the team presents is also promising in the form of both financials and partnerships. Just from the prior fiscal year end to the most recent fiscal year, revenue has grown 20 percent — from $1.9M to $2.3M — according to the Form C.

This is not to say an investment in Signature Lacrosse is without risk. As with any startup, the potential for large incumbents to win out is imminent. Signature Lacrosse is undoubtedly competing with Nike, Under Armour, STX, Warrior, and the like. 

Having said this, Signature Lacrosse has differentiated itself in more ways than one. Each product, from goals to sticks, was clearly designed by players and with more specialized attention than has been paid by these large incumbents. Even other lacrosse-specific companies (such as TRUE Lacrosse) fall short of Signature’s stringing, patented quick connect goals, and cutting-edge uniform supply chain innovations. For these reasons, Signature Lacrosse could provide a promising opportunity for investment.